SALVATION Army medical staff in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, have played a part in the miraculous survival of 28-year-old Evan Ocinia, who was pulled from the rubble on Monday 8 February – 28 days after the earthquake brought devastation to the region.
Evan was taken to the Salvation Army clinic at its compound in the Delmas 2 area of Port-au-Prince after being pulled from the rubble in the nearby Lionshead marketplace. Two men were digging through the rubble when Evan called out to them. The men who found Evan knew The Salvation Army had a 'hospital' nearby.
Evan was extremely dehydrated and had skin wounds but he did not appear to have any critical wounds or broken bones. He was able to hold his head up on his own and take sips of water from the doctor who accompanied Salvation Army personnel transporting him to the University of Miami Hospital which is located next to the airport in Port-au-Prince.
The Salvation Army has taken responsibility for the care of 20,000 people living in temporary shelter near its Port-au-Prince compound. Its medical clinic continues to treat more than 250 people a day on-site, with several transfers daily to the university hospital.
Eight babies have been delivered at the clinic since the earthquake. The fifth baby – yet to be named – arrived at 8 am, before the clinic opened, and so was delivered outdoors, in the courtyard. The baby girl and her mother Louester – a resident of the camp under the supervision of The Salvation Army – are doing well.
Salvation Army personnel have been sent to Petit Goâve and Jacmel, to assess the needs and formulate a response. The Salvation Army has also commenced distribution of food and essential non-food items to people living in the corridor south-east of Port-au-Prince. Affectionately dubbed the 'Balan Express', the initial run targeted the communities of Lafferonny and Balan.
The Salvation Army’s 20-foot truck set out with 110 boxes of prepared food (equivalent to 9,504 individual meals), 330 gallons of purified drinking water, 38 hygiene kits and 39 tents to be divided between the two cities. The truck arrived in Port-au-Prince last week just in time to begin this essential support to these smaller outlying communities. It was a gift from the Salvation Army World Service Office (SAWSO) in the USA.
This food distribution brings the number of meals given out by The Salvation Army to more than 1.5 million, with another 2.5 million meals scheduled for delivery.
An additional 145 tents have been provided for distribution by the Protestant Federation, as well as through Salvation Army units in Carrefour, Petit Goâve and Port-au-Prince.
 Evan Ocinia, who survived under rubble for 28 days, is taken to hospital from the Salvation Army clinic in Port-au-Prince |
 Evan Ocinia, pulled from the rubble after 28 days, is checked over by a doctor at the Salvation Army clinic in Port-au-Prince |
 Major Evelyn Chavez with Louester and her newborn baby – the fifth to be born at the Salvation Army clinic in Port-au-Prince |
 Major Kelly Pontsler with the fifth baby to be born at the Salvation Army clinic in Port-au-Prince |
