Clearing the rubble, building hope

Samaritan's Purse teams are focusing their efforts on clearing broken concrete, splintered wood and twisted rebar in the slums of Cite Soleil, using a powerful excavator and dump truck.

On Monday, crowds gathered in front of a medical clinic in the slums of Cite Soleil to watch a powerful excavator lift tons of broken concrete, splintered wood, and twisted rebar into a dump truck for hauling.

The clinic is part of the Christian Church of the Cities, a church partner that is working with Samaritan’s Purse to help distribute emergency relief supplies to thousands of hurting and homeless people in the community.

Work crews are cleaning up dangerous debris from the earthquake to help make the clinic safer and more accessible for patients. A Samaritan’s Purse medical team of two physicians, four registered nurses, and a pharmacist arrived on Saturday to help meet pressing needs in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood.

“We have one clinic doctor who is only able to see about 50 people each day,” said Senior Pastor Leon Dorleans. “When the Samaritan’s Purse team comes, we will be able to do much more.”

Rubble removal is the first step toward reclaiming Port-au-Prince and surrounding towns that were devastated by the January 12 earthquake. Samaritan’s Purse is concentrating on clearing debris from hospitals, clinics, schools, churches, and other facilities.

The rubble clearing follows the visit, last Friday, of Samaritan's Purse President Franklin Graham, who visited a variety of relief efforts and met with team leaders on the ground to plan for a long-term commitment to Haiti.

"Samaritan's Purse will be here for months, possibly years to come,” he said. “Anything we can do for them we do it in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I want the people of Haiti to know that God has not forgotten them. He love them, He cares for them.”

Graham attended a food distribution at the Cite Soleil slums in Port-au-Prince and meet with Leon Dorleans, pastor of one of our church partners, on Saturday.

Samaritan's Purse has distributed food, plastic for shelter, hygiene kits, blankets, and other relief supplies in Cite Soleil, one of poorest areas of Haiti. Heavy equipment operators are working to reopen a medical clinic at Pastor Dorleans’ church in the community.

Conditions remain grim in Haiti three weeks after the massive earthquake devastated the country. More than 700,000 people are still living on the streets with no shelter or in “tents” constructed of twigs and worn sheets. Emergency food continues to be a critical need. Although some small markets have opened, food prices are greatly inflated. Medical facilities are reporting an increase in cases of tetanus, measles, and chicken pox, and there is a growing diarrhea problem.

"These people have very little to begin with," Graham said. "Now many of them have absolutely nothing."

Samaritan’s Purse responded immediately after the quake, and had a disaster assistance team in Haiti the following day to help with water, shelter, medical care, and other emergency needs.

HOW YOU CAN RESPOND:

PRAY: Pray for the survivors of the earthquake, that aid and relief would get to those most in need; for the Samaritan's Purse teams, that they would know where to focus their efforts; that the long-term rebuilding of this nation and the lives of its citizens would begin to take shape.

GIVE: Make a donation to our emergency relief fund and help us continue our ongoing response to the earthquake in Haiti and to other disasters in the future.