Concern Blogs

Supporters of Concern Worldwide Michael Londra, Susan Finucane (Concern worker), Patty Mulvihill McMenamin and Kathy Adler attended a pre-event celebratory reception for the 2010 Women of Concern Brigid Awards. All proceeds will go to Concern's relief efforts in Haiti.

I was obliged to return to base in New York last week in order to fulfil my role as Program Officer. It was a difficult decision to make as I felt like I was abandoning the team and the people in need in Haiti, but our programs in other fields beckon, and sadly, time waits for no man. Read the rest of this entry »

Concern nutrition officer Imacula Pierre performs a MUAC measurement on 2-year-old Richard as 28-year-old mother Josephine looks on. They will be among the first patients at Concern's newly reopened nutrition unit.

It is now 11 days after the earthquake, and the Haitian government have declared an end to the rescue operation. It is a sad day for many people as the awful realization sinks in – whoever has not been found alive by now, never will be.

What strikes me, is the acceptance of this tragedy by so many people, ‘this is gods will’ they say, but is it? Over the last 11 days the only chance I have had to really think about this atrocity is when I sit down to write this blog. My head starts swimming and I think of all I have seen during the day, conversations I have had, comments I have heard and it is difficult to digest it all. Read the rest of this entry »

Evans, aged 24, surveys his destroyed home

We did another water distribution today. Standing patiently in the queue was Evans, a 24-year-old teacher whose house was destroyed during the earthquake: “You are the first agency to come and help us here. There are more than 2,000 people in this camp and we need more help.” Evans invites me to visit his house—or to put it more accurately, the remains of his house. Read the rest of this entry »

Young boy at Concern Water distribution, who had just poured a small bucket of water over his face. Photo: Ed Kenney, Concern Worldwide

It’s 6am, I am just getting ready to go to the office: the floor starts to shake. I start to shake. The door bursts open, and my colleague asks, “Should we run?” We stare at each other. The shaking stops.

The epicentre of the aftershock today was only 35 miles away from Port-au-Prince and it measured 6.1 on the Richter scale—this only over a week after the initial hit. No one is certain of the physical damage from today’s quake, but I do know it has damaged the spirits of the people here. People whose houses remained intact had decided to move back in last night, only to be awoken by this shock.  The earthquake fear and tension has increased significantly. Read the rest of this entry »

The heartache, a week after the earthquake, is still palpable. Driving down to distribute critical medical supplies to a health clinic in Carrefour, the epicenter of the quake, I witnessed some horrific things. In an area called Saudelle, the houses did not simply collapse, they were pulverized. So many homes are now merely dust. My fellow Concern team member says, “This is my neighbourhood, Susan,” as tears fill her eyes. Out the window, I see three bodies, lying in the open, waiting to be cleared away. I saw many bodies yesterday, and the day before: but I had not yet seen those of children. Today was that day. A small boy, maybe eight or nine years old, was left decomposing on the street. This was the hardest thing I have had to witness yet, and it took all my might to hold back my tears.

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Camp at Place de Paix in St. Martin, Haiti

The situation is becoming more difficult and violence is filtering out onto streets as the Haitian people demand more assistance. Their patience is faltering but their needs do not lessen. Many of our staff returned to the office today, and emotions were mixed. I was so happy to see them but then saddened as they spoke of their losses; one colleague lost her husband; another, her child. Read the rest of this entry »

Author is: Susan Finucane is a Program Officer for Concern Worldwide US, and was until only a few months ago, Documentation Officer for Concern in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where she lived and worked for over two years. She has been deployed to Haiti to help our team on the ground respond to the catastrophic humanitarian crisis caused by the January 12th earthquake, which utterly razed Port-au-Prince and has left 3.5 million in need of food, water, shelter, and medicine.

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