Please visit the newly created IMANA-Haiti Blog for further articles and posts regarding the current relief mission in Haiti. Many team members of the Gaza 2009 relief mission are also helping save lives in Haiti.
URL: http://www.imana-haiti.com/
Friday, January 22, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Dedicated Doctor Saving Lives in Haiti
Michelle Stuhr of KPTH 44 News (Sioux City, IA) reports:
Text by Erika Thomas of KPTH:
(SIOUX CITY, IA) A powerful 6.1 magnitude aftershock rocked Haiti Wednesday, a week after the first deadly earthquake. Still, St. Luke's Emergency Room physician Rick Colwell is packing his bags for the island. The dedicated doctor who goes in as everyone else gets out.
Dr. Rick Colwell is no stranger to packing - Haiti will be his third trip abroad to help victims of devastation.
"You have kind of a sense of what, how much you can do. You always leave feeling like you didn't do enough," says Dr. Rick Colwell.
As part of IMANA - the Islamic Medical Association of North America - Dr. Colwell saved lives after the 2005 Pakistan earthquake and in Gaza last year.
"You walk away from there but they don't. Whether you help them or save them, they're still there," says Dr. Colwell.
He will now use those experiences, along with eight other IMANA doctors, to help people fighting to survive in Haiti.
"I think the hardest part will just be the great human tragedy," says Dr. Colwell. "You want to get right in there and save the world today but it doesn't generally happen like that."
A lead group returned Tuesday night after working through the initial devastation.
"But smaller, more flexible organizations can get right into the community and start helping people right away," says Dr. Colwell.
This second wave of doctors will have to fight infection to save lives.
"You try to help everyone. And you try to save the ones that you can," says Dr. Colwell.
It takes a special person to run in when everyone else is running out. but one person can make a difference, no matter how big or small.
"Everybody has something to give," says Dr. Colwell.
Dr. Colwell and his team leave Sunday and will return home on Saturday, January 30th.
For more information about IMANA or to donate to Haitian relief efforts: http://imana.org/.
Reported by Erika Thomas. You can contact her at ethomas@kmeg.com.
Friend her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ErikaThomasTV.
Text by Erika Thomas of KPTH:
(SIOUX CITY, IA) A powerful 6.1 magnitude aftershock rocked Haiti Wednesday, a week after the first deadly earthquake. Still, St. Luke's Emergency Room physician Rick Colwell is packing his bags for the island. The dedicated doctor who goes in as everyone else gets out.
Dr. Rick Colwell is no stranger to packing - Haiti will be his third trip abroad to help victims of devastation.
"You have kind of a sense of what, how much you can do. You always leave feeling like you didn't do enough," says Dr. Rick Colwell.
As part of IMANA - the Islamic Medical Association of North America - Dr. Colwell saved lives after the 2005 Pakistan earthquake and in Gaza last year.
"You walk away from there but they don't. Whether you help them or save them, they're still there," says Dr. Colwell.
He will now use those experiences, along with eight other IMANA doctors, to help people fighting to survive in Haiti.
"I think the hardest part will just be the great human tragedy," says Dr. Colwell. "You want to get right in there and save the world today but it doesn't generally happen like that."
A lead group returned Tuesday night after working through the initial devastation.
"But smaller, more flexible organizations can get right into the community and start helping people right away," says Dr. Colwell.
This second wave of doctors will have to fight infection to save lives.
"You try to help everyone. And you try to save the ones that you can," says Dr. Colwell.
It takes a special person to run in when everyone else is running out. but one person can make a difference, no matter how big or small.
"Everybody has something to give," says Dr. Colwell.
Dr. Colwell and his team leave Sunday and will return home on Saturday, January 30th.
For more information about IMANA or to donate to Haitian relief efforts: http://imana.org/.
Reported by Erika Thomas. You can contact her at ethomas@kmeg.com.
Friend her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ErikaThomasTV.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Sioux City Doctor Headed to Haiti
KTIV Channel 4 of Sioux City reports:
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KTIV) - A Sioux City doctor is answering the call for relief in Haiti. Rick Colwell leaves for a six day mission to the earthquake ravaged region on Sunday.
The trip will mark Colwell's third humanitarian effort overseas. He went to Gaza in 2009. He also visited Pakistan in 2005 after an earthquake struck that region.
Colwell is the only mid-west member of the Islamic Medical Assistants of North America, a group comprised of E-R docs like himself, as well as an anesthesiologist and even a plastic surgeon.
He's traveling to Haiti to help more than just the emergency needs of earthquake victims.
"In a country as poor as Haiti, you have a lot of chronic illness. Those people are still sick, the ones that lived, they're still sick. They have no where to go," he explains.
Colwell says getting to Haiti is a "logistical nightmare" for groups like his. It's important for them to be set-up ahead of time so they don't become part of the problem when they arrive.
Luckily, humanitarian groups are closely connected and they were able to find a permanent relief camp in Haiti that will allow them set-up their own base.
