Moira's on a mission to devastated island

HAITI’S slow recovery from earthquake devastation has been blighted by disease and poverty, while a rise in violence and sex crimes has rocked the island nation.

Moira Proctor is returning to Haiti to help earthquake victims.

Even those who offer assistance are put in the firing line, with recent reports of aid workers being shot and murdered as they reach out with a helping hand.

But, inspired by the bravery of Haiti’s law abiding majority, a Moray woman has remained true to her promise to return to the country she first visited only weeks after the quake horror.

Moira Proctor joined the aid effort in 2010, and has shrugged off fears for her own safety to pledge more support by booking a second trip to the Caribbean island.

Originally from Elgin before moving to Guernsey six years ago, the selfless nurse rallied family and friends in her home area to donate cash which she then took out to Haiti to help stricken communities based near the quake’s epicentre.

Now she is appealing for Moray to back her second aid mission to the troubled nation.

During her original two-week stay in Léogâne Moira cared for orphans living in appalling conditions, tended to people with wounds inflicted by machete attacks, and offered support to young women forced to end their pregnancy with self abortion because they were unable to cope.

She became emotionally attached to so many of the people, including a young boy separated from his parents who she took to her heart and enjoyed a special bond with.

When she left, knowing Haiti may never fully recover from its worst disaster, Moira was determined she would go back there in the future to give more support, and meet some of her old friends.

So when a 10-day slot became available this month in her busy accident and emergency job in Guernsey, she began planning her return visit to the trouble-torn island.

"I’ve wanted to go back since the day I returned the last time. Once you’ve been to Haiti it becomes part of your soul," Moira said.

"I’m just really hoping the public, my friends and family will be kind enough to donate – even if it’s just a pound. If everybody did that I could end up with as much as last time, which was just under £10,000."

Even recent news that aid workers have been killed in Haiti while helping the relief effort did not deter her from fulfilling her pledge to make another mercy mission.

One American who set up a charity to build an orphanage was shot as he came out of a bank where he had withdrawn money to get food for orphans. After flying back to his home in Miami last week, the man died from his injuries. Another was gunned down in the past seven days, while last year a Canadian charity worker was shot, and his driver was killed, while assisting Haiti’s rebuilding plans.

It was not the news Moira wanted to hear, but she has put her faith in local security and finalised her travel plans to jet out on February 24.

"I do reiki and believe in angels so I’m sure they will look after us, We’ll just have to hope we stay safe," said Moira.

The accommodation she has booked is an air-conditioned tent in the grounds of an old hotel, which is guarded by a local carrying a gun or machete.

She will be based in Cite Soleil, a city of a million people living mostly in squalor. It is the most dangerous place in Haiti, where young gangs fighting for survival take the law into their own hands.

Moira says the city’s people have so far enjoyed little benefit from the work of charities, while any improvements which did emerge have caused resentment, jealousy and more division between the classes.

Some aid workers are even being paid up to 10 times more than local salaries while driving around in big jeeps and having housing allowances, she said.

"Rents have soared in Haiti making it almost impossible for people to get out of the tented cities they are in. If they are lucky they have a plastic roof but the heat inside is then unbearable and some people have gone back to live within the rubble of their own homes, just to get away from the camps.

"The insecurity of these tents are blamed for the rise in violence, rape and paedophilia, and food prices have also soared.

"I recently read a story about a woman who said if she was lucky she got one meal a day, but often goes two days without. So she puts salt in her water to keep her going.

"She is breast feeding but cannot produce enough milk for her son, and cannot afford baby formula so gives him a little condensed milk which she has."

Last time she went to Haiti, Moira was involved with an international volunteer programme, but this time she has set up her own charity account ‘Help Haiti’, and is hoping she can attract some donations from Moray before she leaves.

She is paying her flight and accommodation costs from her own pocket – over £1,000 – and plans to work with other charity efforts in Haiti when she is over there.

One charity, Rebuild Globally (www.rebuildglobally.org), gives local people the resources to make their own items such as flip flops from tyres, to sell internationally. Moira will work with this cause, and is willing to take orders from anyone keen to make a purchase which she can then bring back with her.

"If I can give donations towards this type of thing then the Haitians feel they are achieving something and becoming self sufficient. Boosting the local economy can’t be a bad thing either.

"This is why I feel so strongly about taking money over there rather than putting it into some charity account and not knowing where it’s going to end up."

Another charity working in Haiti is called We Advance, which helps to empower women by recognising their issues and provides care and support for those who were victimised during the disaster.

"Many women if not all, experience violence, abuse and rape," Moira said.

Her nursing experience will also prove invaluable in Cite Soleil, as she plans to help out in clinics and hospitals. She will bring with her a range of medicines, including drugs used to treat cholera outbreaks and another which helps stimulate contractions in pregnant women.

"I will be helping anywhere I am needed which may be teaching and educating, distributing food, nursing, supporting street kids – anything really. Even just offering my huge hugs."

Moira hopes she will be reserving one of those hugs for Ivorsen, the young boy who she bonded with in Léogâne, and who she plans to visit there during her stay.

"Part of me is worried they will think I don’t care because I haven’t been for two years. But I hope to visit the friends I made last time.

"This will include seeing my favourite little boy – I can’t wait to have hugs with him."

Anyone who wants to contribute to Moira’s Help Haiti fund can donate to: HSBC, Guernsey, Sort Code 40-22-25 Account Number 84250494. More information is also available on her Facebook page.