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Canadian Medical Assistance Teams |
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Monday, July 12, 2010: Haiti earthquake - 6 months on. |
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THANK YOU!  The seemingly endless line at triage. |
Friends, Though Haiti wasn’t my first disaster experience, it was the first response I had experienced as National Chairperson of CMAT. This huge undertaking has engulfed my life and the lives of many of CMAT’s board of directors for the past six months. While completely exhausting, I also found it exhilarating to know that as a small, grassroots aid organization, we as individuals can come together to affect so much change. Being a completely volunteer-run and donor-driven organization, CMAT is limited in the scope of our response. We don’t have the funding of the big multi-nationals, like MSF or the Red Cross, but what we do with our limited resources we do extremely well, so well, in fact that CMAT’s usual mandate of an in-country presence of 60 to 90 days was extended due to the extreme need in the region. 6 months ago today, the ground under Haiti shook. In less than 2 minutes, the world they knew collapsed. Nearly 300,000 people were killed, scores were injured, and 1.5 million people are now homeless. There are children without parents, and parents without children - their lives will never be the same. I wanted to take a moment, to reflect on the last 6 months, starting at the beginning of CMAT’s response in the immediate aftermath. To read my overview of CMAT’s response to Haiti’s earthquake, and our activities over the past 6 months, please click here. I recall the trying times – children crying out for parents who will never come back; the seemingly endless line at triage, with seriously injured patients being brought in on the back of door slabs, or by motorcycle; families who have lost their homes, and livelihoods. I also recall the amusing moments – making faces with a toddler, chasing chickens out of the operating room area, and discovering a tarantula had crawled up my trouser leg (amusing now, but not at the time!) To the volunteers, who are reading this, please take a moment today, to think about all the lives you have touched. Many of the people you treated had never seen medical care before, and by generously taking the time out of your lives to travel to Haiti to provide medical aid - this is what CMAT is all about. CMAT provides medical assistance to vulnerable communities, and aims to help reduce the suffering of people affected by disaster. To our donors and supporters, who enabled our volunteers to make such a difference in the lives of the people of Haiti, please know that your generous support directly helped us to provide care for a nation whose deep wounds have only started to heal. On behalf of CMAT’s Board of Directors, and all the patients whose lives you’ve touched, I want to thank each and every one of our volunteers, donors and supporters. Without you, we would not be the change we want in the world. Sincerely, Valerie J. Rzepka, RN, BScN, MSc. CMAT National Chair Read More Click here to join our Facebook Fan Page! IMAT: International Medical Assistance Team SARAid UK Back to top |
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Friday, July 09, 2010: Kelowna paramedic returns from Haiti |
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Team 11 team leader Brad Fraser interviewed on AM 1150 CKFR. Read More Click here to read the story. Back to top |
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Wednesday, June 30, 2010: CMAT Team 11 returns from Haiti |
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 CMAT Team 11 arriving in Port au Prince. L-R Eva Bennett - student intern from Brockville, ON, Brad Fraser, PCP and Team Leader from Kelowna, BC, Anastasia Bennett, RN from Brockville, ON Jacqui Stuart, NP from Woodstock, ON and Dianna Cleland, NP from Strathroy, ON.  CMAT Team 11 members Jacqui, Brad and Dianna, brushing up on their Haitian Creole. |
Canadian Medical Assistance Teams' eleventh team of medical volunteers recently returned from their rotation in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Read More Back to top |
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Monday, June 21, 2010: CMAT Team 10 returns from Haiti |
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: Aysha Ebrahim, RN from Toronto, ON Carrie Mines, RN from Hamilton, ON Christina Coambs, ACP from Edmonton, AB Erin Clarke, RN from Scarborough, ON Rose Stone, RN from Oakville, ON (Team Leader) Amy Heffern, PCP from Sandringham, NF Luke Palmer, PCP from Vancouver, BC) CMAT Team 10 (L-R): Aysha Ebrahim, RN from Toronto, ON Carrie Mines, RN from Hamilton, ON Christina Coambs, ACP from Edmonton, AB Erin Clarke, RN from Scarborough, ON Rose Stone, RN from Oakville, ON (Team Leader) Amy Heffern, PCP from Sandringham, NF Luke Palmer, PCP from Vancouver, BC |
June 21, 2010 – Canadian Medical Assistance Teams' tenth team of medical volunteers recently returned from their rotation in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Read More Back to top |
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Thursday, June 10, 2010: CMAT Team 9 returns from Haiti |
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 Kim McCann, RN from Port Perry, ON., Rebecca Stevens, RN from Surrey, BC., Janie McCabe, RN from Napanee, ON., Margaret Hyslop, Mental Health worker from Merritt, BC, Julie Roberts, PCP from Vancouver, BC and Dr. Mark Hyslop, MD from Merritt, BC.) CMAT Team 9 (L-R) Kim McCann, RN from Port Perry, ON., Rebecca Stevens, RN from Surrey, BC., Janie McCabe, RN from Napanee, ON., Margaret Hyslop, Mental Health worker from Merritt, BC, Julie Roberts, PCP from Vancouver, BC and Dr. Mark Hyslop, MD from Merritt, BC. |
Canadian Medical Assistance Teams' ninth team of medical volunteers recently returned from their rotation in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Read More Back to top |
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Canadian Medical Assistance Teams |
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