A HELPING HAND TO HAITI

Story and photos by: PA3 Sandra Bartlett, Oct. 28, 2004

Hand over the goods

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti-- Crewmembers from Coast Guard cutter Harriet Lane form an assembly line to offload nearly 20,000 pounds of hurricane relief items to the country of Haiti. USCG photo by PA3 Sandra Bartlett.
Hand-by-hand the boxes travelled from the two delivery trucks to the 270-foot, Portsmouth, Va., based cutter Harriet Lane moored at Industrial Support Command Miami. All said and done the ship's crew onloaded nearly 20,000 pounds of locally donated hurricane relief supplies.
 
As a result of this summer's historical hurricane season, Haiti fell victim to flooding and many of the problems that accompany hurricanes, leaving many homeless and with little to survive.
 
Reverand Luke Harrigan, a prominent leader among the Haitian community, and
pastor of the First Haitian Baptist Church here in Miami, put in motion his own plan to assist the country. He called the U.S. Coast Guard, an agency with whom he had develeoped a close working relationship.
 
A plan was quickly in the works and Harrigan and Miami's Seventh Coast Guard District began their teamwork. The goods were collected by Harrigan's church, and transported to Sector Miami by the Broward Sherrif's Office in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Harriet Lane was designated to deliver the humanitarian aid to members of the Haitian Red Cross in Port Au Prince, Haiti, by Oct. 28.
 
Lookout on the open bridge
PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti -- A crewmember from cutter Harriet Lane stands lookout from the open bridge of the ship as it makes its way into Port Au Prince. USCG photo by PA3 Sandra Bartlett.
Water, food, clothing, toiletries and other necessities all lay in neatly stacked  boxes on Harriet Lane's flight deck. The
cutter left Miami the evening of the 25th, and arrived in Port Au Prince as planned the morning of the 28th after steaming three days through the Carribbean and into the Windward Pass.
 
Brazilian soldiers from the United Nations guarded the cutter and her crew as she tied up at the the pier in Port Au Prince. The assembly line began again and the crew offloaded all of the items on to the pier within three hours.
 
Harrigan, proudly adorning a Coast Guard ballcap and T-shirt, met the crew there along with the Haitian Red Cross who accepted the goods for distribution among the country.
 
"My sincerest appreciation goes to the men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard who made these efforts possible," said Harrigan as he observed his operation in the works. "It warms my heart to see such an outreach in my country's time of need." 
 
Big hearts in Haiti
PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti -- Members of the Haitian Red Cross met the crew of the Harriet Lane and accepted the nearly 20,000 pounds of hurricane relief supplies for distribution among the hardest hit areas of the country. USCG photo by PA3 Sandra Bartlett.
 
-USCG-

Printer Friendly Versionprinter friendly