The latest pictures

I forgot to mention yesterday that the MOSCTHA blog was updated and that their are photos of Elena and the rest of the team at the orphange in Leogan. The link is on the blog, check it out!

News from Haiti

I received a phone call from Elena this morning and we were able to chat for a few mintues. She said that she is no longer in the capital because their team went to a town called Leogan in the suburbs of Port-au-Prince where they had contacts in an orphanage that needed assistance. She said that things in the capital are still chaotic, as well as saturated, and that help is not reaching those that are in the suburbs. She will be there until Wednesday, February 3, which is when she will return to Santo Domingo and will then send us more stories, information and videos on her time in Haiti.

She said that the orphange that they are in had about 80 children and that only one girl was killed when the orphanage collapsed on them. The orphanage now has the children that survived, as well as those from the capital whose parents have died in the earthquake and have no one to care of them. The MOSCTHA & MUDHA team is there with them now and took clothes, food, water and even some toys to bring some smiles to their faces. She said that they continue to give medical attention to those that need it, but they are focusing most of their attention on the children. Providing them with basic necessities, as well as affection, classes on hygiene, what water they can drink, etc... She said that the kids are amazing and that despite their pain and their sadness they are still able to smile and laugh, especially when they try teaching her to speak in Creole!

That being said, there is still an underlying fear behind their smiles. This can be seen in moments such as when there was another aftershock and one of the walls in the orphanage collapsed. The children woke up and many started to scream and cry and several soiled their pants. She said that despite the volunteers own fears, they are trying their best to put a smile on their faces for the children who have already suffered so much. They are all currently sleeping outside in tents to take precaution and trying to maintain some semblance of normalcy for the children, as much as they possibly can considering the present situation.

It´s so important to keep on helping and to not forget the people of Haiti. She recently worked on a proposal with the MOSCTHA & MUDHA team that was sent in and approved by an international organization asking for money that was accepted and that will allow them to keep on working and helping. Let´s keep on helping them to the best of our ability!

Thank you Georgia State University!

Although I haven´t been able to get through to Elena, I did speak to the MOSCTHA headquarters in Santo Domingo and they told me that the crew has been calling in once a day and that they are all doing well and working very hard. Hopefully we will hear directly from Elena soon, in the meantime at least we know that she is ok.

I would also like to comment on the fact that her alma mater, the Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University, has posted a feature on her experience, as stated in a message posted on yesterdays blog posting. I would like to thank GSU and Jenifer for their help in promoting Elena´s cause and her work in Haiti. She is such a small part of something so much bigger, but perhaps her small part can help make someone else's world a better place and we can help her achieve that by spreading the word and sending MOSCTHA our donations. Thank you everyone for your help! Let's please not forget about Haiti.

You can see the feature at:
http://robinson.gsu.edu/news/newsmakers/bargo.html

Let´s not forget about the children

I haven´t heard from Elena, but she did advise me that it would be difficult to stay in touch on a daily basis due to the lack of cell phone and internet service. As soon as I hear from her I will be sure to post it on the blog. In the meantime, I´m posting an article in today´s The New York Times about the children of Haiti and ask that you please not forget about them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/world/americas/27children.html?th&emc=th

Pictures from Haiti

Haiti in ruins

Still smiling :) despite the pain

Waiting for help

Dr. España hard at work

Helping

Waiting for help

Their home´s

People we´ve helped

Crossing the border

The MOSCTHA Crew

Elena´s Blog Post

Day 2: Haiti

We woke up extra early today to begin organizing the medication. This is probably one thing that most organizations are lacking, ORGANIZATION! We all came to Haiti with a purpose. but the problem is you have everyone wanting to do the same thing but not wanting to work together. Today we are headed to a church to set up a health clinic, 7 doctors, 2 paramedics and me and after my job well done on day 1, I have officially been given the name Dr. España!

