We visited the Delmas area of the city. This was the worst destruction I've seen so far. Buildings down everywhere. How the earth can contort and demolish the buildings is astounding.
Every open area of the city - parks, schools, etc. - has now become tent cities. People have strung up sheets to try and create some shade from the sun. And there are thousands of people packed into small spaces. I don't think there were a lot of open spaces in the city to begin with. People are receiving little to no services - clean water, health, food, etc. - at many of these sites.
We're working with the government for the Delmas area of the city to get life-saving support to people in these tent cities. We want to create some temporary structures for families who are now homeless and living in tent cities. There are also those people who have remained close to their flattened homes, reluctant to leave. We have to make these people feel comfortable enough they can leave their homes and get access to water, food, medical care and shelter elsewhere.
On a last note, people in Port-Au-Prince are trying to get on with life. Markets are opening. People are selling things (what there is to sell), trying to get water. Occasionally laughing. It's the rest of our (the world) responsibility to help them do that successfully.
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