More from Jim Ressler's experience:

Haiti Day 4. March 27, 2010


We got picked up by presume and Rosalyn at 8 this morning in an open box truck. Presume is the police commander and is also running For Haiti With Love with his wife. He took us on about a 20 minute drive to the For Haiti with Love clinic and facility. There were a few hundred people waiting in line when we arrived. It was protected by armed guards and barb wire fencing. We took a tour of the facility which had a big star of David on the outside of it. It was started by Rosalyn’s father who was Jewish. We saw the area where the burn victims are treated. Justinian hospital sends many patients to them for burn care. They only have nurses there no doctors yet they still operate. Conditions are really rough. Hopefully everyone saw the pictures of the clinic. It is powered by 24 car batteries with some type of converter. He also has a generator there. He also showed us rooms where volunteers could stay. They were actually ok. He has 3 rooms 2 beds per room and also has mattress that can be used on floor. We toured and saw all the supplies (11 skids) that we donated. He also had lots of rice and beans people donated from the states. He told us a lot of burn people come to him just with gauze on their burns which means when they unwrap it it opens up wounds again. Since the earthquake his volume has doubled for medical care. He has 2 nurses but needs all the help he can get. He needs extra batteries, flooring, beds, paper bags, and medical gauze, antiseptic, and everything else you can imagine. We then helped distribute food. They have a card system so when you come in for food you get your card stamped, and you can do this 3 times a week for food. Additionally they give out hygiene kits. After 500 or so people with cards get there food they randomly give out food to other people at the gates. There were hundreds of people climbing or trying to climb the gates for food. They told us a lot were from Port-Au-Prince just trying to survive on minimal food they can afford to spare for them. They also have another area where mothers and young babies wait and they distribute formula and diapers for them. They told me every can of dry formula is opened so it can't be resold by the mothers. It was really sad. They also provide basic medical care for them. It was really incredible to see. We were there for a few hours listening to their needs which are a lot.

People lining up for food at For Haiti with Love

We also looked through their medical supplies we have sent. They distribute the wheelchairs and walkers etc. to area hospitals who aren't getting aid from foreigners. We also saw a bone cutting machine they use for amputating. Remember there are only nurses here. I didn't even ask about it as it looked as if they had used it.

Afterwards we got in back of truck again for a 40 minute journey through one of the worst slums I have ever seen. Again not poverty but really a living hell.

We passed markets of used clothing. They were selling rice for $1.25 dollars per cup. Lots of arguing and misery on the streets in the main square of this slum. We finally arrived in another area where the orphanage was. It was a cement shell. 30 or so children live there. Armed guards watch the building. One room housed 16 girls 2 per bed ages 4-12. They seemed happy as they sang and danced. We have great video of this. Presume and Rosalyn showed us around. They need bunk beds and clothing. We brought some clothing donations from Polo.

Clothing donated by Polo.

The girls were thrilled to get clothing. They all share clothing and nothing goes to waste. When one grows out of the clothing the next child takes it. There are no closets or bathrooms. They go outside to use the bathroom in a bucket with a hole in ground.
Orphanage Bathroom

Horrible living conditions. I talked to them about mattresses and what happens when they are done. They said they also give them away to others who need them. Most have mosquito nets but many don't have sheets. They desperately need sheets. A few of the children were from Port-Au-Prince. One of them doesn't speak anymore because she was so traumatized by losing her family in the quake. Very sad but they did seem happy. Within the orphanage they have a school and church. School is a blackboard but they desperately need school supplies and chairs. They sit on a dirt floor.

5th grade classroom

All girls shower daily with a bucket in a private area. We stayed and they ate lunch. It was rice, beans and meat and veggies. They get 3 meals a day. Night is light meal of porridge donated by john block art auctioneer of Royal Caribbean. Overall they seemed happy but no toys or swings all of which they are in need of.

