Haiti Needs Your Help Now

Photo Credit: www.miamiherald.com

On August 14 a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti’s Southern Peninsula.  The quake damaged many dwellings and buildings, including in the cities of Les Cayes, Jeremie and on the island of Ile a Vache below the peninsula. Over 1,300 have perished as of this writing, with many more expected.  Though the full scale of the damage is still unknown, the temblor was almost as large as the earthquake in 2010, which was the driving inspiration behind Jim Ansara’s creation of Build Health International (BHI) www.buildhealthinternational.org based in Beverly, MA.

Since 2010, BHI has built over 60 projects across Haiti to strengthen health infrastructure.  Despite the recent devastating earthquake, we are grateful to report that all major BHI partner hospitals – St. Boniface Hospital in Fond des Blancs and the University Hospital of Mirebalais -- have seen little to no structural damage and are accepting patients—but we need your help immediately.

I was riveted during the Zoom meeting last night when my husband Jim called “all hands on deck.”  BHI has mobilized its Haitian and US-based staff to complete rapid structural assessments of other hospitals and clinics in the Southern Peninsula so they can save as many lives as possible.

BHI’s Haitian team of contractors, electricians, technicians, water specialists and logistics specialists are on the way to get supplies and personnel to affected communities as quickly as possible. We are working alongside our stalwart partners at Health Equity International and Partners In Health/Zanmi Lasante to repurpose three existing operating rooms for orthopedic surgery at the St. Boniface Hospital. New operating tents, equipment and supplies are being packed at this moment from Massachusetts to be air freighted overnight to Haiti. Surgeons and trauma doctors from Port au Prince and the University Hospital of Mirebalais (HUM) must be flown to the site within 24 hours before Tropical Storm Grace descends, and injuries may become fatal.

For photos of the destruction and neighbors searching for neighbors, see here.

Speed is of the essence. Your generous and rapid response would be indispensable.  Our brothers and sisters in Haiti are extraordinarily strong, but they simply cannot respond to this crisis alone.  Donations can be made at:  http://www.buildhealthinternational.org/donate/