Compounding Small Efforts Can Help Haitians Recover

March 12 marked two months since the disastrous 7.0 magnitude earthquake wrought destruction and catastrophe upon the Caribbean nation of Haiti. As a firsthand observer to the death, devastation, and despair, I find the past two months have been a blur of confusion, sorrow, and questioning.

On Jan. 12, I was serving as an interpreter for five members of a Richmond-based Catholic Church Haiti committee on a visit to a partner school, clinic, and church in rural Haiti.

At 4:53 p.m. on that tragic day, our group was seated on the steps of a church in Hinche, a town of 50,000 people located roughly 50 miles from Port-au-Prince. While we did feel the earth shake, we had no idea of the utter decimation and inexplicable horror just a few hours to the south and west.

Less than 24 hours after the quake, thousands of refugees flooded into Hinche in the Central Plateau. By foot, truck, and donkey, critically injured and emotionally distraught women, children, and elderly poured into Hinche. The senselessness of this tragedy evidenced itself in the soot-covered faces of refugees, orphans, and injured survivors -- many of whom fled the ruined capital.

Instantly we saw the effects: price-gouging for staple foods and gasoline, overflowing hospitals, and funeral processions that blocked the street for hours.

Three days after the quake, I accompanied my good friend, a Haitian priest named Father Jean Navarre Bourdeau, to Port-au-Prince, where we found his surviving family members and brought them back to the relative safety of Hinche.

Driving through the rubble and chaos, past bodies engulfed in clouds of dust, I hoped it was all a bad dream. Then Father Bourdeau turned with tears in his eyes and asked me, "Pourquoi, mon Dieu, pourquoi?" -- Why, my God, why?

At one point our Toyota pickup came upon a roadblock. Stepping carefully around debris and human dead, Father Bourdeau and I continued on foot. By some miracle, in a city of 3 million we located his family and friends. On the ride back to Hinche, with 25 new passengers in our truck -- some gravely injured, all hungry -- I wondered why such a calamity could have occurred in the most populous city of the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.

The only American comparison is to imagine if New York, Washington, Atlanta, and Chicago were all destroyed in just 35 seconds in the middle of evening rush hour, killing millions without warning.

Banking, commerce, religious, and governmental sectors each screeched to a halt, paralyzed for days after the quake due to impossible communications and the unfathomable loss of life.

Haiti's Le Nouvelliste newspaper described the quake as a "great Haitian equalizer," noting that rich and poor now struggle daily for food, water, and shelter.

Haitian President René Preval resorted to sleeping under a tent in the quake's aftermath. His residence, le Palais Presidentiel -- Haiti's White House -- remains a mere pile of bricks.

The weak infrastructure Haiti once possessed is no more.

A few weeks ago, The College of William and Mary hosted René Magloire, Haiti's minister of justice. I asked him about a rumored policy granting Haitian police authority to shoot looters on sight. He simply responded, "La vie est dur" -- Life is difficult -- explaining the necessity for the rule of law.

Since my return, I have remained in daily cell-phone and e-mail contact with Father Bourdeau and my many Haitian friends. Each day I post their news and pictures on my Web site -- www.hincherelief.wordpress.com.

The large relief agencies move at an excruciatingly slow pace. While small efforts sometimes draw criticism as ineffective or uncoordinated, those personal connections provide the lifeblood to sustain Haiti.

For example, my friends in Hinche have yet to receive any official Red Cross or U.N. support. Their only help came in the form of cash we wired directly. One hundred percent of these funds went to the source. Within hours of the money's arrival, Father Bourdeau immediately bought food for the injured and provided medical assistance to the neediest in his community.

Though the aftershocks are slowing, more dark clouds loom on Haiti's horizon. Two areas untouched by the quake -- Cap Haitien and Les Cayes -- faced torrential rain and flooding. Mudslides have claimed several dozen lives in March alone.

Most experts estimate it will be many months before the reopening of school -- and years before universities recommence.

With the onset of seasonal rains, enormous tent cities in Port-au-Prince serve as breeding grounds for disease. On top of it all, meteorologists predict a strong 2010 hurricane season, only adding to the woes of coastal regions that have yet to recover from three killer storms in 2008.

Finally, the emotional toll proves staggering. My friend Dr. Jean-Claude Alcazar, a learned Haitian psychiatrist (one of only a dozen or so in his country), recently told me about a spike in suicides. He believes most Haitians now suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Many people wonder how best to help. At this point Haiti needs our prayers, donations, and support. With a labor force of more than 70 percent unemployed males, the last thing Haiti could use is a plane full of unskilled well-wishers hoping to rebuild a house or paint a school.

Specifically, I am working to bring several displaced Haitian university students to a Virginia institution so they can finish their studies in a year or two and return to Haiti as leaders in the recovery effort.

I firmly believe that an internally directed rebuilding plan offers the only viable possibility for Haiti to rise from the ashes. Such a process requires well-educated Haitian leaders with skills such as English proficiency, an understanding of democratic fundamentals, and a familiarity with the tenets of free enterprise.

My goal is to bring six students, whom I know personally and call regularly, to Barber-Scotia College in Concord, N.C. by Aug. 1. Barber-Scotia (BSC) is a small private and Christian institution located just outside of Charlotte. Founded shortly after the Civil War, BSC is a historically black college whose alumni include famous African-American leaders such as Mary McLeod Bethune.

The administration at Barber-Scotia is providing a two-thirds scholarship for each student. The remaining cost for all six students is estimated at $50,000. Concord is home to a small Haitian-American community that is interested in providing "host families" for these students, in addition to support from our Richmond partnership.

If you or anyone you know would like to make a tax-deductible donation to help cover these expenses, please visit my Web site or e-mail me. We are also soliciting donations of clothing, laptop computers, and school supplies. Another challenge is finding money for plane tickets, and we are encouraging anyone with contacts in the airline industry to lend a hand.

In addition, support from Virginia's political leadership in regard to obtaining visas would be greatly appreciated. Through this small effort, I am positive that we, as a Richmond community, can make a profound and lasting impact on the future of Haiti.

Danny Yates describes himself as "a proud product of Richmond Public Schools." He graduated last year from Maggie Walker Governor's School and is now a freshman at William and Mary pursuing studies in French and government. He is a member of the St. Bridget Catholic Church-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart Joint Haiti Committee, which is part of a larger Diocese of Richmond effort with the Diocese of Hinche. Contact him at dannycy@aol.com. To learn more, go to www.hincherelief.wordpress.com.