We arrived at the church and began setting up shop, medication, medical supplies, water, and everything else you can imagine we would need, which was all made possible with your donations!!As soon as the word was out that there was help in the area people swarmed towards the church gates. There was literally a line half a mile long outside the gates of the church, our services were in high demand! It was so high that we had to close the gate due to overcapacity ( the picture of this is on the MOSCTHA blog update from Friday). Once again we began working, taking care of infected wounds, sticking injured victims, stabilizing broken bones and much more. There were mothers who showed up with their infant, which the majority were malnourished and hadn´t eaten in days. We worked long and hard for over five hours, with no resting or stopping, and the only reason we stopped was because we ran out of medical supplies. This just shows you how necessary it is to help these people. In one day we saved over 300 lives!

I think that what scares me most about this situation is how long term it will be. The people in Haiti are trying to function, trying is the key word here. They are trying to get by, but what we fail to realize is that eventually all the water will be contaminated, that people who haven't been treated will die and that the people who are starving most likely won´t stand a chance. It makes you question if there is still hope, but what we have to do is help show these suffering people that there is hope! We need to help give them a second chance.

I know very few Haitians in the United States, but the ones I know are all amazing people and I see a reflection of that in the Haitians that I have had the honor to meet here. They call me their family and they treat me like family as well. They smile and tell me their stories and spend time with me every night teaching me their language, Creole, even though some of them have just lost everything including their family. If anyone deserves another chance in this world it's them.

More updates from Elena

I'm ok. We are in the capital at our camp site. We are going to be staying here for another two weeks...I'm going to try and send you some blog updates, but keep in mind that they can only turn on the electricity for 20 min everyday, if even that! Cell phone service is horrible and I have to take cold baths like I'm living in the stone age with a bucket and soap! My experience so far has been amazing, as well as difficult.

I think this is where my heart is... I'm sorry for not being able to keep in touch, it´s just very difficult. Haiti is not as dangerous as the news makes it out to be. We have extra security so you guys don't have to worry if I can't call for a couple of days. Please just know that I am safe and that the group treats me like a queen and looks out for me all the time, they call me,"la chula del grupo".Please tell everyone that I miss them and love them and that I'm working extra hard!

Elena gives us an update...

I'm ok. Sorry about not being in touch, but we´ve been working around the clock. We are in Port-au-Prince, the situation is bad but we are in a secure area. I don´t even know where to start telling you about my experience here...We got here on Wednesday, early in the morning. Getting across the border was extremely time consuming because the US Coast Guard was controlling everything and they were only opening up the border twice a day, at 6am and 6pm. If you´re not there in line with your papers ready you can´t get across, but after three long hours we finally got through. It felt as if I was in another world. It was all white and foggy from the lake and all you could see was dry shrubs and dark water with mountains in the background.

There was probably about 150 vehicles that got through and 15 were ours, 11 Cars , a caravan, 2 ambulances and a BIG gua gua (that's what they call buses in the Dominican Republic) we drove for about three more hours on a single dirt road. The small towns we went through broke my heart and made me speechless. The people who live in them live in complete poverty, but ironically the children were always smiling! I fell asleep and when I woke up we were in front of the US embassy, which was in complete CHAOS!! There were probably about 3000 Haitians trying to leave the country. They were surrounding the building and flooding the streets trying to get answers on whether or not they could leave. We kept on driving...

We finally got to Port-au-Prince at 3:00 p.m. It was even worse than what the news had depicted, but not in the sense that there were dead bodies everywhere because there weren´t. It was worse because when you looked in the people´s eyes you could feel their desperation, you could tell that they felt as if there was no hope for them, as if there was nothing left for them. Some people were attempting to sell the remainder of their things just to make a small amount of money to buy water. The most difficult part for me had to be seeing everyone in the street. The people feared going anywhere near a building because they worried that in just another second another aftershock would come and destroy the little bit of life that they have managed to hold onto.

We finally arrived at our camp ground where their were close friends of the people in the organizations that I am here with. The organizations MOSCTHA and MUDHA are made up of Dominicans of Haitian decent and their close friends were the one supporting us and providing us with a place to stay. We all got inside and began setting up our tents because we were not crazy enough to try and sleep in a building. We spent the day getting to know one another, since we would be working hand in hand with each other. After we ate a delicious, yet small portioned Haitian meal (it was VERY spicy!), the medical team headed out to investigate the scene.

