Sources: HCJB Global, Samaritan’s Purse (written by Ralph Kurtenbach and Harold Goerzen)
A quick response by HCJB Global Hands has put an emergency medical response team from Ecuador en route to the devastation on the Caribbean nation of Haiti after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck on Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 12.
In response to Samaritan Purse’s request for a medical help, International Healthcare Director Sheila Leech immediately began assembling a medical team including surgeons, family physicians, nurses, an anesthesiologist and a water engineer.
A registered nurse, Leech is heading the group as she has done in previous disasters around the world such as in 2005 when a medical team from Ecuador helped in quake relief efforts on Nias Island, Indonesia.
Samaritan’s Purse is centering its relief efforts at a 100-bed hospital in Port-au-Prince operated by a local partner, Baptist Haiti Mission. The hospital, 20 miles from the quake’s epicenter, only suffered minor damage and has electricity from back-up generators.
The hospital’s director of operations, Kyrk Baker, called the situation “overwhelming” with patients lining the floor. “There are big box vans coming in with people to see a doctor,” he told Samaritan’s Purse. “It’s just unbelievable the amount of people that are lined up trying to get basic medical care.”
Samaritan’s Purse has chartered a DC-3 cargo plane from Missionary Flights International (MFI) to transport supplies such as water, shelter materials, medical supplies and other emergency needs to Port-au-Prince. The first flight departed from Fort Pierce, Fla., Wednesday afternoon. A second flight on Thursday will carry additional supplies and staff members from Samaritan’s Purse and HCJB Global.
Family physician Dr. Steve Nelson said search and rescue efforts will be essential during the first few days. “We expect we will be receiving patients with severe traumatic injuries,” he explained. “A lot of the early response will be surgical, yet we hope to be able to manage some of the other kinds of problems that will be seen early because of the lack of water and infectious disease.”
While team members will concentrate on meeting people’s physical needs, their spiritual welfare is also pre-eminent. “We’re going with a team that we know—people who love the Lord and want to share Him in every way as we’re in this ministry situation of disaster response,” Nelson added. “We want to be able to show the face of Jesus as we work with our hands. We trust the name of Jesus will be lifted up in all that we do.”
HCJB Global and Samaritan’s Purse combined efforts after two natural disasters in 2007, including an earthquake that left thousands homeless in Pisco, Peru, and flooding that inundated southern Mexico’s Tabasco state.
The quake struck while an HCJB Global engineer was in Port-au-Prince to repair an automation system for partner radio station Radio Lumière. The engineer and three other technical workers, including two volunteers from the U.S., escaped injury. Operated by the Evangelical Baptist Mission of South Haiti, Radio Lumière is a radio ministry with a network of nine stations that reaches 90 percent of Haiti’s population. Radio station 4VEH, operated by cooperating ministry One Mission Society (formerly OMS International) in Cap-Haitian, was not damaged by the temblor.
“Our hearts go out to the suffering people of Haiti,” said Ken Isaacs, vice president of programs for Samaritan’s Purse. “We appreciate the close working relationship we have with HCJB Global for this response. Please pray that God will use this relief work for His glory.”
“This is an opportunity to show God’s love in a tangible way,” added HCJB Global President Wayne Pederson. “We feel privileged to play a small part in this emergency operation.” In order to donate to the relief efforts, please visit www.hcjbglobal.org.
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