Orphans

We then went with all the girls to see a plot of land they want to purchase. They want 25k for the land but will probably take 10k for it. It is much bigger and easier living. Right now they pay $3000 per year for their current space. Their current space is a cement block building. Kitchen is 3 pots over 3 charcoal fires. A house mom sleeps in the rooms with the girls and they are protected by a guard. It is a slum but everybody knows Presume and loves him as we walked through the neighborhood. If I wasn't with him I would never go through this neighborhood. I still was glad he had a gun in his waistband.

Next we went around the corner to Presume and Rosalyn’s residence. It is under construction. They live there with his twins who were in Port-Au-Prince for the earthquake. They also have an adopted son Samuel who was left on their porch by someone when he was roughly 6 months old. He is now about 2. They don't know exactly how old or where he came from. Oh yeah and he has 18 older girls living in the house with them. It is the equivalent of a 3 bedroom house. At this point all the girls from the other orphanage were at this house as well. There were 48 kids in this house with us. These people are saints. I couldn't do it. Rosalyn picks them all up and they all hug and kiss both of them. The youngest in the house is 1 year old. He is being adopted by someone in the states but his older sister who is 6 doesn't know it yet.

Next they took us on another journey for an hour in back of truck to Milot to see Sacre Couer Hospital. This is a rough ride in the hot sun standing. No roads, just dirt. Much of roads are destroyed. Sacre Couer is considered one of the more modern hospitals. Many American doctors passing through. This is where the O2 generator that Burn Advocates Network shipped for Holy Name Hospital was. They built a special concrete room for it so it would stay intact. We toured the Intensive Care Unit which was still nothing like an American hospital. Met with the medical director and talked of needs list. He took us to the refugee camp area. Apparently hundreds of wounded flown in by UN helicopters after the quake and med director has ordered there discharge. Unfortunately they have nowhere to go as some are even children that came without parents so they set up this "camp". It was compassionate of this director to do this. He doesn't want to send people away as they have nowhere left to go during rainy season.


We then toured what looked like the TV show MASH units.
There were about 5 long tents where we met many child amputees. Kids 4 and up without limbs. We also toured birth unit in a tent etc.
They seemed to be the best organized organization and we saw many doctors from America . We met teams from Ohio , Vermont , St. Barnabas in Livingston, NJ and many others. When I was leaving the bathroom they had just rushed in a girl who had a head ruptured open and part of face crushed. They seemed to be very compassionate as I watched them work on this poor local girl. The med director had to go to help so I found my way out and met the rest of group outside

As it rained we got back in the open trucks and rode about an hour or longer back to motel. I needed cash but the banks are closed so Presume went to a part of town where there were guys on street with huge wads of cash just exchanging money on street. He said it was common for the banks don't always have money to exchange.

Anyway it was very tough day to see all this. The kids were really sad but what For Haiti With Love people do is amazing. It is so selfless what they are doing. Presume and his wife are amazing. I didn't mention on Sundays he allows anyone to come into the church at orphanage and feeds everyone that comes.

Tomorrow we are seeing another hospital, going back to PT room and may possibly go to Port-Au-Prince.



Final Day, Day 5, March 28, 2010
We started early today and met at 445am in lobby. Our ride was supposed to come at 5am. At 530 he hadn't shown so we climbed into what they called a taxi (old broken down car with driver and wife). We made our way down the bumpy "roads" and got to airport about 550 am. Our flight was at 6 but the airport wasn't open. Also when we arrived luckily our driver that was supposed to pick us up was there for us. I am not sure which part he didn't understand but he was supposed to drive us. He said hello and goodbye. The airport finally opened about 630. Security consisted of an x-ray machine that didn't work. They were using it as a counter to look through your bags on and not a real thorough look. Then you walked through a metal detector that wasn't working. We sat til about 7 for our flight that was scheduled to leave at 6. Finally the electricity started working again as I saw the metal detector you walk through at airport finally light up. We then boarded the prop plane with 4 other passengers on the bench seats

Arrival at Port Au Prince
We found a local as soon as we arrived named nadir. He immediately ferried us in a old beat up truck to American Airlines. We waited about an hour outside the airport and finally got in due to crowds and checked in. We then left the airport and met Nadir again who drove us about a mile out of airport and introduced us to his son