After watching the news I thought we would have to drive/walk around as if every step we took we would have to be cautious of our lives, but that wasn't the case. Perhaps the reason for this was that 70% of the people I was with were Haitian and knew just about EVERYONE we encountered. The Haitians were happy to see that there were people in the world that still care about them. The medical team drove around and finally decided to stop. We were in a small suburb of the capital that looked as if it hadn't received any attention or support from any organization. This is where reality set in...

We arrived with a vehicle and ambulance and began checking out the scene. Just about everyone walked up to us with an injury, some were minor, a cut or two, but others were much worse. We had a 70 year old man who was in a wheelbarrel. He had lost one of his legs, half of his arm and he had cuts everywhere about an inch or so deep. This was the first man I helped save in Haiti.The next patient I worked on was a young boy, around the age of six. He was in worse condition, the huge gash in his head was so deep you could see his skull. When we took off his cap it was filled with puss and the cut was extremely infected. All that went through my head was where do I start? It was great having the support of the doctors, seeing as that I am only a certified professional rescuer and don't have any experience in trauma. That being said, I can now say that after working on this boy, I learned what it takes most students to learn in a bit of time in about 5 min. In this crash course I had to remove the infection from the cut as well as scrape the dead skin away. I was provided with a surgeon´s kit (scissors, scalpel, tweezers, gauze, etc.) and I started to scrub. One of the doctors saw me and said in Spanish, "si lo quieres, lo haces duro". This means, if you care about him, you'll scrub hard. Meaning that the only way to save someone´s life is to make sure you scrub hard enough to remove the infection. I scrubbed with all of my might, but as I scrubbed all I can remember is his scream. It ran through every bone in my body, but I knew that when I handed his mother his antibiotics and sent them on their way that I had done a great thing. I had helped to save another life.

We continued to work and didn't return to the campsite until it was dark. I lost my breath as I noticed that none of the lights worked because there was no electricity. Everyone had to sleep on the street, but it wasn´t until I saw a mother and her child curled up in a corner with nothing but a suitcase securing their tiny piece of land for the night that my heart went out to Haiti and it will most likely will stay here.

No news is usually good news...

I´m going to stay postive and not get frustrated with the fact that I can´t get in touch with Elena. I can´t get through on the cell phone, but her friend Edison, who went with her to Haiti, was back in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic today and has said that she and Romain have stayed in Haiti and that they are doing well and that he will look after them. I´ll keep you posted...

Over 300 people have been helped, go MOSCTHA!

Although I was unable to get through to Elena last night, she did send me an e-mail saying that she has some amazing things to tell me. Also, the MOSCTHA blog was updated this morning with pictures, if you look at the eighth picture, the one that says, "Medical teams work continuously..." you can see her wearing a yellow t-shirt standing against the wall, near the table. The link is on the blog, check it out and remember to spread the word that they need help, 300 people is a lot, but there are thousands more that need their help as well! I hope everyone has a great day and please keep Haiti in your thoughts. I´ll update again as soon as I have further news.

Here are two op-ed pieces from The New York Times today that discuss Haitian history and suggest some ideas for future re-building:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/opinion/22danner.html?pagewanted=1&th&emc=th

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/opinion/21kristof.html?em

What can you do?

Last night I called Elena and briefly spoke with her friend Romaine. He told me that they were alright, but that Elena at that moment was working with some Doctors and wasn´t near him. The call was disconnected and I´ve been unable to get through since then. I´ve called the MOSCTHA headquarters and was told that everyone was fine and doing well. They arrived in Port au Prince yesterday and have already starting working. I wish I had more information, but in the meantime I will keep on trying to get in touch and will keep on updating the blog as I know more.

