Events
News Story
In the Time of Devastation
February 5, 2010
By Michele Cowart
  • On Tuesday, January 12, 2010, Rotaries Dist. 5890 and the Bellaire Club travelled to Haiti on a mission trip. Their goals were to visit a hospital and orphanage. Most importantly, they planned to assess the community's needs for fresh water. Dr. Vernus C. Swisher, CEO of Career and Recovery Resources, a Founder of Leadership Houston and Rotarian travelled with the group to help the community in any way possible. Little did they know a catastrophic 7.0 magnitude earthquake was about to strike.

    "Our plane landed at 4:00 p.m." said Swisher. "Due to my lost luggage situation, we were delayed at the airport for 20 minutes."

    During the drive to the Villa Mission Compound, in Port Au Prince, the Rotarians felt the earth shake, but didn't know what was happening. As they peered out of the vehicle window, they saw a lady fall to the ground. The light poles swayed back and forth like palm trees; then they realized they were in an earthquake.

    "We proceeded to Port Au Prince and saw devastation everywhere," said Swisher. "There were throngs of people in the streets screaming, crying and praying. Others were singing and saying, "Praise to God" because they were alive and not crushed by the fallen buildings."

    The drive to the mission residence should have taken 45 minutes. The streets were littered with debris as frantic people ran bewildered searching for loved ones. It took 5 hours to get to the mission area.

    The group stopped at the Diquini Hospital of Haiti, where they found people injured with bruises and broken bones. "There was blood everywhere," said Swisher. "Many people were in very serious condition and needed medical care." Amazingly, all the patients evacuated the hospital and occupied the area outside for safety reasons.

    "As soon as we arrived, people begged us for help," said Swisher, "even before we stepped outside our bus. We were travelling in a hospital vehicle and they thought we were doctors. We told them we were not doctors, but we promised to help in any way possible."

    Diquini Hospital was out of supplies, but the group did what they could to make those suffering feel some comfort.

    "We went inside the hospital to pull out mattresses for the patients," said Swisher, "we used pieces of cloth to help stop the bleeding, talked to them, prayed for them and held their shaking hands." As Swisher looked around at the masses of people, it seemed that there was an endless supply coming for help. "There were many, many severely injured patients. We were not sure if they were going to make it to the next day."

    Thankfully, Villa Mission Compound remained intact. There the Rotarians were able to stay during their trip.

    By the next morning, many of those hospital patients passed on. "'Although it was heartbreaking to see so many lives lost," said Swisher, "still some people had survived. We were thankful they lived through the night."

    There were many memorable patients at the hospital awaiting care. "I remember a pregnant lady lying on the steps of the hospital. Her dad slept next to her on the stairs. He stayed with her all night. They were still there in the morning," said Swisher. Although this was a preplanned trip, including a detailed agenda, "God changed the itinerary," said Swisher. "There was nothing else to do but deal with the emergency before us. We tried to help the Haitian people as much as possible." Initially, communication with the outside world was impossible. The Rotarians tried their various cell phones, but to no avail. Finally, an iPhone toting team member received a text message from family in the US! With this device, contact was made to the rest of their families. The team also contacted Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee to notify her of the catastrophic situation. The airport control tower was destroyed and not in operation. There was no infrastructure. It was all gone. Haiti was in total chaos. "We could not get a flight out of Port Au Prince," said Swisher. Friday, January 15, team member Michelle Bohreer, Rotary Club President, chartered a flight to the Dominican Republic. After some delay, their plane to America finally departed at 5:00 p.m. "At midnight, Saturday morning we landed," said Swisher. "With joyous tears in their eyes, my wife, 2 daughters and grandson greeted me at the gate. It was a wonderful sight." Swisher is not a self-proclaimed hero. "We are all a part of this human family. If you saw someone in that condition, you would want to roll up your sleeves and do what you could to help those kids with crushed bones too. I can still see the children. I think anyone would have jumped in to help. We were right in the middle of an earthquake and we wanted to help," said Swisher. "My colleagues, Michelle Bohreer, Vicki Brentin, Surpris Cherazard, Genelle Edwards, and Suzanne Edwards and I are continuing to spread the word about the chaotic situation in Haiti; the desperation, hunger, thirst and need for medical attention. The Rotary Club of Houston is collecting donations for Haiti. A great idea is get your church to adopt a Haitian family.

    http://www.rotary.org/RIdocuments/en_pdf/haiti_earthquake_relief_daf_en.pdf

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