Contributor: Griff Samples

As the difficult anniversary of the attacks on September 11, 2001 looms, those of us old enough to remember it cannot but think to where we were and what we were doing when the planes hit, and in retrospect, how our individual lives as well as our country has changed. The news and social media are replete with personal recollections of the day and its sorrowful aftermath.

For me and for Mercy Corps, the attacks on the World Trade Center marked the beginning of the legacy program called Comfort for Kids.

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Five nights ago, we had what they call a 6.9 earthquake here and I’ve heard described variously as a 7.1 and 7.4 in foreign media. By any standard it was rugged. My colleagues and I crouched in our doorways of our hotel fifth floor rooms, held each other and listened to furniture, wall art and table tops scatter and crash. The power went out. 

Thankfully no one on our team in our hotel was hurt and, within about 45 minutes through text and finally getting the odd phone signal, we found those at other hotels were safe too. No one on our team wanted to go back inside, sleeping there was clearly not an option but there were too many of us to sleep in the two cars, as other guests who “stayed” were doing. 

We left everything in our rooms and drove to the other hotel where everyone was fine except for losing power (which we later found affected about 4,000,000 people). That night we planned for the next day by flashlights whilst admiring those clever enough to have head lamps. We set up a make-shift dormitory in a two-story rental townhouse. Being in a two-story building is far more comforting than being on the fifth floor in a 10-story building, even one built with Japanese standards.

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Kesennuma is one of the worst impacted — nay, obliterated — cities on Japan’s north coast. We are piloting Comfort for Kids at a 700-person shelter here. Photo: Joy Portella/Mercy Corps

I haven’t blogged since about this time last year when, in another far-away-from-here country stricken by a similar disaster, I saw destruction and loss just like here in Japan. Yet, my experience and observations in Japan cannot be more different from those I witnessed one year ago in Haiti.

I have been in Japan for five days. I arrived at our programme site yesterday. Kesennuma is one of the worst impacted — nay, obliterated — cities on Japan’s north coast. I got a tour of the disaster — we went to one of the coastal areas which had been mixed commercial and residential, and is now a mixture of mud, asphalt, splinters of wood and buildings — and our Peace Winds Japan colleague said there are 500 more kilometers just like this. I asked where the debris will be put (there is not a tradition of landfills here) and no one knew. With 500 kilometers affected, this is a very big, looming question. Japan, after all, is an island with already-limited, densely-populated land.

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Griff Samples (left), Mercy Corps' technical advisor for our Comfort for Kids programme, meets with Elisabeth Préval, Haiti's First Lady. Photo: Mercy Corps

I just met with Elisabeth Préval, Haiti's First Lady, to discuss our Comfort for Kids programme. Mrs. Préval is an ardent supporter of the rights and well-being of Haiti's children. Through Comfort for Kids, Mercy Corps is responding to the critical needs of Haiti's youngest earthquake survivors by training local psychologists, teachers and other caregivers to help children move past their trauma to a less fearful and more hopeful future.

We're excited to have had this opportunity to talk with Mrs. Préval and are looking forward to working together to help heal Haiti's children.

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Trying to get to Port-Au-Prince is no easy task. After being bumped and having another flight cancelled from Santo Domingo, I finally made it to ground zero, albeit a day later than planned. My concerns and trepidation about what I would encounter were validated as soon as I landed. To say that our task - my task, specifically - is great is a vast understatement.

So here we are, 15 days after the earthquake struck and 15 days since the lives of tens of thousands of Haitian children have been turned upside down by disaster and tragedy. Really, there's no child in the Port-Au-Prince area and beyond that doesn't need long-term help. So how to do it?

First of all, there are the very primary audiences that are most greatly affected by this disaster - the newly orphaned and those already orphaned prior. To begin with, an initial shipment of Comfort Kits for kids will be distributed in the coming days. The shipment will leave North Carolina hopefully tomorrow and will include age-appropriate kits containing comfort items: blankets, picture books, tooth brushes and tooth paste. Once they arrive, we will be distributing them to some of the most affected orphanages. It's only a start, but we have to start somewhere.

As for rolling out the full Comfort for Kids program? My hope is to begin next week. Ideally, on Feb 1. My task today is to find local resources - professionals, care takers, teachers - to assemble a staff that will help launch the program. Little by little, we will be developing the program until we can begin training as many people as possible so that our project and its benefits can mushroom around this city and country. Stay tuned - I hope to have significant progress to report in the next couple of days.

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