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The residents of the town of Milot became an integral part of the relief effort. Even
though they had very little themselves, they made housing available for the families
of patients. In spite of losing loved ones or not yet knowing their whereabouts, the
townspeople reached out to care for strangers as their own family. High school students
from the Cap Haitien Royal Symphony transported patients to and from x-ray down the
street. Fifteen and sixteen year olds carried patients on stretchers from the helicopters
to the ambulances. Residents filled pot holes in the street to make transport less painful.
The town’s Mayors made available two tour buses, with 50 person capacity each, to pick
up and transport patients and families from Cap Haitien. Local women washed clothes
and cooked meals for the wounded and displaced persons who streamed into their town.
“Community women come each day in their Sunday best to bathe patients – people
whom they have never met in their lives.” wrote Tom Curran, R.N.
“The amazing thing about the
people is that even those who
have almost nothing, try to give
everything.”
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