Post Earthquake Trip

For the past year, I have been working as International Manager for Healing Hands for Haiti, an international not-for-profit organization working with the population of disabled Haitians. We operate a full-time, Haitian-run clinic in Port-au-Prince. The clinic includes a therapy gym, a prosthetic and orthotic lab (where our techs make limbs and adjustments), and exam rooms where Haitian doctors diagnose and treat patients.

The latest known figures show that there are more than 800,000 people with disabilities in Haiti. From January to November of 2009, HHH staff attended to 6,021 patients. We fabricated approximately 144 new limbs in 2009.

Following the earthquake in Port-au-Prince on January 12, 2010, the number of Haitians with disabilities increased exponentially. Media and aid organizations are reporting many amputations and severely injured people throughout Port-au-Prince and the surrounding regions. As one of the only organizations in the entire country of Haiti, Healing Hands for Haiti will be essential for the long-term recovery of the city and country as a whole. Healing Hands for Haiti’s headquarters and staff were affected dramatically by the quake.


I leave tomorrow for my first trip since the earthquake. I will be helping to reestablish our administration, begin distribution of an Emergency Relief Fund for our staff, help to solidify plans for the future of our property and Healing Hands for Haiti operations.