Artur (co-novice from Canada) and I had relocated to another Jesuit community- the novitiate, to better aid the relief effort. Sleeping in tents because buildings are unsafe. Artur does things (LOTS of things) around the novitiate, including moving boxes of aids and doing inventory things, while I head out with a team of (mostly) American physicians, firefighters, medics and ex-marines everyday to help in areas where medical attention is needed. This is called "Team Rubicon" and it is collaborating with the Jesuit Refugee Service. The team chaplain is Br. Jim Boynton, SJ. In 5 days we had been to four refugee camps and helped get the Port-au-Prince general hospital up and running again, while I had learned to (un)dress wounds, been a pharmacist, moved patients back into the hospital, and ran emergency clinic triages. It has been tiring but fulfilling. Everyday we go to a different place, everyday we face a different situation. Team Rubicon has a blog site: http://blog.teamrubiconhaiti.org/
Today I will be going with a few Mennonites from Canada who are affiliated with L´Arche Canada to visit the L´Arche community near Port-au-Prince to deliver aids and set up tents for them. (As you know, I spent 6 weeks at L´Arche in Gatineau) Also to assess if there is a need for our team to move in and give them a hand on the medical side.
OK, all for now. Love you all and God Bless.
Yours in Christ,
Edmund
2010.01.24
Edmund Lo, who left our school in F.2 in the 80s to emigrate to Canada, joined the English-speaking Canadian Province last year and is on his experiment as a Jesuit novice serving the poor in Haiti. He survived the earthquake and is working hard with the Sisters of Charity to take care of the injured Haitians under very harsh conditions.