Midstate Residents Trying to Leave Haiti While Others Look for Ways to Help

Efforts are underway to bring home the dozens of Middle Tennesseans thought to be in Haiti.

A group of missionaries from Woodmont Christian Church were in Port au Prince for the 7-point quake. Their hotel was leveled, but no one in the group was hurt. On Thursday, the missionaries were evacuated to the Dominican Republic on a military transport plane.

Nashville Congressman Jim Cooper’s office is coordinating efforts to find and recover other Tennesseans still in the earthquake zone.
Meanwhile, others are contemplating ways they can help the impoverished nation recover from this week’s earthquake.

Eye surgeon Amy Chomsky may soon return to the country as part of a medical response team. For the past few months, she’s been working to create two Vanderbilt eye care centers in Haiti. She says the director of their host clinic in Port au Prince survived the quake, but the building was damaged. While the first priority is to make sure Haitians survive the disaster, Chomsky says its likely many will need a second wave of care, including treatment for eye injuries.

Most aid organizations say gifts of money are the best way to help the rescue and recovery work. To make sure those funds make it to Haiti, rather than the pockets of a scammer, Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett recommends people research and ask questions of charities before donating, use checks rather than cash, and use caution when responding to unsolicited requests for aid.