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The death toll continues to climb in Haiti after it was struck by a massive earthquake. The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio has a history of working with the poor in Haiti. And as Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies reports the medical staff is gearing up to return.
January 14, 2010 · Doctor Ruth Berggren was sitting in her office on Tuesday afternoon when she first heard about the quake.
“I received a phone call from my mother who was holding up a cell phone to CNN,” she said.
The news was bad and getting worse – a 7.0 magnitude earthquake had just hit Haiti.
Forty-eight hours earlier Berggren was standing in Haiti with UT Health Science Center medical students working with the poor. Berggren has a personal connection to Haiti.
“I actually grew up on Haiti. I lived there from the age of four till I was a teenager,” said Berggren.
Both her parents were public health doctors working in Haiti. The talk around the kitchen table was often about Haiti’s medical troubles. Berggren said her life in Haiti shaped her into the doctor and expert in infectious diseases that she is today. She’s worked to pass her love of Haiti on to her students by bringing them to the impoverished Caribbean nation.
“Albert Schweitzer said example isn’t the best way to influence others; it’s the only way."
Beth Melia is following Dr. Berggren’s example. She is a second year medical student and is part of Project Haiti.
“We see lots of worms. Every child gets treated for worms,” Melia said.
Melia was also in Haiti just days ago, but her thoughts today are back in the disaster zone.
“It’s heartbreaking, because this nation needs a lot of help in terms of nutrition, infrastructure, access to clean water, etc., and to think that a disaster of this scope is now something that has been added on to that its kinda unimaginable how they’ll be able to come out of it,” she said.
Dr. Berggren is preparing to return to Haiti as soon as possible with an emergency medical team.
Meanwhile she’s encouraging people to donate money to Haiti relief programs including her organization on the web at texashumanities.org.
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