Time out...

It was good to be home. I weighed myself and found out I had lost 10 pounds in 10 days. I did my best to relax over the weekend, but it was impossible to focus on anything but the earthquake. Between friends, family, work colleagues, media, I felt like I was talking about it 24/7. When I wasn’t talking about it, I was reading about it or following on the news. Rubble… Logistics… Aftershocks… Rescues… Orphans… Kidnappers… It never ended.

How is it that the earthquake occurred on the day I arrived in Haiti? I mean what were the odds? Clearly, I was meant to be in Haiti when it happened, and clearly I am supposed to be part of the relief efforts. But I couldn’t stop thinking about what my role would be in helping. I felt like the last eight years of my life had all been in preparation for this very moment and it was time for me to step up in a big way.

I went into the office very focused on Monday morning and did everything I could to help coordinate our relief efforts. Daily meetings at 10:00 AM serve as a time for the management team to come together to share updates and resolve issues. Mike and Claudio were able to hit the ground running with fresh legs and ample supplies. As we received more and more information from our partners, we did our best to meet their needs through cash grants and distributions of commodities such as food, water, and medicines.

Cross International staff members gave me a very warm welcome back in the office. I received hugs from just about everyone, even had a shirt ruined from a lipstick stain to prove it. I must have had twenty people come up to me in the office to tell me how they and all of their friends had been praying for me while I was gone. People back in the office were concerned about my well-being and suggested that I check in with a counselor to make sure my head was straight. I felt fine though minus the fact that every once in a while I felt like the ground was shaking. It was kind of like having come off of a boat after a full day on the water.

The needs of our partners outside of Port-au-Prince, partners like Pwoje Espwa and Haitian Health Foundation, were increasing by the day as tens of thousands of people fled from the city in search of food and shelter. Reports were that up to 100,000 people had fled out to the Grandanse region which meant that families that typically had six or seven people in a household now had eleven or twelve.

The death toll had surpassed 100,000 and was quickly approaching 200,000, and about 300,000 injured people were being treated. It is expected that about 10,000 people lost either all or part of a limb. There were approximately 250,000 houses destroyed, 30,000 business disrupted, and 90% of area schools were destroyed. 60% of the government buildings were destroyed including the National Palace! Port-au-Prince looked like a war-zone and it wasn’t going to change overnight. Fortunately for me, I had the ability to take a time out. Just like that I was able to hop on a plane to Miami and get some R&R before planning my trip back down. But I couldn't stop thinking about all of those people who were still sleeping on the streets of what was once Port-au-Prince. They didn't have that option. I would do what I could from Florida, but felt the urge to get back down ASAP.