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Source: Edinburgh Evening News, January 26, 2010

Mercy Corps aid means first hot food for survivors

By Laura Cummings and Sue Gyford

SURVIVORS of the devastating Haiti earthquake have enjoyed their first hot meal since before the disaster struck.

The emergency response team from Edinburgh-based charity Mercy Corps delivered more than 20 tons of non-perishable food items to the General Hospital in Port-au-Prince on Saturday.

Rice, beans, corn soya-blend flour, vegetable oil, sugar and salt will feed 1,000 patients, their families and staff for two weeks.

Mercy Corps spokesman Ross Hornsey said: "Thankfully it turned out the kitchens were still operational so the people there can start getting hot meals.

"The psychological boost you get from getting a hot meal like this is very important, but it's also vital in terms of health and nutrition – particularly for those recovering from very serious injuries."

The team will also supply basic hygiene kits to patients and their families at the General Hospital, as well as the Haitian Community Hospital, over the next few days.

Meanwhile, Oxfam aid worker Kenny Rae, who grew up in Clermiston, arrived in Haiti on Tuesday to help locals affected by the 7.0 magnitude earthquake earlier this month.

The 54-year-old is camping with nine others in the Delmas area, and is working 16 hours a day with sporadic communications links and basic water supplies.

The former St Augustine's High School pupil said: "I've been to Gaza, and to Pakistan after the earthquake, and Bangladesh after the cyclone, and this is the worst I've ever seen.

"Whole neighbourhoods have been razed. Substantial buildings that you'd expect to survive have been levelled. The level of health care is very poor – most of the health facilities were destroyed and hospitals have no water."

Mr Rae, who left Edinburgh around 20 years ago and now lives in Boston, is working with Oxfam Quebec and plans to stay in Haiti for at least three months. His job is to help set up toilets.

Mr Rae, a father-of-one, said: "There are thousands of bodies under buildings. Many of the buildings are like pancakes, so it's impossible to remove bodies without tearing the building down.

"People are still searching, not so much for family members but for possessions – you see whole families going through the rubble of their houses."

He added: "Yesterday in one of the small camps and this little girl came up to us crying. She tugged my colleague's trouser leg and said, 'I don't have a house, can you give me a new house?'.

"It will take a generation to get over this."