Haiti Helpers say suffering goes on

Random tragedy is the thread connecting stories told by some volunteers with Haiti Helpers who just got back from a weeklong mission trip to that earthquake-stricken nation.

Haiti Helpers founders Brenda and Michael Cooper, of LaFayette, Ga., led a group of 16 people trying to help in the recovery from the Jan. 12 quake.

Mrs. Cooper told the story of a woman who felt the earth trembling and ran outside to see what was happening. While she was outside her house caved behind her, killing her husband and children.

"Some people are still afraid to go inside," Mrs. Cooper said. "One lady said her husband is still buried under their house."

The group, mainly medical professionals, set up improvised clinics outside a hotel and a church in Jacmel, Haiti, one of the areas hardest hit by the 7.0-magnitude earthquake.

Mrs. Cooper, a respiratory therapist at Memorial Hospital, said the group saw an average of 300 people a day, some of whom had come from Port-au-Prince.

The group bought more than $1,000 worth of rice and beans to help feed the community and plans to continue sending money for food, Mrs. Cooper said.

Cindi Burtnett, a nurse in Cleveland, Tenn., said that since the trip, she appreciates what she has a lot more.

"At first I didn't think (the city) had been damaged as much, but then when you walk down the street, you turn the corner and the whole street is obliterated," said Ms. Burtnett, 46, who said it was her first mission trip.

"It made me feel sick inside to see the conditions these people had to tolerate every day in their lives," she added.

Between 200,000 and 250,000 people died as a result of the earthquake, according to the Inter-American Development Bank. By comparison, the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami killed around 230,000 people in 14 countries, records show.

A million people, or 10 percent of the population, remain homeless, the bank reports. Tens of thousands are living in tent cities.

"We are expecting to see a lot of disease when we return in April, especially with the rain season coming," Mrs. Cooper said.

In the midst of chaos, people try to make the best of the situation, said Ms. Burtnett.

"They are amazing, they can still smile in those conditions and get some enjoyment out of life," she said.