On the ground, close to relief efforts, and armed with cell phones and satellite internet connections, aid workers in Haiti are fast emerging as a crucial source of news and information on the situation in Haiti. Oxfam media officers Louis Belanger and Caroline Gluck are two examples of the important trend that is keeping people informed and aid organizations updated.
Oxfam has launched a blog on Posterous called Haiti Quake Updates, and their team has been updating it with firsthand reporting in the form of audio, video, tweets and text commentary,
Belanger recorded a podcast stating that they were at the Domincan Republic – Haiti border, ready to deliver "over 10,000 liters of water to Haitians." The scarcity of water has emerged as an urgent problem in Haiti.
Gluck, who is a former BBC Correspondent, posted the following to the blog and to the Huffington Post:
It’s estimated that two million people were affected by the massive earthquake that hit the Haitian capital earlier this week. Thousands are thought to have been killed, many were injured and the rest of the city’s dazed residents are still reeling from the shock of it all.
Many walk the streets, some barefoot, balancing on their heads bags containing what belongings they could grab before they fled and clutching plastic containers for water. Large numbers are also wearing masks to stop inhaling the thick grey smoke that lingered long after the quake. The masks also offered some protection from the thick stench of dead bodies that lined the streets in the immediate aftermath of the quake and are still turning up wrapped in sheets or pieces of clothing.
Oxfam also particpated in the livestream of the Voice Project, seen here. And the video below, also from the Oxfam blog, depicts relief materials getting ready to ship for Haiti:
As events unfold in Haiti, the voices telling the story of recovery are coming from all those who are there, witnessing history,
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