The following is the sixth of many field reports that will be sent from our Haiti field reporter Kirk Noonan
The sun has only been up for a couple hours, but already the streets are full as Haitians go to church, flee the city, search for food and water, or sift through the rubble that once was their homes.
“The Haitian people have a history of being resilient and bouncing back from tragedies,” says Steve Aldrich, missionary to Haiti who is working with Convoy of Hope. “but there remains tremendous need.”
On Delmas, one of the main roads where the devastation was the worst in Port-au-Prince, people gather around vendors who are selling bread, fruit and other food products.
Flanking the street, buildings flattened like stacks of pancakes have furniture, mattresses and even bodies dangling precariously between squished levels.
“In the future, as the international community helps in this crisis, there is going to continue to be long-term need for health, food, water, and lodging,” says Aldrich.
You can help with those needs.
As our assessment team goes down Delmas our trucks slow to a stop because a throng of people surround the bodies of two young men in the street. Both have their hands tied behind their backs and have been executed for reasons unknown.
Tragedy and despair seem to loom over the city and its people. The bodies of the young men are a grim reminder that life in Haiti is precarious.
But a conversation yesterday with a Haitian man—who received food from Convoy of Hope—might truly reflect people’s resolve and love for life.
“I’m alive and on the earth still,” he said. “And our family will do whatever it takes to survive.”
A donation to Convoy of Hope will help spread hope in Haiti.
