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SALT LAKE CITY -- The devastation in type Haiti is hitting close to home for the Utah-based non-profit group "Healing Hands for Haiti." Separately, the Salvation Army has activated a radio network to help locate people in the country devastated by Tuesday's 7.0 earthquake.
Dozens of employees of "Healing Hands for Haiti" -- all locals -- were in the country at the time of the quake. No U.S. members of the group were there. The clinic is located about 10 miles from one of the nicest hotels in Haiti, which is now a pile of debris.
Close to 50 people are at the clinic each day, and as of Wednesday morning, only two people had e-mailed to say they were OK.
Randle said he also heard from another group member, but said he doesn't know if anyone else from the organization survived.
"The more I hear, the more I fear for the worst," Randle said.
Randle established "Healing Hands for Haiti" in 1998 as a way to help provide medicine and rehabilitation services for physically disabled adults and children in the country.
Groups from the U.S. and Canada travel to the Kay Kapab clinic each year, many of them from Utah. Most of the time they work with patients in the clinic or at a nearby orphanage.
Wednesday, Randle learned that orphanage was destroyed.
"I'm hoping that our compound is still intact and usable. Then we will send our team and anyone else who can go quickly and we will set up an aid station," he said. "Any way that we can help."
Randle said Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, with about 70 percent of the people living in poverty.
He said even in a heavy rainstorm, homes are washed away and people die. He said this earthquake is going to be devastating.
"There will be devastation and deaths from the initial earthquake, but I believe there will be many more thousands of deaths because of the lack of infrastructure, and the roads there are hardly passable in the best of times. Getting the relief to the people is going to be a herculean effort," he said.
Randle said his organization is holding an emergency board meeting Thursday night to discuss how to get help to Haiti quickly. A team from Minnesota is scheduled to go to the country this weekend and is in the process of gathering donations.
Randle said he hopes the airport runway open so they can get to the country as soon as possible.
E-mail: spark@ksl.com
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