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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- The world is responding to the crisis in Haiti, as people there fight to survive. Many have left the flattened capitol city seeking shelter elsewhere.
Coming Up:
Saturday, Jan. 23:
KSL's Alex Cabrero traveled to Haiti with the military on Friday. He will share his experiences with us on KSL 5 News at 6 and KSL 5 News at 10 tomorrow.Friday night, KSL News reporter Alex Cabrero returned to the United States after a brief trip to the devastated country. He flew there with the 419th fighter wing from Hill Air Force Base and spoke to us once he was back on American soil.
Alex said he flew to Haiti with 15 Air Force reservists from Hill Air Force Base. The airmen were dropped off at the airport in Port-au-Prince and will spend several weeks there, clearing the airport and creating more runway room so that humanitarian efforts can continue on a bigger scale in the country.
On the flight back to Orlando, Fla., Alex was accompanied by several U.S. citizens and a few Haitian orphans.
"There were about a dozen orphans who were a victim of this earthquake -- either they lost parents or they were just quickly adopted by American citizens -- but they were on the plane coming back from Haiti," Alex said.
Deseret News:
Healing Hands for Haiti founder left speechless by destruction
Utahn Jeff Randle found himself speechless this week as he got his first look at the Healing Hands for Haiti rehabilitation complex he helped found more than a decade ago.Alex was not able to leave the airport while he was in Haiti, but several Utah volunteers are there and are sending KSL News new video, photos and information about the relief efforts every day.
Video we received Friday shows an orphanage in Haiti crumbled into nothing. Leading the tour is Carl Dempsey, a member of nonprofit organization Children in Need, founded by Utahn Rebecca Maesato.
Dempsey shows where the children and workers are sleeping, and where they're getting their drinking water.
"Just beyond the pile of cinderblocks, they actually have a well that's functioning. It actually still works, but the water comes up dirty," Dempsey says.
More images arrived Friday from Desert News photographer Jeffery Allred. He's traveling with reporter Scott Taylor, following a group of volunteer doctors and nurses with the LDS Church's first response medical team.
"Yesterday I was at a hospital watching patients leaving the hospital after having a limb amputated and being taken for post-op out into large canopy tents on the cement courtyard outside the hospital," Allred says.
Taylor says there are signs of life regaining a degree of normalcy -- some shops are slowly reopening; some people are returning to work. There are also more reports from Bennie Lilly, who's organizing LDS church relief efforts for Haiti. He says there are many challenges in distributing supplies -- roads are blocked, and one of their cars was crushed in the earthquake.Still, Lilly says they're slowly helping the estimated 5,000 people waiting near the nine chapels in the area.
"We have nine chapels, and we have about 5,000 people gathered around the chapels, and what they're looking for is a safe place to stay," Lilly says.
The one thing we're hearing echoed over and over again is the need for monetary donations. Organizers say it helps them get the critical supplies they need now, minus the pricey shipping costs.
There are several reputable organizations who are accepting financial donations for Haiti. CLICK HERE for a list and information on how to donate.
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Story compiled with contributions from Alex Cabrero andSarah Dallof.
