CURE's Haiti team
Haiti (MNN) ― United Nations peacekeepers say anger is rising over the slow distribution of aid to victims of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti last week.
Steve Bostian with CURE International spoke to us from the airport in Port-au-Prince. He describes masses of people wandering in a daze in the streets, all of them homeless, many still searching for loved ones.
City parks have turned into impromptu refugee camps, with the ever-present tarp tents and small fires. A minimal police presence has Haitians tensing the potential for an explosion of lawlessness.
Bostian says those planning the distribution operations are heeding the warnings of the peacekeepers. "For the military convoys of food and supplies that are being planned right now, they're planning the same level of security that they would plan for a warzone convoy."
Emergency teams and supplies flew into the damaged Port-au-Prince airport; others were sent by sea, arriving at a damaged seaport.
However, with no functioning government, there is no one to organize where they go once they land. High security, a rush of supplies, coupled with a lack of organization, space and fuel means there's a bottleneck at the airport, which is slowing distribution further.
That also means that getting bigger aid teams in will be more difficult, and hospitals are short handed. Bostian explains, "At the hospitals I visited, less than 25-percent of their personnel showed up for work--which means they're either dead, or they've got their own family crisis that they're dealing with."
Bostian says their help is needed. The CURE team established a base in the city. They are working in cooperation with the UN, USAID and other organizations. "We were the first medical mission to come in and assess their medical situation and to offer assistance."
CURE is mobilizing more assistance. Next to search and rescue teams, the biggest need will be for surgeons and skilled medical professionals to treat the injured. CURE is coordinating with organizations on the ground to provide their expertise.
Team members responding to the need go with a dual purpose. Bostian says, "That always lends itself to people asking the question, 'Why did you come? Why did you do this?' During those times, we have the opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and answer that question fully."
Donations to CURE's Haiti Relief Fund will be used to provide emergency medical assistance to victims of the earthquake. Click here if you can help.
