Local non-profit on the ground in Haiti

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – A local non-profit is making a difference on the ground in Haiti.

On August 14, Haiti was hit with a violent magnitude 7.2 earthquake. Three days later, Tropical Storm Grace brought further devastation to the country. It was heartbreaking to see for Lycender Chery, a Haitian medical student, who’s working on the ground with Christian Flights International, based in Central Kentucky.

“I see people sleeping in the street. I see people who’ve lost their houses completely. I see kids crying because they’ve lost their mother and they don’t have family. And I see people get injuries and then the injury gets infected because they don’t have medical care,” said Chery.

Chery is part of a team of about twenty medical students working in the southern region of Haiti, below Port-Au-Prince, where the country was hit hardest by disaster.

“The needs are very big. Most importantly, is water, food, and things because people are sleeping in the ground. And the ground is continuous shaking, they cannot sleep in the house, and there is rain,” said Chery.

Christian Flights International Executive Director Shannon Conforti says it’s been difficult for volunteers to reach some communities due to gang violence.

“There’s communities that were shut off from aid prior to all this happening. So there are still communities where medical teams cannot get to people,” said Conforti.

Still, Conforti says there’s hope even amidst devastation. Volunteers from different organizations all over the world have come together to help victims of the disaster.

“That’s been a pretty neat thing to see and experience is to have all those organizations there ready to work and cooperating,” said Conforti.

Conforti says recovery for Haiti will be long term.

“I think we’re going to have to wait and see how the ramifications are. Certainly the magnitude and the destruction is different than 2010’s earthquake,” said Conforti.

Right now, volunteers are looking to get people to safe, dry shelters as the recovery process continues.