REHOBOTH, Mass. -- A pastor and a pilot from the South Coast returned Tuesday from a humanitarian mission to Haiti.
The country was struck by a powerful earthquake two weeks ago.
Pastor Dennis Baril of Community Covenant Church in Rehoboth and one of his church members -- Scott Martin, who is a co-owner of Brahmin Leather Works in Fairhaven and a pilot -- flew missions from the Dominican Republic into Haiti to transport vital goods like intravenous lines.
"For the hospitals to be contacting us, e-mailing me at night, saying, 'Scott, any chance you can get some IV solution because they have 20 surgeries tomorrow and no IV solution to do them with?'" Martin said.
Martin and Baril said they delivered more than 22,000 pounds of supplies during their five-day mission.
One of their stops was a children's hospital.
"The children were literally dying in the hospitals. It was just unbelievable," Baril said.
They spent most of their time not in Haiti's capital city, but in the outskirts. They shuttled a team of doctors to the countryside on one flight.
Baril and Martin said not enough attention is being paid to areas outside the capital of Port-au-Prince, where there wasn't much to begin with.
"A second disaster is about to happen if we do not get support out into the outlying areas in large volume," Martin said.
Baril and Martin said they would return to Haiti, it's just a question of when.
"It's one of those things you feel good about, but you don't want to feel good about," Baril said.
Advertisement