"For the Least of These"
On January 12, 2010 at 4:53 EST, Haiti was struck by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake; their most severe earthquake in over 200 years. The current estimate of the death toll is 200,000, with some two million suddenly homeless (out of a total population of ten million). Haiti's economy was already one of the poorest in the world, and the results of the earthquake have been no less than devastating.
The number of buildings that have been destroyed is astounding, but the most immediate needs stem from the injuries and illnesses that haven't yet received any attention. This is all complicated by the lack of food, water, and sanitation brought on by such wholesale destruction.
While CSI has managed a number of ongoing medical clinics through the years, it is especially for disasters like this that we exist. In fact, within 45 hours of the quake, the first member of our S.M.A.R.T. team (strategic management assessment & response team) arrived on site in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic to begin purchasing supplies. Toby Brazzel was soon joined by Ron & Terry Brian, Danny Wilkerson, and Mark Hattabaugh. On Friday morning the 15th they drove across the border into Haiti. Their reports mirror the images and narratives coming from other sources.
Their groundwork laid the foundation for a medical team to follow up. On Wednesday January 27 I will accompany Randy "Butch" Clark RN,EMT-Paramedic, Kevin Warren EMT-Paramedic, and Shane Bellard EMT-Paramedic to Haiti for a week. All three of them have extensive experience in disaster situations, and I am honored to join them. Many supplies have been collected and will be shipped from Alexandria, LA to our warehouse in Santo Domingo. We will then drive to our base camp in Haiti to administer food, water, medical care & other supplies.
While many donations have come in, many more will be needed in the coming months, as we plan to send several more teams to Haiti. We definitely need medical personnel right now; but we also need mechanics, and other able-bodied individuals who are willing to do whatever work needs to be done. Later in the year our emphasis will shift more toward construction, and we will need builders, brick layers, plumbers, and electricians.
While no single one of us can do everything, every single one of us can pray/do/give something. Ask God to direct you, and then get involved. Remember the words of Jesus, "if you do it for the least of these, my brethren, you do it unto me".
Marcus L Cobb, MD
Medical Director
Compassion Services International
Dr. Cobb Bio:
Dr. Cobb holds license with the UPCI, and is on the staff of The Calvary
Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, Norman Paslay II pastor. He practiced Primary
Care Internal Medicine for 17 years before completing a fellowship in
Anti-Aging & Functional Medicine in 2007. In 2008 he founded Healthy
Pursuit Medical Center in Cincinnati.
