Local group and Haitian natives send help

Posted: Jan 16, 2010 7:12 AM by Matt Stafford
Updated: Jan 16, 2010 7:12 AM

Gestin Delva packs boxes quickly. He knows it doesn't save very much time, but he also knows there isn't a lot of time to waste.

"Anything that you have can help the country now, anything that you have," Delva says.

Delva came to America from Haiti a year ago. Right now helping his family back home is all he can think about.

Friday he found out much of his family is ok, but two cousins died.

Now the remaining family in Haiti is fighting to survive. His brothers told him food is scarce.

"They said they ate but they don't know what they will have tomorrow," Delva says.

Thoughts like that carry with him through the day.

"I can't even eat right now," Delva explains. "It's like it's hard to eat, to swallow. I'm a big eater, but now it's really hard for me to swallow something."

For now, he keeps on packing.

"Haitians are very resilient people," says Linda Kohn, president of Cloud of Fire Outreach.

Now Delva is working with Kohn, who's been doing humanitarian work in Haiti since 2002.
These may be some of the biggest challenges she's seen. However, that doesn't stop the effort, or the concern.

"Wait for news and keep busy and pack donations and pray for more," says Kohn.

"We're trying our best to help them," Delva says. "I can't be one of them now, but God helped me to be here so that's very important."

Although, for Delva, many family and friends are far in distance, right now they're close at heart.

Despite difficulties getting things to the island, Cloud of Fire Outreach has an advantage. From previous work on the island, they know a pilot who says he can get the supplies out there if they can get them to the gulf coast.

Like many groups, they could use some help. If you're interested in more information, click here.