Bill G. Martin said:
Is Steve stateside or home in the Dominican Republic during the Hati crises that is unfolding?
Terrible tragedy.
Bill in Central Florida
Hi Bill,
Thank you for thinking about me. With our usual great timing last week we returned to Santiago from an almost three year stint in the States care-giving Sioux's 85 year old parents. (They have both passed away over the last year.)
When the earthquake hit our house shook pretty hard but appears to not have sustained any structural damage. I haven't seen any severe damage here in Santiago either and haven't heard of any casualties locally.
You are correct, Bill. The situation in Haiti, while always bad, has now turned horribly ugly. The suffering there is beyond belief or really even human comprehension. We have many Haitian friends here in Santiago and they are beside themselves with worry since there is virtually no communication from the country. Many have already left to look for friends and loved ones.
After the Tampa SFS next week (plus Sioux and I are temporarily care-giving a 92 year old friend here in Santiago) I may be on a re-construction team involved with rebuilding homes over there. As we learned during our relief work after Hurricane Georges here in 1998, once the immediate life-saving rescue work is done it is better to evaluate and plan the rebuilding work instead of just plunging in.
Steve
PS My thanks again to the many who have written concerned about our welfare. Sioux and I are fine and our prayers are with the Haitian people.