csinet's blog

Te Vaka frontman Opetaia Foa'i: "We owe much to groups like the Red Cross, Oxfam and the Volunteer Ministers (the flash of yellow) and all other emergency response groups like them.

"It is with great respect for their hard work and care that I dedicate this album to them."(1)

"So we are driving in there and you start to see these signs, 'Help! Help! We need water and food',spray painted on the side of things with arrows, leading to where people are injured."

Radio and TV host Kerri Kasem tells about her disaster relief trip to Haiti beginning of February 2010 (Podcast).

 

Barbara Albert, New York State paramedic, gives a personal first-hand account of her work in Haiti on "Youth Radio" of Youth Media International:  "My mission began Saturday the 16th.  It was three groups that joined together as one: Bedstuy Volunteer Ambulance Corp. (made of New York State EMT's and paramedics), The Haitian-American doctors and nurses abroad, and the volunteer ministers of the Church of Scientology. Together we formed the Haiti Rescue Team. ..."

A bit of camera footage in high-definition showing the US Navy loading their helicopter for a water drop on a hill in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and short sequences of the flight.

 

A 4.7 magnitude quake hit the south-west of Haiti during last night. It is one of a series of aftershocks since a catastrophic magnitude 7 quake hit the island on January 12. Our Volunteer Ministers, the medical and construction teams, are well. Damage was minor.

 

I met Scientology Volunteer Ministers for the first time in the Dominican Republic, Cheryl, Collin and Matt, who had just flown in from Miami. I told them I was from the States and looking to team up with an organization to go to Haiti to assist in any way possible. I was thrilled when Cheryl accepted my request and allowed me to accompany them to Haiti to assist with the relief effort there, considering the fact other organizations such as the Red Cross and UNICEF had not responded to my request to work with them in Haiti. 

Many Volunteer Ministers who come back from Haiti share the observation that Haitian people are astonishingly resilient and, despite  the misery and even despite heavy injuries, they keep finding solutions to improve survival.

Scientology Volunteer Ministers share this way of life and their motto--Something can be done about it!--resonates with the Haitian population. One month after the earthquake it is now time to help rebuild the infrastructure of the country and get people to work.

Update: From today on regular commercial flights are permitted again to land at the Port-au-Prince's Toussaint Louverture International airport. The first routine flight since 12 January 2010 landed this morning.