Greeting,

 

We are so often surprised by both where The Lord sends us and who He has waiting for us to serve there in His name!

While the One Heart - Many Hands staff continues to actively prepare for the large-scale Work & Witness project scheduled for this summer (July 25 - 31, 2010) in Columbus, the humanitarian disasters in Haiti and Chile have also required several of our senior staffers to split time between Central Ohio,  Hispaniola and South America.

Many of our volunteers throughout the world may not know that One Heart - Many Hands is a sister organization to the medical relief teams, Heart to  Heart International and Docs Who Care. All three charities were founded in previous decades by Kansas City physician Gary Morsch.


In the days following the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti, Dr. Morsch assembled an advance logistics team (including OHMH President George Sisler) to fly into the heart of the crisis and make arrangements for bringing hundreds of American medical personnel to Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas. With 'boots on the ground,' the team was soon at work establishing make-shift clinics and escorting medical personnel and supplies from the Dominican Republic to Haiti and throughout the western side of the island. Heart to Heart teams are responding to major and minor crush injuries, delivering babies, and treating every imaginable illness common to third-world nations. That which is a routine trip to the ER or  Urgent Care in America, becomes a life-threatening reality when you factor in the lack of sanitation and hours, days and weeks passing before medical care is accessible.

Dr. Morsch (who has cared for sick and injured in wars and natural disasters throughout the world) describes the situation in Haiti as the worst he has ever seen, "with seemingly endless, unimaginable suffering and hardship." Early reports put the death count at 200,000, the injured at 300,000 and more than a million homeless. Thus,  Heart to Heart International has committed to remain in Haiti for the next three to five years. Meanwhile, in Chile, the Heart to Heart advance logistics team will have 'boots on the ground' this week and will report back with a needs assessment as soon as possible.

If you or anyone you know is a licensed  physician, medical assistant, nurse or pharmacist, please click here to learn how to volunteer time and talents to help people in Haiti or Chile.

Beyond our work this summer in Columbus, the staff at One Heart - Many Hands is excited about long-term opportunities to partner with Heart to Heart International. We are envisioning teams of OHMH volunteers traveling to Haiti to help build clinics, orphanages and schools. (Because of the lack of political and judicial stability, travel to that country is not recommended for teens and children).
        
Click Here for details concerning housing this summer in Columbus. (Reservations should be made as soon as possible because our project will be going on at the same time as the Ohio State Fair.

And, please pray often for the people of Haiti and Chile, and the people who are there to serve.