Hey, JOhn, this is Jennifer, and I coordinate Rise Against Hunger's emergency medical response efforts.
I talk to our partners in countries around the world who are facing life-threatening circumstances every day, but a recent call with Dr. Maklin at New Hope Hospital in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, was different.
He shared the story of a patient who had been severely burned as a result of fires set by gangs in Port-au-Prince’s residential areas. Recent gang violence has rocked the country, displacing more than 1 million people. No hospital in Port-au-Prince could help this patient; they simply didn't have the resources.
But Dr. Maklin did. His hospital had just received burn dressings, antibiotics, wound supplies and pain medication — sent directly from Rise Against Hunger’s warehouse in Orlando, Florida.
One helicopter flight later, the patient was receiving life-saving care at New Hope Hospital.