His son took us to port au prince. We started up north and fromthe first minutes in all you saw was devastion. Tent cities sprung up and ran for miles and miles. Houses and buildings were in all phases of destruction. We saw buildings that had pancaked onto of itself, roofs and exteriors of homes collapsed and anything you could imagine. As we travelled further south in the city nearer to the epicenter of the quake it got worse and worse. UN tanks and soldiers were abundant from every country. We saw schools that we completely flattened. We saw schoolchildren that were having outdoor classes at the tent city. We then travelled further into downtown. We saw many flattened cars still under ruble. Driver told us they can't even be sure if bodies are still in there. They all stunk. The smell was terrible. People were working for the govt for 3 dollars a day trying to remove rubble.


Epicenter
As we got near the epicenter our driver told us we could no longer get out of the car. He said someone had punched him on his hand with a gun here last week and robbed him. He claimed this area was being controlled by prisoners from the prison that had collapsed nearby. People were digging through the rubble. He explained the area is so bad and locals so desperate that they are looking for bodies to steal from. He told us when they find bodies sometimes they find money and jewelry. We took pictures in this area but moved quickly through it. The devastion was crazy. Buildings completely demolished. I think it looked like a war zone must look. He told us stories of relatives ad friends lost. He said it was 42 seconds of hell he is 27 with a wife and 2yr old. He said the floor and walls just started moving like he was on a wave. Everyone was in the streets and it went silent then only wailing and screaming. Seeing it was something else. You could see how hard life was and how hard it had become.


His house
We went to his house but only saw back as it was damaged. We met his wife and child who were living a fairly difficult life in a small shack. His neighborhood had all tents in the street. Most of the neighborhoods had tents propped in the middle of residential streets. The roads were not nearly as bad as Cap Haitien but we did encounter areas that were impassable due to cracks in ground and bridges down. We crossed on bridge that I was a bit nervous on. Part of the bridge was torn apart but we went across anyway

Tent city

We arrived at one tent city that was at the local university. The actual college was destroyed all that was left were shells of buildings and stairs leading up to nowhere. We arrived through a makeshift gate and someone lifted it for us. On the way in there was a sign for a hotel which no longer existed. We got out as our driver told us that many people from his neighborhood were living in this section of the tent city. Whole neighborhoods were relocated together. As we walked through u saw the devastation on the peoples faces. The tents were almost touching in some areas with no privacy. Water was shared at various spots and people were living in misery. The inside of temts were basically just floors and people living on them. The area was dirty. We started to work our back through the city to find the hospital. On way back we ran into his friend with child. The child was missing a big part of his foot. He was about ten and a building fell on him. He was lodged underneath and they pulled him out after a day. Apparently they pulled part of his foot off. It was heartbreaking as Karen felt he definitely needed medical care. We moved further in the tent city towards the hospital. The hospital looked like a long tents. We couldn't go in as the gates were closed so we hiked back out of past all the people in misery.

Airport
At this point we needed to head back to the airport. We videoed miles and miles of tented cities. We passed more and more destroyed buildings, banks, trucks, and homes. We passed Cite Soliel the worst slum in Port-Au-Prince. The driver told us there are a few murders a day there now. He wouldn't ever go in there as way too dangerous especially after the quake. As we got closer to the airport we started slowing to a stop in the road. Now up until this point the car had stalled a number of times and every time he stopped and turned off the engine it took awhile to start again. Bad battery it seemed. Well this time he ran out of gas. Fortunately for us we were only a block or so from the gas station. So the driver and I got out and began pushing the car through traffic. It was close to 100 degrees and I was definitely not in the mood to push but had no choice. We got to the gas station and I guess the driver was happy as we didn't run out of gas further away from the station. That too was short lived as the station had run out of gas. We waited while he found another station with a gas can and filled it with a gallon of gas. You would think after that he would stop and put in some more gas but he kept on going. We stopped and got a "meal", Oreo cookies and starburst as the store really dint have a lot of food. The shelves were bare. We finally got to the airport and waited another hour to get in and now on way back to NY.