CMMB provides medical relief, longterm recovery in Haiti after 7.2 magnitude earthquake

worship, 79 percent endorse the full return of employees to workplaces and 73 percent support the return of students to schools. Concerning the UAE Government’s procedures and initiatives for the COVID-19 recovery period, Al Zaabi stressed the optimism level among community members in August 2021 reached 94 percent compared to 34 percent in April 2020, and the confidence level among community members in August 2021 reached 95 percent, compared to 25 percent in April 2020. Al Zaabi then highlighted some of the achievements of the Ministry of Community Development in serving the local community, with an emphasis on priority categories of select group, most notably senior citizens, people of determination, children and students. In cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Prevention and in support of the efforts to restart schools, a COVID-19 vaccination centre for students, senior citizens and people of determination was inaugurated in the Ajman Customer Happiness Centre of the Ministry of Community Development, he added. The second edition of summer community platform activities and initiatives concluded at the end of August and attracted 14,031 participants representing all community segments, including children, the youth, parents, senior citizens, people of determination and students, he further added. This year saw an increase of 150 percent in physical and virtual participation, numbering over 5,688 attendees, in addition to thousands of members of the community who participated in 37 interactive workshops covering five key areas, which are agriculture, culture and entertainment, family, health and sports, Al Zaabi said in conclusion.

Les Cayes, Haiti, Sep 14, 2021 / 12:00 pm (CNA). On August 14, Josette lost everything. A single mother, she had gone to the supermarket to sell items to support her four children when a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti. She returned home to find her house collapsed, with her mother and her children crushed beneath the rubble. Without hesitation, she began assisting her neighbors and went to the local church to ask the priest what he needed.“She lost everything in less than a minute, but she helped her neighbors,” said Dr. Dianne JeanFrançois, program director for Haiti for Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB). “That struck me. The people have lost their loved ones, but they will go immediately, moving the rubble to take out children, women, men who are under the rubble, to save lives. That’s the resilience of these people.” According to a USAID report released Sept. 7, at least 2,207 people have died and more than 12,260 people sustained injuries since the earthquake struck in midAugust. Two days after the quake, Tropical Storm Grace made landfall in Haiti overnight, flooding the country with as much as 15 inches of rain in a single day in certain areas. People were also immediately without drinking water as mountains collapsed, preventing the passage of rivers and streams. Approximately 130,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed, and more than 650,000 people are in need of humanitarian aid.“It was already difficult for the people, and they were already living in terrible conditions—no jobs, no income-generating activities, depending on others, they had to survive,” said Jean-François, who has been working for CMMB for 18 years. “The earthquake came and destroyed what they had as their home and more. Then, you have Grace, falling in the same ward, the southern part of Haiti, causing more problems.”Haiti has long suffered from political turmoil and gang activities, while also facing the financial impacts of COVID-19, Jean-François said. The recent back-to-back natural disasters left the already-vulnerable country desperate for international assistance. Within six hours of the earthquake, CMMB had medical supplies, including antibiotics, pain killers, antiseptics, orthopedic supplies, and bandages on the ground in Haiti. The organization, which provides medical and development aid to communities affected by poverty and unequal access to healthcare, has been a stable presence in Haiti for the last 100 years. The day after the earthquake, CMMB sponsored a local team of two orthopedic surgeons and five anesthesiologists to provide surgeries.“When you have an earthquake, either you die or you are crushed with bone injuries and internal bleeding,” Jean-François said. “You will have a lot of injured people. We sent antibiotic painkillers, anesthetic medicine, supplies for wounded care, and plaster.” With the medical supplies, the doctors were able to operate quickly and stabilize those with injuries soon after the earthquake occurred, Jean-François said. Additionally, CMMB began to mobilize at their headquarters in New York City, gathering supplies from pharmaceutical companies and benefactors. “We looked at what we had on hand, and within a week, we had two 40-foot containers going down,” said Dick Day, senior vice president for programs for CMMB.CMMB employs nearly 150 people, most of whom are Haitian. In the aftermath of the disaster, they worked closely with the local ministry of health in Haiti to determine what supplies would be helpful, noting that