Ask Dr. Denton: How do I help the people of Haiti?

Many will feed the poor, but can we along the way help the poor to feed themselves and lead a nation to true independence?

PORTSMOUTH, VA (Catholic Online) Recently, I received the following letter:

Dear Dr Denton: How do I help the people of Haiti? The list of charities is endless.

The question of how to help Haiti has been on my heart and mind for days now. There are so many needs that the task seems impossible, but nothing is impossible with the Lord. The news pitches us story after story and every organization is asking for some kind of donation. Many, Many, Many of them give us great opportunities to help. Even Hilary Clinton has gotten involved by discussing the issues in Haiti at a global level.

Food and medical support are the absolute first stages for help and recovery. Some of the first images of aid are seen in the bags of rice and beans being carried throughout the streets. Why? It is easier to send food in a dry form and it only requires warm water to soften, which gives the people a more digestible food source.

These foods are also high in carbohydrates and calories, which makes them a stable food source for a starving body. The protein content is moderate, but it is palatable for most starving people. Furthermore, non-polished rice has a reasonable amount of B vitamins, which help the immune system.

Knowing that medical supplies and food are the key elements for helping Haiti in the first stages, I prayed, "What could I do to help?" I came into my office thinking, "I have all these medical supplies, but how do I get them in the right hands?" Ironically, my brother-in-law, Jim, stopped by the office and I simply asked him how he was doing.

He informed me that he was working with a group from his church pulling together some items for a group heading to Haiti. The group was flying to an orphanage and medical clinic that morning! Tracy, our nurse, had come in early that morning to organize the supplies for our office and operating room. I asked Jim if there was a medical person involved and whether they needed supplies. He said, "I do not know, but I'll try to get in touch with them."

I knew they would need some antibiotics and, within minutes, Tracy was filling a cart full of medications, IV bags, and other medical supplies. Jim jumped in his car and drove off to the airport in hopes of catching the team before they flew out.

At the airport, he met the team of volunteers as they were preparing to pass the security gates. With only the miracle of the Lord, the medical supplies were taken down to the check in area and the Southwest Airlines crew helped pack the supplies in boxes. They promised the supplies would be on the plane to Haiti. God really is great because the supplies arrived and were put to use in a medical clinic/orphanage near Port au Prince.

The story clearly comes to heart in the scripture readings from these past two Sundays. A single part of the body is nothing without the whole of the body. Like Christ's body, together we can bring about life, love and faith in a world struck by tragedy and poverty. "The greatest of these is love"......wow.

As I pondered the future of Haiti, I know the immediate response for help will soon dwindle. It is in this crucial time that we must recognize the long term needs of this devastated area so that additional disasters do not stem from this already crimpled country.

So what is next? The fear I have is that infection and disease will spread if medical support and simple nutrition are not frequently distributed. There is a wave of over 1 million people scattering out across an already impoverished countryside. Catholic Charities, International Red Cross, Operation Blessing from CBN and others are trying to get food and medical support to this nation.

These large organizations are doing great things in an attempt to stem the tide for the next wave of health disasters. The US military with USNS Comfort and field hospitals from as far away as Israel are coming together to treat the multitude of victims.

In the next months, these operations will continue to help the basic needs in a short-term effort to fix the immediate problems. Long-term Haiti will need to be rebuilt; not as a nation based on a culture of dependency and handouts, but one of independence based on education and faith. Getting there will be a challenge, as it will require the rebuilding of an infrastructure of the human spirit and of human hope. Feed the children, but also educate them, as they will need the knowledge to rebuild their nation.

Once again, I prayed and once again, I was humbled by the answers. I prayed to find a way to use our foundation to help start a grass roots movement to rebuild Haiti in some way through education. The answer was given to me by a simple loving woman from our diocese. Naida travels to Haiti regularly and supports a small school in Roy-Sec, a school where my wife and I currently support a child. Like Mother Teresa in her simple love and absolute genuine concern for the poor of Haiti, I found a gem of hope.

Naida is a wonderful woman of faith. She works out of St. Mary's church in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. She and a small group of other loving parishioners from the local cluster of churches have been going to Roy-Sec to help the tiny community. Roy-Sec is a small farming community in the central plateau of Haiti that has a simple school and vacant medical clinic directed by Father Pol.

In November, they lost all funding for the children's daily meals. The 230 children and growing (some who are orphans) have recently been coming to school with mud around their mouths. For some, "Mud cookies" for breakfast are how they start the day. Since the quake, many of the families have lost their loved ones who worked in Port au Prince and support their families. After my wife and I started investigating further, it became apparent even on their little website, www.haiticluster.shutterfly.com, that their hearts were in the right place - and their mission was one of simple love.

The Bella Vitae Foundation has a new fund called "The Haiti Project". The foundation has a Jewish accountant, a Roman Catholic Deacon attorney with a Benedictine monk background, a Roman Catholic priest who is an Episcopal vicar, an evangelical Baptist farmer from Iowa, Christian staff of multiple denominations, and my wife and I working to make this world a more beautiful place, especially in Haiti.

Like Christ said, it takes all of the parts to make up the whole body. All of us need to work together to build a more beautiful world, and love will be the force that drive us past the obstacles ahead. I now think I can understand the genuine genius and love of Mother Theresa.

In some ways, I am ashamed that only now do I see what she was saying. In the face of the poor, I see God. In the face of the poor, we see God, the ultimate vision of beauty. "Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God".

My goal is simple. Use the gifts we have been given to help educate the children of Roy-Sec and make sure they get a meal a day. Second, begin a simple farming support program to help the people feed themselves and eventually feed others with nutritious food. Do not turn away the children; give them and their families hope. Who knows, in this little community an epicenter may start that could change a nation.

Many will feed the poor, but can we along the way help the poor to feed themselves and lead a nation to true independence? Yes, but it must start with the love of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit within us moving forward together.

How do I help the people of Haiti? There are so many charities to choose from. Support whomever you prayerfully trust, but do help. The great Trappist Monk Thomas Merton felt that the prayers of few monks on a mountain had as much to change the war as thousands of soldiers. Pray...for Haiti.

For us, it is just a school in the little town of Roy-Sec. Oh; by the way, the name of the school is St Peter. ..."Upon this rock".

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Dr Denton D. Weiss, M.D. is board certified in both Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Dr. Weiss' approach to his medical practice flows from his convictions about the meaning of life, which are deeply rooted in his Catholic Faith. He and his wife, Michelle strive for an integrated approach to life which recognizes the unity of the body, mind and soul. They call this approach "Bella Vitae" or "Beautiful Living". He and Michelle are contributing writers to Catholic Online.

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