Courtesy Photo | U.S. Civil Affairs Officers with the Forces Special Operations Component Command talk...... read more read more
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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — U.S. Army Special Operations civil affairs teams attached to the 82nd Airborne division made assessments of camps around the harbor area of Port-au-Prince, March 2, as part of an effort to monitor the health and welfare of displaced Haitian citizens who lost their homes during the Jan. 12 earthquake.
"We are finding that conditions have continued to improve and these camps have become more organized," said Capt. Mike, an Army civil affairs team leader. "Our job has been to monitor conditions, and help identify any shortfalls, and ensure the right people are aware of their needs."
For civil affairs Soldiers who have been on the ground in Haiti for more than a month, watching conditions improve provides a sense of satisfaction.
"Things are not perfect for the residents and certainly they have a long way to go, but they have access to medical aid, shelter and food," said Staff Sgt. Hansel. "The NGO's have good coordination with these camps and people are getting access to things they need."
With better access to aid and improved shelter, civil affairs team leaders see more people getting back to activities they engaged in before the earthquake.
"You see a lot of people going back to work, or engaging in activities other than worrying about food, water and shelter," said Mike. "There is a sense that some things are returning to normal and those are good signs."
Civil affairs leaders acknowledge there is plenty more work to be done in Haiti, but as they transition their mission over to aid agencies and NGO's, these Soldiers said they take satisfaction of knowing they did their small part to make things a little better for citizens in Port-au-Prince.
"This has been a very rewarding mission," said Mike. "Our Soldiers know they're making a difference and we see it every time we go out on a mission here."
| Date Taken: | 03.02.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 03.04.2010 07:01 |
| Story ID: | 46135 |
| Location: | PORT-AU-PRINCE, HT |
| Web Views: | 451 |
| Downloads: | 402 |
This work, Army civil affairs teams continue to make camp assessments as conditions in Port-au-Prince improve daily, by CDR Arlo Abrahamson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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