Local doctor who's done mission work in Haiti reacts to earthquake

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Nevada Daily Mail

A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti Tuesday shortly before 5 p.m. According to the United States Geological Survey the epicenter was 10 miles southwest of the nation's capital, Port-Au-Prince, and approximately six miles below the surface. A USGS geophysicist, Kristin Marano, called it the strongest earthquake since 1770, in what is now Haiti.

Vernon County resident Dr. John Torontow is very familiar with the area of the disaster, having spent time in Haiti on mission work on several occasions, as part of the Haitian Episcopal Learning Program.

"The hotel we like to stay at has collapsed and there are hundreds of people trapped there," Torontow said.

Torontow said that two members of the group he belongs to had just arrived before the earthquake.

"There's a couple of our group who went in yesterday just before the quake and no one knows where they are," Torontow said. "The most information is coming from British newspapers, not American ones."

Torontow said he was going to make a donation to the charity he believes does the best work in the area, Food for the Poor.

"I am about to make a donation to Food for the Poor," Torontow said. "I believe they do the best with the money. I urge everyone to donate what they can, $10, $5, $1, 50 cents. They need all the help they can get. Surely out of all this darkness there will come some light."

Torontow said that with the collapse of most of the capitol city Haiti, which did not have a stable government to begin with, was close to total collapse.

"I would hope they would make it a protectorate of the United Nations, otherwise it is a failed nation," Torontow said.

The American Red Cross is responding to this disaster, and will be working with Red Cross partners in Haiti and with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. At this time the American Red Cross will be releasing $200,000 for immediate response action. They are making available all the relief supplies at its warehouse in Panama (enough for 5,000 families) in support of relief efforts. These supplies include blankets, kitchen sets, and water containers to meet immediate needs of survivors.

The organization also is sending a disaster specialist immediately to Haiti to support response efforts. The Red Cross has several experienced disaster specialists standing by to be deployed if requested.

The American Red Cross has staff on the ground in Haiti and is working to obtain information on the situation. Workers will continue to monitor the situation and communicate with the Haiti Red Cross and International Federation for future immediate action.

The American Red Cross is accepting monetary donations to support earthquake relief efforts in Haiti. Locally, donations for this purpose may be sent to the Greater Ozarks Chapter office at 201 East Cherry Street, Suite 203, Nevada, MO 64772. Secure donations may also be made by logging onto www.redcross.org.

Donors may also text "HAITI" to 90999 and a donation of $10 will be given to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts.

*How to help in Haiti*

Here's a partial list of some organizations, along with their Web sites, where local residents can learn more about how to help or where to send donations for earthquake victims.

* American Red Cross, www.redcross.org

* Operation USA, www.opusa.org

* CARE, www.care.org

* Catholic Relief Services, www.crs.org

* World Food Programme, www.wfp.org

* World Concern, www.worldconcern.org/haiti-earthquake

* Save the Children, www.savethechildren.org

* UNICEF USA, www.unicefusa.org/haitiquake

* Mercy Corps, www.mercycorps.org

* Operation Blessing International, www.ob.org/_programs/disaster

* Americares, www.americares.org

* Doctors Without Borders, doctorswithoutborders.org