In the meantime remember that in order for Elena and all of the volunteers to be able to help they need our assistance. They can´t work or distribute water and medical assitance if they don´t have supplies. Although we are far, we can do our part. Let´s get to it! I´m attaching an article on how one small community is doing what it can. What can you do?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/nyregion/21towns.html?hp

Haiti's Agony: What It Will Take to Rebuild

Some interesting articles to read:

TIME magazine´s European Issue
Haiti's Agony: What It Will Take to Rebuild

Un artículo de Moíses Naím en el periódico español EL PAÍS
http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Haiti/consideraciones/elpepiint/20100117elpepiint_3/Tes

On the Road

I spoke with Elena last night and she said that they had been on the road for about two hours. It had taken them a bit of time to organize everything and get packed up and that it was about 70 of them on a bus and several cars and that they were being joined by 20 Germans with another organization that had just arrived to help. She told me that it was going to be about a five hour drive, but that they most likely wouldn´t be able to cross the border into Haiti because the U.S. Military had set up a timetable as to when people could cross. She said that once they set up camp that they were all going to be divided into teams, which consist of more or less the following, 2 to 3 Doctors, a water specialist, 4 people skilled in first aid and rescue (in this case Elena) and 4 volunteers. We agreed that I would call her in the morning, which I did and as you can see from my first blog entry this morning she is OK! THey had just crossed the border into Haiti about an hour before and they were going to start setting everything up. She sent me an e-mail of her night on the road which I´m going to post here along with some pictures and a video of one of the medical specialists giving some information on the organization.

Elena´s entry:

We just arrived in jimani after a long and rigorous ride filled with flat tires, dirt roads, and vehicles packed completley with volunteers and supplies. I was half asleep when we got here, but it was the bright lights of border control that woke me up. All 70 of us filled the streets and placed our mats on the ground, check out the pictures, it's not your ordinary king size bed with 500 thread count sheets, but at this moment in time is seems like heaven to all of us.

I'm laying down staring at the stars as I write this and the only thing that is going through my mind right now is that borderline. It's literally the only thing separating me from the reality of chaos on the other side. I've seen pictures, news stories, I´ve even been to some funerals, but I have never been exposed to something as real as what I'm about to expeirence in a few hours. It's rather quiet in the area we stopped in. It's far enough from the hospitals that we are not in the chaos, but close enought to where I can still hear a women crying. I just keep on telling myself that this is not even a glimpse of what is to come tomorrow.

On a happier note...
On our ride to the border I had the pleasure of sitting next to Ouldwin. He is a 29 year old paramedic who is happily married with two children. He is just one volunteer of the many on this amazing team that I'm traveling with. Of course, being stuck in the back seat of a truck we struck up a conversation and I found out that this will be his third time into Haiti for this disaster alone. This does not count the multiple times he was there before, for months, for previous disasters that Haiti experienced. When I look in his eyes all I can see is courage and kindness. It makes me feel good to know I will be working side by side with someone with a heart of gold. I asked him if he enjoyed being a paramedic and if he wanted to continue studying medicine, he said that it´s an honor to be able to help people and if studying medicine will make him better qualified then it's exactly what he's going to do. Being around people like this makes me realize that there are good people in the world. I can only pray to be as good as a person as my friend Ouldwin.

Time to catch a power nap before we begin the second part of our journey into Haiti in 2 hours...

Video of one of the medical specialists

Loading the truck

Water Supply

She is OK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just spoke to Elena at 2:12 Spanish time, at 8:12 a.m U.S. eastcoast time and she is OK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They didn´t feel anything, but they´ve been informed of the aftershocks. They just crossed the border into Haiti and are going to start setting up camp soon. I will post more of her updates in a little bit, but first I just wanted to let everyone know that she is alright.

Preparations

Hi everyone! I´m Elena´s sister, Juana Maria. Elena called me last night and although she is a bit nervous about what she is about to encounter she sounded calm and focused. She was busy helping with all of the preparations. I´m in charge of updating her blog, but I ask that you please, please, please be patient with me because I´ve never done this blog thing before. Elena´s forcing me to become more technologically savvy! She is going to have a cell phone that the organization has given her to do the live upfeeds for their facebook page and she will also be sending me the information so hopefully she´ll have service and we can keep a close eye on her. Please keep her, the Haitians and everyone helping in your thoughts.


U.S. Embassy Meeting









My friend Romaine getting Vaccinated









Getting our supplies ready












Romaine and Barnaby with our supply truck

Flat tire

As a college graduate I followed procedure. I studied hard, got good grades, interned, and networked like crazy. I was told that if I put forth my best effort that in the future it would pay off. This was the true beginning of my 'Camino'.

