Samaritan's Purse President Franklin Graham visited a variety of our relief efforts and met with our team leaders on the ground to plan for a long-term commitment during a two-day trip to earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

“Samaritan's Purse will be here for months, possibly years to come,” he said. “Anything we can do for them we do it in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I want the people of Haiti to know that God has not forgotten them. He loves them, He cares for them.”

Graham arrived in Haiti Friday morning for a first-hand look at our work. He toured sites in Leogane and Grand Goave, where Samaritan's Purse has distributed emergency relief supplies including plastic for temporary shelter, and installed community water filters.

He then held devotions and had dinner with the staff at our base camp. About 20 soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, which has been providing security for much of our relief work, were invited to activities at the base.

Graham attended a food distribution at the Cite Soleil slums in Port-au-Prince and meet with Leon Dorleans, pastor of one of our church partners, on Saturday.

Samaritan's Purse has distributed food, plastic for shelter, hygiene kits, blankets, and other relief supplies in Cite Soleil, one of poorest areas of Haiti. Heavy equipment operators are working to reopen a medical clinic at Pastor Dorleans’ church in the community.

Conditions remain grim in Haiti three weeks after the massive earthquake devastated the country. More than 700,000 people are still living on the streets with no shelter or in “tents” constructed of twigs and worn sheets. Emergency food continues to be a critical need. Although some small markets have opened, food prices are greatly inflated. Medical facilities are reporting an increase in cases of tetanus, measles, and chicken pox, and there is a growing diarrhea problem.

"These people have very little to begin with," Graham said. "Now many of them have absolutely nothing."

Samaritan’s Purse responded immediately after the quake, and had a disaster assistance team in Haiti the following day to help with water, shelter, medical care, and other emergency needs.

To date we have:

• Installed 10 water filtration systems in and around Port-au-Prince. Each system is capable of providing up to 10,000 gallons of clean drinking water daily.

• Distributed food and relief supplies to 43 orphanages, many in remote locations that received little to no other assistance.

• Conducted dozens of distributions of non-food items in Cite Soleil, Leogane, Petit Goave, Pettionville, Grande Groave, and other communities in the Port-au-Prince area. Items included: 4,060 rolls of plastic (each roll providing temporary shelter for five families), 3,058 hygiene kits, and 4,890 blankets.

• Chartered a barge to ferry 400 tons of supplies and equipment, including heavy machinery for debris removal. Another cargo ship arrived with more equipment and supplies over the weekend. Heavy equipment operators are working to reopen a medical clinic in Cite Soleil. Samaritan’s Purse medical staff will begin work in the clinic next week.

• Medical personnel with Samaritan’s Purse have treated more than 1,500 patients at the Baptist Haiti Mission Hospital.

We also are one of eight humanitarian agencies working with the World Food Program and the Haitian government to distribute food in the Port-au-Prince area. Distributions of shelter plastic and other relief supplies are ongoing, and we are flying $130,000 in vaccines for tetanus and diphtheria into Port-Au-Prince from Canada.

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Samaritan's Purse , Haiti , Help for Haiti , Franklin Graham Visits Haiti