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KTIV) - A Sioux City doctor is answering the call for relief in Haiti. Rick Colwell leaves for a six day mission to the earthquake ravaged region on Sunday.
The trip will mark Colwell's third humanitarian effort overseas. He went to Gaza in 2009. He also visited Pakistan in 2005 after an earthquake struck that region.
Colwell is the only mid-west member of the Islamic Medical Assistants of North America, a group comprised of E-R docs like himself, as well as an anesthesiologist and even a plastic surgeon.
He's traveling to Haiti to help more than just the emergency needs of earthquake victims.
"In a country as poor as Haiti, you have a lot of chronic illness. Those people are still sick, the ones that lived, they're still sick. They have no where to go," he explains.
Colwell says getting to Haiti is a "logistical nightmare" for groups like his. It's important for them to be set-up ahead of time so they don't become part of the problem when they arrive.
Luckily, humanitarian groups are closely connected and they were able to find a permanent relief camp in Haiti that will allow them set-up their own base.
AMMG Called On Again to Aid Haiti
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Completing Successful Humanitarian Mission to Gaza: AMMG Called On Again to Aid Earthquake Victims in Haiti
Washington DC (Jan 5, 2010) – Completing a successful mission to Gaza last year to medically assist with the humanitarian crisis left by war in the region - American Medical Mission to Gaza (AMMG) is once again deploying physicians to aid humanitarian efforts - this time to the island nation of Haiti after recent earthquake devastated the country.
“We are learning that the type of injuries that Haitians have sustained are not different from those that of the Gazans received from the military assault last year.” Commented Ismail Mehr, Anesthesiologist from Hornell, New York who is also leading the mission.
“A lot of the cases we have heard about - crushed limbs that require amputation, infections that need treatment and other medical necessities are all specific type of medical services that we provided in Gaza last year because of the air-strikes.”AMMG has assembled a group of physicians - providing medical resources in the form of care, assistance and advocacy to help those in needs. The group has been deployed to several nations including Pakistan, Indonesia and recently to the war torn region of Gaza.
Multiple AMMG physicians have already been deployed to Haiti, having arrived on January 17th and including Dr.Irfan Galaria.
Physicians will be rotated every ten days in groups - with the second team being lead by Dr. Ismail Mehr departing on January 24th.
AMMG is collaborating with Islamic Medical Association of North American (IMANA) and consolidating resources to fully maximizing humanitarian efforts.
“We have experience working under difficult circumstances and are very familiar with the type of injuries reported and feel we can contribute substantively to the humanitarians efforts on the ground in Haiti. Its not only our obligation as Muslims - but our duty as fellow human beings."
You can follow Dr. Ismail Mehr and the rest of the AMMG team on their mission at: http://ammgaza.blogspot.com/
Help contribute to the humanitarian efforts: http://www.imana.org/
More Information about IMANA at: http://www.imana.org/
Completing Successful Humanitarian Mission to Gaza: AMMG Called On Again to Aid Earthquake Victims in Haiti
Washington DC (Jan 5, 2010) – Completing a successful mission to Gaza last year to medically assist with the humanitarian crisis left by war in the region - American Medical Mission to Gaza (AMMG) is once again deploying physicians to aid humanitarian efforts - this time to the island nation of Haiti after recent earthquake devastated the country.
“We are learning that the type of injuries that Haitians have sustained are not different from those that of the Gazans received from the military assault last year.” Commented Ismail Mehr, Anesthesiologist from Hornell, New York who is also leading the mission.
“A lot of the cases we have heard about - crushed limbs that require amputation, infections that need treatment and other medical necessities are all specific type of medical services that we provided in Gaza last year because of the air-strikes.”AMMG has assembled a group of physicians - providing medical resources in the form of care, assistance and advocacy to help those in needs. The group has been deployed to several nations including Pakistan, Indonesia and recently to the war torn region of Gaza.
Multiple AMMG physicians have already been deployed to Haiti, having arrived on January 17th and including Dr.Irfan Galaria.
Physicians will be rotated every ten days in groups - with the second team being lead by Dr. Ismail Mehr departing on January 24th.
AMMG is collaborating with Islamic Medical Association of North American (IMANA) and consolidating resources to fully maximizing humanitarian efforts.
“We have experience working under difficult circumstances and are very familiar with the type of injuries reported and feel we can contribute substantively to the humanitarians efforts on the ground in Haiti. Its not only our obligation as Muslims - but our duty as fellow human beings."
You can follow Dr. Ismail Mehr and the rest of the AMMG team on their mission at: http://ammgaza.blogspot.com/
Help contribute to the humanitarian efforts: http://www.imana.org/
More Information about IMANA at: http://www.imana.org/
Monday, January 18, 2010
AMMG in Haiti
At press time, AMMG has several physicians on the ground in Haiti, helping provide medical assistance to those affected by the devastating earthquake a few days ago. They are working in conjunction with IMANA Relief and other aid organizations. Details to follow.
Technical Difficulties
Unfortunately due to reasons beyond our control, the blog was offline for the past few months. We apologize for any inconveniences this may have caused.
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