HOUSTON - Several weeks have passed since
the massive earthquake that struck Haiti and the plight of survivors is
growing more desperate, based on the account from a Houston-area woman
who has already hand-delivered help to thousands of Haitians. She now
wants to do even more.
"The families that are there are now
are living outside under cardboard or plastic tenting, or a tablecloth
or bedsheets," says Dr. Gayla Holley. "You can not imagine how they're
living."
Dr. Holley visited Haiti on behalf of a non-profit
organization she founded in 2009, Moms Against Hunger. Helping people
of Haiti has become her top priority. Even though she just delivered
four containers of donated food and supplies, she says it is not enough.
"It
upset me. It shook me up to see the conditions. It was hard to not cry
in front of them," said Holley after returning from Port-au-Prince, the
heart of the earthquake disaster.
Holley describes people
living a nightmare. She said they have no way to provide for
themselves, let alone their children. Mothers stand packed in line for
hours waiting for a food handout while fathers take apart buildings to
salvage bricks.
Nearly seven weeks since the earthquake, Holley believes people are losing hope.
"They
see that less and less people are there to help them," said Holley. She
believes that people will die if relief shipments do not continue. But
she cannot do it alone.
Moms Against Hunger needs donations of
items that include first aid kits, baby wipes and formula. The
organization also needs food that requires no cooking or a can opener.
Perhaps most of all, it needs generous amounts of cash.
"It costs me $7.000 to ship a container," explained Holley.
"I
need corporations. I need businesses. I need owners that would love to
be a part of feeding, clothing, and taking care of people."
Holley
has documented every part of her organization's relief efforts on its
website, momsagainsthunger.org, where anyone can make a donation.
Moms
Against Hunger needs the following items:$40,000 for truck
distribution,$7,000 for shipping aid containers to Haiti, bottled
water, baby wipes, formula, cereal, aspirin for children, Oragel for
teething toddlers, cough drops, antibiotic ointment, bandages, aspirin,
diapers, diaper cream, baby powder, baby lotion, soap, wash cloths,
towels, toothbrushes, toothpaste, hand sanitizer, blankets of all
sizes, baby food, shoes of all sizes for children, clothing, granola
bars, juice boxes, peanut butter and crackers.