HAITI DISASTER RELIEF
THURSDAY February 14, 2010
GREATER CARIBBEAN ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT FOUNDATION
by Anitra Thorhaug (Laureate 1987)

Longer Term Earth Quake Disaster Relief Plans are being formulated for the following remaining acute problems related to the earthquake and have been successfully presented to the government: 1.) Care for those with remaining disaster-related medical problems in the Gressier clinic; 2.) Employment and food for the Gressier inhabitants of whom 80% are farmers ; 3.) Infrastructure destruction rehabilitation, particularly water access and roads; and 4.) Housing rehabilitation badly needed by inhabitants now homeless before the spring rains come in May.

Team #5 arrived in Haiti late week of February 8-11 while Dr. Thomas Powers was Chief of Party and it consisted of Dr. Barry Nathan (pediatrician, Ann Arbor), Dr. Ryan Jackson (general medicine, El Paso, Texas and Wyoming), Dr. Eric Meyer (Anesthesiology , wilderness emergency medicine, Wyoming).  The Gressier Clinic has become operable over the past 12 days. Team # 4 saw about 750 patients of the 2000 injured in the greater Gressier area. Team #5 is seeing the remaining injured, while planning, and erecting equipment which is arriving each day to make the Gressier Clinic more efficient for the treatments. Dr. Powers has temporarily left leaving Dr. Ryan Jackson as Chief of Party. During these operations, the team #3 and $ have been training Haitian physicians and other medical personnel in emergency and other medical and disaster treatments. Equipment such as generators, a water purification system, and furniture for the clinic has been donated by the Wyoming Haiti Group, by the Ministry of Environment of Haiti, and transportation and lodging by Dr, Christian Sanon clinics, Organization ROME-Haiti while private donors also have donated materials. The USAID and UN Food Program has donated water and food to the citizens of Gressier.

Money is desperately needed for MD's transport independently within Haiti and gas as well as to have security guards for transports of medical teams, food and supplies back and forth to the Gressier clinics. Our team may be slowed for lack of funds. Please donate, every bit helps. Hopefully training for paramedics, nurses who can extend and expand the physician’s capabilities is needed in the long run and we are attempting to have them trained along side our working medical teams now. The final capability of Haitians healing and caring for other Haitians is important. This is what we are attempting to leave behind. A lot more capacity than before our teams went to Haiti. We expect to be there healing injuries for months in the future followed by helping restore Gressier.

The way to contribute is the http://www.gceef.org web site and push the contribution button on this site. One $25.00 donation will bring back 1/10 of a volunteer doctor who has treated many hundreds of patients. $250 will run gas for 4 trips to clinics and hospitals for a group of medical teams or bring back a doctor to departure point of his trip. All your donations help. Thanks.
 
Anitra Thorhaug, Ph.D. President. Greater Caribbean Energy and Environment Foundation.