Getting relief to Haiti a logistical challenge

Getting donations for Haiti's earthquake victims hasn't been difficult. It's transporting them to those in need that's the problem.

Large plastic bags and boxes filled with canned goods, clothing, blankets and towels sat in a pile Monday morning on the floor of First Baptist Church, 4400 W. Oakey Blvd.

The donations keep rolling in, but Kenson Desinor and the Las Vegas Haitian Disaster Relief Committee are puzzled as to how to get them to Port-au-Prince in the wake of last week's catastrophic earthquake. For now, they'll be kept in a storage unit.

"I'm looking for any company that can help us to fly them out," said Desinor, who heads the committee. "We're willing to give them over to any nonprofit organization that can help us get them out."

But even those groups are struggling to get into the country to provide disaster relief to the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

The American Red Cross is encouraging financial donations as the most direct way to help, said Kris Darnall of the group's Southern Nevada Chapter.

"I don't know of anybody who is able to transport stuff there right now," Darnall said. "At this point, it's so difficult for the major relief agencies to even have access. I don't know of any way individual packages can get to people at all yet."

Both UPS and FedEx have suspended shipping services to Haiti until further notice. Getting donations organized and off to earthquake victims is complicated. The companies have opted to help transport items and money from larger disaster relief organizations such as the American Red Cross.

The U.S. Postal Service also has placed a temporary hold on all mail heading to Haiti. However, it will continue to accept packages addressed there and hold onto mail until transportation becomes available.

The earthquake crumbled the foundation of hospitals, schools, prisons and government buildings in the nation's capital city. Mass graves are being dug to accommodate abandoned bodies strewn about roads. Search dogs and emergency crews continue to comb through toppled buildings in the hope of finding survivors.

The death toll is now estimated at 200,000. According to reports, 1.5 million people have been made homeless. Disease, thirst and hunger threaten survivors.

On a rainy Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a day of public service, Lysenda Kirkberg dropped off sleeping bags, medical supplies and blankets for the Las Vegas Haitian Disaster Relief Committee's drive. The 66-year-old Las Vegas resident said she felt it was her duty to donate items to help quake victims.

"I just couldn't sit by and watch all that suffering when we have it so good in this country," Kirkberg said. "Despite our troubles, we still have it good. Our culture just has this sense of service."

Volunteers taped together boxes and began organizing preliminary loads of donations.

"My country has a big problem right now," said Mona Philidor, who is from Port-au-Prince. "My sister died. My brother died, too. So did my cousin and my friend. The water, the food, the medicine, the people need it. It's bad news."

Desinor said he is so determined to get the items to people that he is considering flying to the Dominican Republic himself, trucking to Haiti and taking the most needed supplies from the donations he collects all week.

"That's the plan. Basically, we still need more water, but instead of buying the water, just give us the money," he said. "The money can get there more quickly, but we're taking absolutely anything and everything.

"That's one way you can come out and volunteer. That's the MLK spirit. We just ask everyone to partner with us and bring everything you can."

Contact Kristi Jourdan at kjourdan@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279.