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. ..."
Upon arrival Barbara and her team got active in the General Hospital in Port-au-Prince.
"Within one hour of cleaning up and getting the medical equipment that we came with situated in one area, we were receiving patients around the clock 24/7. They were flowing in left and right. People were wheeling in patients in wheel barrows, kids being carried in on their parents backs, pickup trucks were turned into bunk beds in the back bringing in the ill. ..."
Soon they were working on the night shift:
"Our [second] night consisted of numerous births and a lot of gun shot patients. I understand that the prisoners who escaped when the prison building collapsed during the earthquake were out shooting people over their belongings. We saw a patient with 31 gunshot wounds over a bag of rice. ... "
Barbara joined the Haiti Disaster Relief team that formed on 16 January 2010 in New York and went to Haiti to help.
Read the full day-by-day account on her experiences on Youthradio.org.
