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Methodists take help and hope to Haiti By Methodist WriterR ~ For The Guardain: On Sunday, January 24, 2010 a delegation from the Bahamas Conference of the Methodist Church visited the third largest city in Haiti, Les Cayes, which is located 120 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, to assess the situation in the Haitian province and get the firsthand experience of how and where the emergency supplies the church sends to the region is received and distribution. The delegation was led by Mr. Henry Knowles, general secretary of the Methodist Conference and Mr. Abraham McIntyre, executive director of the Bahamas Methodist Habitat, the mission arm of the conference. Also on the trip were Ms. Cameron King, long term volunteer and pilot for Methodist Habitat, along with other volunteer pilots from the United States. The delegation flew into Haiti with two airplanes loaded with supplies for the community. In partnership with the Rotary Club of The Bahamas and Odyssey Aviation, Methodist Habitat continues to fly airplanes into provinces outside of Port-au-Prince. "Most people do not realize that Haiti is more than just Port-au-Prince and although the capital city was most directly affected by the earthquake, as a result of the devastation in Port-au-Prince millions of people have relocated into the other much smaller provinces, completely overwhelming the resources of the communities," said Knowles. "The commitment of the Methodist Church and Rotary is to provide emergency aid to these provinces. America is in Port-au-Prince now, but very little attention is being given to the rest of Haiti." Within 48 hours of the earthquake the team began organizing local and foreign volunteer pilots to fly items into Haiti. More than 45 flights have been made, delivering 60,000 pounds of badly needed medical and humanitarian supplies, into such provinces as Les Cayes, Jeremie, Port de Paix, Cap Haitien, Jacmel, Pignon, and the island of La Gonave. "This trip to Les Cayes was an important one for us," said McIntrye. Not only did we want to see the distribution network but we wanted to meet some of the wonderful people who have assisted us on the ground in Haiti and visit some of the places we are helping. We did not want to be tourists in Haiti, snapping pictures and doing photo ops, we wanted to be participants in ministry." "We need help here too," said Dan Shoemaker, president of the Reciprocal Ministries International, the hub of humanitarian aid in Les Cayes. Everyone focuses on Port-au-Prince, no one is focusing on us. Half of Port-au-Prince has moved out. Homes in Les Cayes have taken in up to 20 people from Port-au-Prince. We have a growing disaster on our hands too and we do not have the resources to cope with it." According to Shoemaker, 1,500 airplanes have been turned away from Port-au-Prince but rather than sending them to other places in Haiti, they are sent back home. The Methodist delegation first visited the Cite Luiere Clinic, a mission hospital where medical aid was sent from The Bahamas. The hospital was inundated with hundreds of earthquake victims from Port-au-Prince, all with different degrees of crushed injuries. "We have limited supplies here in this hospital. On a normal day we are outmatched by the medical care needed. We have to make do with whatever we can to treat people," said Dr. Bell, the chief administrator and surgeon at the hospital, as he showed the delegation a man whose crushed leg had to be braced with construction rebar and bondo. "This is a difficult environment to work in, but the spirit of you guys from The Bahamas is so encouraging," he said. The team was assured by Dr. Bell that all medical supplies were being put to use as soon as they arrived at the hospital. "Everything is put to use immediately. We have no time to store anything. The people need them now." The advantage of the small airplanes being used by the Methodist Habitat for Haiti is that they can land on the short airstrips in the rural Haitian provinces, which most large aircraft cannot. Small planes can bring 1,000 pounds of essential aid to save lives, according to Dr. Bell. "In two days after the earthquake we had people coming to our town bleeding and broken with missing limbs," said Benjamin, the local mission center's administrator and Creole translator. "We had no help, but when we heard planes were coming from The Bahamas with supplies, there was much singing in the village. God always provides. God always put people in your way to help you." Tears were shared among the delegation as Benjamin spoke. In the midst of all the pain and suffering happening at the hospital, as the delegates were about to leave for their next stop, singing could be heard from the patients. It was in Creole but it had a profound impact on the group. The next stop was a refugee tent city established for persons from Port-au-Prince. At least 50 tents were set up, each able to house 10 persons. It was at the tent city that the Methodist Habitat delegation met Dr. Robert Leger, past assistant governor of Rotary and chief logistics coordinator for Rotary in the region. Although retired from active medicine, Dr. Leger was the only skilled surgeon in the region as the earthquake victims began to arrive from Port-au-Prince, and he found himself treating hundreds of trauma patients, using whatever supplies he could find or create. The group presented Dr. Leger with the supplies that they flew in with them. Before heading back to the airport Dr. Leger gave the delegation a tour of the government's General Hospital, where they were again introduced to people whose lives were saved through the delivery of much-needed medical supplies and equipment by the Methodist Habitat flights. With every sunrise the many volunteer airplanes of Methodist Habitat take to the southern sky. Their cargos vary but the mission remains the same — bring hope and help to the people of Haiti. Thursday January 28, 2010