Haiti Earthquake Update: "The needs are huge"
“Thank everyone for the support that they provide.”
This is how Dr. Wislyn ended his most recent email to our staff in Pittsburgh.
Your prayers and financial support have made a world of difference in the lives of earthquake survivors in Maniche*, Haiti, where CHIDA’s team is currently operating.
“We are doing our best, but the needs are huge.” - Dr. Wislyn.
As more time passes, minor wounds start to pose a more significant threat. Left untreated, cuts and scrapes often lead to serious infections and even sepsis. The doctors from CHIDA are doing all they can to mitigate the risk of serious infections, but the need is great.
Dr. Wislyn reported Tuesday that CHIDA’s team has treated 5,904 people since the earthquake, with 81 of those being patients who come back every day to have their bandages changed by a doctor or nurse. In addition to treating patients with minor wounds, the team continues to treat more urgent injuries such as deep cuts, broken bones, and respiratory issues due to dust from the rubble.
The team is working out of a local schoolyard, but because the earthquake damaged the buildings on campus, they are performing operations either in the open or under the cover of tents. Maintaining a sterile environment in these conditions is nearly impossible, but the doctors work together to reduce the risk of infection and maintain as clean an operating environment as possible.
Dr. Wislyn in Maniche, Haiti
A doctor stitches a wound on a patient’s hand
Working With the Community, for the Community.
One of IDADEE’s (the parent organization of CHIDA) core goals is to create jobs that help local Haitians. When construction projects are underway at the IDADEE or CHIDA campuses, they hire local workers at living wages. CHIDA’s earthquake relief effort is no different. With Dr. Wislyn’s connections to the Les Cayes area, he quickly hired two additional doctors and five additional nurses to join the team. These new team members know the area and bring valuable local insights and fresh energy to the CHIDA staff.
The Malnutrition Crisis
Natural disasters disproportionately affect the poor and exasperate existing gaps within marginalized communities. We see this clearly when we look at the malnutrition crisis in Haiti, where more than 4.4 million Haitians, or 40% of the population, will need food assistance this year, according to a pre-earthquake United Nations analysis. Dr. Wislyn and the CHIDA staff are dedicated to treating malnutrition wherever they see it, whether in a hospital bed at CHIDA or in the field. In addition to providing food for hungry patients, they have distributed specialized nutritious food kits to 36 families in the Les Nippes community. They have also donated to another doctor and colleague of Wislyn’s who is doing similar work in Ducis, Haiti.
People in Ducis received emergency food and other supplies from Dr. Wislyn’s colleague.
Food and supplies are sorted and packaged before being distributed.
The need is great, but dedicated health professionals like CHIDA's doctors and nurses provide hope in desperate situations. Please consider donating today. 100% of your donation will go to this emergency response and give the CHIDA team what they need to continue this important work.
On behalf of Dr. Wislyn and the rest of the CHIDA team, we thank you for believing in this effort and making it possible.
- The PKF and CHIDA staff
*In the last update, we stated that CHIDA’s team was in Camp-Perrin. They are working in Maniche, a town hit hard by the earthquake and located next to Camp-Perrin.
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