Camino, in Spanish, means path or journey. Let me tell you a little about myself and then I can better explain the purpose of this blog. I am a recent college graduate from Georgia State University with a B.A. in Business Administration with a concentration in International Marketing. I gave my final presentation of my college career on the last day of July and from that moment on dedicated myself towards what everyone calls the real world. I moved back home to Connecticut and went to New York City in search of my career...

Like thousands of other people in the US I was in search for the opportunity that would allow me to utilize all of the knowledge and education that I had just received at my University. I was told,.... "be patient"... "times are hard"... "you will find something". The hardest part of this process is that I did not know what I was being patient for! As a 22 year old graduate I was just as confused as every other graduate. I was still in the process of finding myself and what was important to me.

During the months of August to December I did the following:

-Applied to entry level marketing positions and interviewed

-Applied to teach English in China

-Applied to the Peace Corps

I’m sure that this lists shows that I wanted to do something with my time; I just wasn’t sure what. Let’s just say I hit a pothole in my Camino, got a flat tire and was stuck. What happens when you get a flat tire? You get out of your car, take off the flat and replace it with a donut...

I spoke with my sister, Juana Maria, and she gave me the only advice that actually made sense. She said, Nena when you don’t know what to do and you are feeling overwhelmed and down on yourself, take yourself out of the bubble for a little bit and focus on something else.... and all of you who know me so well know what that means! VACATION! I worked long and hard helping my cousin with her cleaning business and working some part time gigs as well. I put together enough money to fly myself to the Dominican Republic. My original plan was to get away for New Years and bring in 2010 with a smile on my face and above all, to relax.

I arrived on the island and did just that. My New Years Eve was amazing, but after a week I felt like I hadn’t experienced enough---So what did I do? I pushed back my return date.

During this time I was able to explore this beautiful island. I traveled from the north to the south and the east to the west, emerging myself into a culture so rich and full of life that I can honestly say that I experienced some of the best moments of my life here! But, as they say, all great thing comes to an end. It was Jan 12th when I felt the tremble of the earth, the same tremble that destroyed so many lives in DR´s neighboring country, Haiti.

It was the night that I heard the news about the effects of the earthquake that gave some clarity and insight about my life. I did not have to think twice about the decision I was about to make, I did not have to convince myself that it was a good thing to do... It came naturally. I did some research and found a Dominican organization by the name of Moschta. It is a small organization that does volunteer work both here in the Dominican Republic and in Haiti. I gave them a call and said one thing, I want to help...they gave me their address and here I am.

I will be traveling to Haiti tomorrow, July 19th 2010, to assist with the disaster relief of this devastated country with Moschta. I am traveling with an amazing group of individuals, each one unique in their own way. Doctors from around the world, logistics specialist from New York, energy and water sanitation experts from France, local professional rescuers, and last but not least myself, a retired lifeguard and recent college grad. I have been blessed with the opportunity to travel with such an incredible group and hope that you will all help and support our efforts.

I must admit that at first I was nervous and scared and questioned myself. Yet today, when I confirmed with the director that I was leaving with them tomorrow my hands were still. That’s how I knew I was ready for this journey, but it is only with the support and encouragement of my family and friends (all of you) that I can face this challenge with courage.

Going to Haiti is my donut tire... I am not sure this is exactly what I want to do in life, but for right now I know this is what I am going to do. I hope that in my efforts to help I can find the importance of my life and also impact all of yours.

I will keep you all updated of my travels and progress. Please if you have any contacts that can provide us with supplies (food, water, or medical supplies) please contact me at elenabargo@yahoo.com. If you would like to make a donation please visit www.moschta.org. I can tell you first hand that your donations are being utilized immediately. We received $4,000 yesterday and a team of 5 of us went to buy medical supplies for our mission trip tomorrow. Please take the time to check out the site as well.

Also, along with my updates through emails and blogs Moschta is providing LIVE updates via facebook. If you have not yet become a fan of Moschta on facebook I recommend that you do so.

Thank you all again for your support and please keep Haiti in your prayers.