Thousands homeless in capital, 70 HELP students located

I'm writing this on Saturday night, but you likely won't read it until Sunday morning at the earliest because internet is one of the many rare commodities. Saturday and Sunday still mean something to you, but there aren't really any days of the week here. Everything is rightly referred to as before and after. At a pharmacy where I was looking for eardrops the pharmacist asked "when did your ear start hurting?" To which a customer next to me said slyly, "Tuesday, right?"

Before and after. Before, when life was normal, very difficult but predictable, and after, after those few seconds when Port-au-Prince changed forever and with it, people's lives. Most people sleep outside now, even those whose houses are still standing. "Most" means hundreds of thousands of people sleeping in parks, on peoples lawns, public squares and on the streets; from dirt alleys in neighborhoods to major city thoroughfares, the streets close at dusk as people sweep up and then lay their bedding, placing makeshift barriers and slow burning fires to warn the occasional passing vehicle. It's hard to tell how long this can last, but after only four nights, it is an accepted routine.

Rather than sleep in the streets, many more hundreds of thousands have left the capital, heading back to their hometowns in what must be the largest reverse migrations (urban to rural) in Haiti's history. In the hours following the quake, many people started walking home, including a friend who walked for 2 days to the town of Jacmel. We set up our HQ at a student house that survived virtually untouched and started contacting all the students today, via text message and phone calls, to find out where they are. Most of the HELP students who come from outside the capital have also returned to their families, where they have a bed, food and water and peace of mind. It reassures us to know that they are back with their families. It's also reassuring to look at the list of all the places they have returned to; towns and cities, small and large, all around the country. In the midst of horror and tragedy, it's a nice reminder that HELP is fulfilling its mission to find the best students, no matter where they are. We have positively located over 70 students, staff and alumni, and so far we have not had a single report of anyone who died. We are hopeful that we will locate the remaining people in the coming days.

I want to send out a special thank you to everyone who has donated in the past few days. These donations come at a critical time. Tracking down the students takes resources that are increasingly expensive; with all gas stations closed since the quake, gas is selling at $10 a gallon, and telephones which sold for $10 new last week are selling for $40 used. We still need your contributions to ensure that we track down each and every member of the HELP family. Once we do so, we will think about ways we can use our resources to help others. In the midst of overwhelming devastation, we have no choice but to push ahead.

Kenbe la,Conor