Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Day in Port-au-Prince

We are up early to catch our morning flight to Port-au-Prince.  We have a busy day planned.  We will be meeting with officials at Grace Children's Hospital (GCH).  Accompanying the ACR Foundation delegation with be Charles Phelps, M.D. (TX).  Dr. Phelps has been a long-time volunteer at GCH.  He and his wife have been providing care for many years.  We will be meeting today with Dr. John Yates, a Canadian physician who has been put in charge of the rebuilding efforts at GCH.  We will be previewing the temporary facility that has been built to serve GCH's needs while the rebuilding takes place.  We hope to see a portable hybrid x-ray unit that was generously donated by Siemens at the temporary site.  The unit was shipped two weeks ago and we hope that it has arrived. 

As a long-term volunteer for UNICEF, I am very excited to touch down in Port-au-Prince.  This will be my first time assisting in the provision of humanitarian aid outside the U.S.  With over 1 million still homeless in Haiti, I am a bit apprehensive about what we'll find.  However, I am excited to have this opportunity to assist. 

I'll try to check back this evening (internet willing) to recap our first full day in Haiti. 

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