An LDS Church representative in the Dominican Republic estimated that the church's emergency response arm could be in Haiti for a year helping the country to rebuild.
Bennie Lilly, the Caribbean area welfare manager who is directing the church's assistance, said the focus right now is getting food, water and shelter to the people of Haiti and trying to move the injured out, if possible. He then said that once those needs are met, there will be many, many more needs that will require more than just the staples of survival.
"This is gonna be, as you can imagine, a long-term process," he said. "I suspect we'll be in Haiti maybe as long as a year to try to deal with the issues that they're dealing with."
The First Presidency of the LDS Church also released a statement Friday asking members to donate as much as their funds will allow to help the Haitians.
Lilly has been on the go for 10 days, coordinating with volunteers, church employees and leaders in Haiti and church headquarters in Utah. By Friday, almost 225,000 pounds of food, medical supplies, tents and water had been shipped to Haiti, and two more flights, one donated by Islamic Relief USA, are on their way, according to the LDS Church.
Lilly said the challenge is moving the supplies around the island efficiently so they can get it to as many people as possible. About 5,000 Haitians have congregated around nine LDS chapels spread throughout Port-au-Prince and neighboring communities. All are short on food and water.
That does not take into account the thousands on the streets who have lost homes or who are afraid to go home, who have no resources to get the help they need. "I've been told that our people, as they're traveling around going from chapel to chapel, they have people that are asking them for food, for water," Lilly said.
In addition to the four employees in Haiti, the church sent two mental health professionals to help not only the Haitians cope with the tragedy but also the rescue workers.
Lilly said seeing all the dead people and all those who are hurting is taking a toll on rescuers. "That's been our principal focus right now is to bring some kind of relief, both emotional and spiritual, to our people," he said.
Church members wishing to donate can do so with the regular donation forms; anyone can donate via the Humanitarian Services Emergency Response link at www.lds.org.
Other Haiti items:
• Brent and Lori Rosenlof of Lehi and the rest of the anxious parents waiting to hear about their soon-to-be-adopted children are still waiting. The Rosenlofs' blog entry Friday said they had talked with Chareyl Moyes of Wasatch Adoptions, who was waiting in line at the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince to get visas and humanitarian parole for the children.
• People looking for ways to help the Haitians can donate supplies or volunteer for 2-hour shifts at a medical supplies drive Saturday. The drive, sponsored by Illens Dort's organization, International Aid Serving Kids, will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at the APX Alarm building, 4907 N. 300 West in Provo. Needed items include Hibiclens antiseptic bottles, Neosporin, gauze pads, Ace bandages, Coban wraps, Adaptic Vaseline gauze, bandages, arm slings, gloves, crutches, wheelchairs, splinting materials and a variety of over-the-counter pain medications. For more information, go to www.liftalife.org. Dort also is looking for physicians to volunteer for a relief trip at the end of February.
• UVU is holding an informational symposium and fundraiser at noon on Wednesday in the library auditorium. The discussion will include a representative from the Red Cross, a Utahn from Haiti and earth science professor Daniel Horns. Students also can donate money at any of the 50 collection jars throughout campus.
• The American Red Cross has raised more than $27 million in $10 donations thanks to a texting campaign. For more information on how to donate, go to www.redcross.org.
• Gov. Gary Herbert has been asked to assist if Haitian orphans or refugees come to Utah, and he has spoken with a number of service providers, the Utah National Guard and the Department of Human Services to create preliminary plans. However, Director of Communications Angie Welling said no refugees are headed to Utah at this time.
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