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People Don't Stop Having Sex Because There Was an EarthquakeBy Charles King January 21, 2010 The e-mail from Edner yesterday morning was very short: "We had a 6.1 earthquake at 6:03 this morning. I was afraid." We had been e-mailing back and forth yesterday since 5:00 am trying to pin down some promised donations and missing medical personnel. After a quick query to make sure he was all right, we went back to business. (I guess the good thing is that so many buildings have already fallen, it is hard to imagine that a new trembler can do that much more devastation.) Edner asked me about writing a letter to Ambassador Eric Goosby, who is responsible for coordinating U.S. international AIDS activities and asking him to come see what was happening to people living with AIDS and HIV. Christine Campbell, Housing Works' Vice President for National Advocacy and Public Policy has volunteered to work with Edner to write the letter, get it signed by Esther as President of PHAP+, and personally deliver it to Dr. Goosby. Yesterday, Edner had asked me if I could get him some Alacta Plus, a fortified milk powder, for his two and a half year old daughter. Jobanny offered to get that in Santo Domingo and take it in on his next trip. I asked Edner if he needed anything. "A pair of jeans, 34/32 and a few large t-shirts," he responded. He has been wearing the same couple of changes of clothes since the first earthquake. I know Richard Vorisek, Housing Works Thrift Shop President, has been eager do something. So I sent him an e-mail asking if he could put together a little package that I could carry down as hand luggage. Throughout the day I got e-mails about a doll, then a cute outfit, and a whole bunch of other things for the little girl. "What about Edner's clothes?" I wrote. About midnight I got an e-mail from Richard saying they had a whole duffle bagful of wonderful things for Edner and his daughter. I had to send him back a message to pare it down. Just after I hit send I remember that yesterday was the 14th anniversary of the death of Richard's two-year old son. All checked luggage has to be used for medicine and supplies. I would love to give Edner and his daughter the moon in I could, but I can only take what I can carry on board as hand luggage. Meanwhile, after chaotic back and forth, we finally have our first clinic staff going in. Our doctor, Marcelo Venegas, and a pediatrician Jennifer Casper from Massachusetts General Hospital, got on an 11 am flight to Santo Domingo yesterday morning. Jobanny, after taking Vaty and Patrick to the airport in Santiago, drove back to pick Marcelo and Jennifer up at the Airport of the Americas. He took them shopping for foodstuffs and supplies, and drove them to Barahona for the night. They will drive in to Port au Prince first thing this morning and begin setting up the clinic. As soon as they give the word, Edner will go on radio and begin advertising that we are open to see people with HIV. Supposedly we have a dozen other providers already at the airport in Port au Prince who want to work with us. They have 27 pallets of medical supplies with them. But we have been trying to contact them since Tuesday without success. It frustrates the hell out of me that we have those resources right at hand, but can't get to them. Meanwhile, I have gotten several e-mails about an orphanage with 125 children in the district of Carrefour, right near the center of the first earthquake. They have no food or water. There are dead bodies in their well. Several hundred people from the neighboring village are camped on their grounds. Can we help? Lisa Orloff from World Care Center is the one who first asked me if we could do anything. She is going down on Monday and is staying at the United Nations mission. I told her that if she could get me a truckload of bottled water and food, I would find a truck and get half the water and food to Carrefour and fill the rest of the truck with medical supplies, assuming we can get our hands on the 27 pallets. That will get the folk in Carrefour some of what they need and replenish our diminishing food and water supply. Today I will find out if I have two more medical providers going down with me tomorrow. Jesus Aguais of Aid for AIDS has promised me an unknown number of bags of ARVs by this evening. I am going to try checking six bags again with Delta. If I don't have enough medication to do that, I will fill my quota with tents and condoms. They are both critically needed. People don't stop having sex because there was an earthquake. Read all of King's blog posts from Haiti Please consider donating to Housing Works' relief efforts in Haiti. Every dollar makes a difference.
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Charles King Blogs From Haiti  Charles King Charles King is the president and CEO of Housing Works which has been providing services since 1990 to homeless men, women, and children living with HIV and AIDS in New York City and beyond. King is one of a handful of people living with HIV at the head of a major AIDS organization. He cofounded Housing Works with his life partner Keith Cylar. When Cylar passed away in 2004, King took the reins. Born and raised in a small town in Texas, King attended Yale University's law school and divinity school and was ordained as a Baptist minister by an African-American church in New Haven, Connecticut. He conducts a weekly Bible study course at Housing Works' Keith D. Cylar House, where he lives in a small, book-lined studio. King also leads Housing Works' advocacy department and has been arrested dozens of times. Subscribe to Charles's Blog:
Recent Posts: March 2, 2010 - The UN Responds to Calls for Haiti AIDS Strategy, but Activists Are Skeptical March 1, 2010 - UN and UNAIDS Must Address Needs of Haitians With HIV/AIDS February 22, 2010 - A Slow Recovery in Haiti February 16, 2010 - Haiti Progress: St. Marc Clinic Opens, ARVs for Patients Secured February 14, 2010 - On Haiti Day of Prayer, Activists Discuss Long-Term Goals for HIV Clinics A Brief Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by TheBody.com's bloggers are entirely their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of TheBody.com itself. |
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