Haiti Updates

Posted by Mercy Ships staff on Jan 17, 2010 at 12:08 pm

January 18, 2010

The situation in Haiti continues to be difficult as the first response teams are starting to make slow progress in Haiti. Our partners on the ground continue to give guidance as to their needs and our Assessment Team has landed and is providing information for mobilization of our Disaster Response Teams. This is a very dangerous time in Haiti and your prayers are needed as we ask God to keep all of these people safe.

Here are a few more photos from our Humedica Partners.  All photos are copyright Humedica/Schmidt. 

January 16, 2010

One of our long term partners in executing our Field Services in Africa and Disaster Relief around the world has been Humedica.  We are currently strategizing with the Humedica Team and receiving information from their first response teams already on the ground in Haiti.  This information is a tremendous help to Mercy Ships as we develop our Disaster Response Teams.  We must work together to make the biggest and sustainable impact on those that need us most, we are very thankful for partners like Humedica that help us to achieve these objectives.  We just recieved these images. 

All images copyright Humedica/Schmidt.

Our Assessment Team is on the ground in Haiti and working with our Partners on the ground to determine volunteer need/location for support. The first Medical Team we have supported with Medical Volunteers and Medical Supplies has finished loading these supplies in our warehouse in Texas and will depart on Monday morning for Haiti. Please keep these teams in your prayers!

January 14, 2010

Mercy Ships Activates Response to Haiti

Assessing the Greatest Need 

To donate to Haitian relief, click here.

Garden Valley, Texas, January 14, 2009-

Mercy Ships has mobilized its Disaster Response Team to address the destruction that has occurred in Haiti.  This Team has been designed to assess and activate Mercy Ships volunteers and assets to address specific need in relation to medical and nonmedical issues. The execution of our Disaster Response will continue for many months and possibly years to address all that has happened to the people of Haiti. 

This is consistent with our focus of providing sustainable relief to the areas we are serving with the assurance of local partners that can keep the relief effort continuing long after the Teams have returned back to their homes. A good example of this is during the Tsunami tragedies in Indonesia where we had teams that dealt with medical relief, but also had teams come in after the initial clean up to help to re-establish the local fishing industry. Because Mercy Ships is not structured to be a first responder agency, they will not normally engage in activities typically associated with search and rescue or ‘immediate response’ efforts.

 In relation to specific Haitian Teams, the decision to mobilize teams will be an evolving process as we seek to address the needs of our partners on the ground.  These teams will be both medical and nonmedical and mobilized in relation to skills needed and the partner’s ability to support and sustain the program. Mobilization may occur within days, while other teams may be asked to serve in the months ahead.  The nature of the destruction will cause this process to be quite the logistical challenge for our Disaster Response Team and the patience of our volunteers is much appreciated.

We have an immediate need of funding to support the mobilization of these teams.  We also need volunteers to supply their contact information with the skills that they can offer.  Teams will be formed in the future based off the volunteer database and specific needs for the specific program.

Mercy Ships operates the entire organization under the same premise whether it is with our ships or with our Mercy Teams.  We have very set procedures that allow for maximum benefit from every donation and skill from our volunteers.  The nature of any disaster is for immediate response to cure all that is wrong.  Our focus is to respond quickly, but in a manner that ensures long term success at delivering hope and healing to those that have been affected by the tragedy.  Our organization has not been designed to come and help and just leave.  We want to be able to bring forth aid, but also help to build for a sustainable future

Many are already following the fluid updates on the Mercy Ships’ website at www.mercyships.org .   Our focus is to respond quickly, but in a manner that ensures long term success at delivering hope and healing to those that have been affected by the tragedy.

January 13, 2010

Press Release:

Mercy Ships Mobilizes To Aid in Haitian Disaster

Garden Valley, Texas, January 13, 2010 -The most powerful earthquake to strike Haiti in more than 200 years has left parts of the impoverished Caribbean nation in ruins, destroying buildings and burying people in the rubble.  The earthquake measured 7.0 and buildings all across the capital of Part-au-Prince have collapsed, including the presidential palace and the headquarters of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti.

“We were in contact with our partners on the ground in Haiti within 2 hours after the earthquake had occurred.  Our Disaster Relief Mercy Team’s response is mobilizing to address both medical and non-medical relief,” says Sam Smith, CEO of Mercy Ships.

“We have trained personnel and the systems in place to mobilize in these situations.”

The biggest need right now is financial support. If you are interested in supporting the Mercy Ships disaster relief effort, please click here.

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