Wednesday 28 July 2010
Aid worker praises ShelterBox for their help in Haiti
This child's family are one of thousands to be sheltered benath a ShelterBox tent. Photograph: Mark Pearson
A New Zealand aid worker in Haiti has hailed the iconic ShelterBox as a ‘lifesaver’ for providing patients who leave her field hospital with shelter, warmth and dignity.
Lisa Carnie is a physiotherapist voluntarily working in Carrefour La Mort, north of Port Au Prince, with UK-based charity, the Haiti Hospital Appeal.
Since April 8, Lisa has been helping to treat and rehabilitate spinal injury victims of the January 12 earthquake – a task made difficult by of the lack of hospitals and near impossible by the lack of adequate housing once the patients have been discharged.
‘I was worried for my patients’ immediate safety given the terrible conditions in Haiti,’ said Lisa.
‘However, after a chance meeting with ShelterBox Response Team member Arnold Kelly and seeing the equipment inside a ShelterBox, I was able to discharge my patients knowing that they had practical day-to-day living equipment and shelter.
‘These boxes are a dream come true for those forced to live on the streets of Port au Prince in temperatures in the high 30’s and may mean the difference between survival or not.’
'Lifesavers'
ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) member Arnold Kelly, also from New Zealand, said: ‘In Haiti I was continually faced with the dilemma of who had the greatest need for our limited amount of aid. However, when we started working with hospital staff such as Lisa there was no doubt in my mind where our priorities lay.
‘Hospital staff had invested huge amounts of time and effort into these people and all progress would have been lost without them being provided with shelter and the other simple but essential items our boxes contain.’
After four months of intensive rehabilitation and nursing care, spinal cord-injured patients are now able to walk out of the hospital and return to live in Port au Prince with dignity and hope.
‘Arnold was fantastic support when he was in Haiti and helped me follow up on some of the recently discharged patients to make sure they were recovering well,’ said Lisa. ‘ShelterBoxes really are life-savers.’
The below video was taken by Arnold during his time in Haiti:
