Heroes for Haiti: One man’s fight for
global aid
By Mitzi Brabb
2/17/10
America is a land of privilege.
Many of us think little of paying four dollars for coffee
at Starbucks, or spending lavishly on cell phone minutes at
every available opportunity. But there is one man in Rim
Country who has seen a very different world, one in which the
cell phone is an object to gaze upon in wonderment, and a small
cup of coffee is a luxury.
Randy Roberson has been a part
of Payson for more than two decades. He admits to being an
average individual who once took things for granted. Then
something profound happened to him that changed his life, and
made him view everything in a new light.
Some thirteen years ago, when
Roberson was a broadcaster for Payson radio station KMOG, he
had a fascinating interview with a man named Dr. Larry Ward.
Ward, an internationally recognized
Humanitarian who was described by former President Ronald
Reagan as the "White House Ambassador to the Hungry
World," quickly hit it off with Roberson,
and Roberson soon became his
protégé in world disaster relief efforts.
With Ward’s help, Roberson
became a world leader in disaster response and management,
potentially risking his life by going into devastated areas in
need of immediate assessment and help. In fact,
that’s how he eventually became the founder of H.E.L.P
(Humanitarian Emergency Logistics and Preparedness, Inc.), a
non-profit relief organization devoted to globally helping
victims of both man-made and natural disasters.
“My mission is to go
into disaster areas that need damage assessment and figure out
how to
Randy Roberson stands next to a sign
pleading for help for the victims in the devastated city of
Port-au-Prince. Photo courtesy/Randy Roberson.
meet the needs of the people and the
greater community,” said Roberson.
“The thing I really enjoy
about our capability is that we are not a big machine, we are
not big bureaucracy, we can go in, see a problem, and fix
it,” he added.
While focusing on the “four
R’s” (rescue, relief, recovery and rehabilitation),
he works first-hand by providing aid to civilians, along with a
variety of other services to disaster stricken areas, including
communities worldwide that have been ravaged by floods,
earthquake, tsunami’s and famine. He has
assisted at refugee camps during the war in
Kosovo, witnessed poverty and the ravages of AIDS in Africa,
and has helped in some of the most damage-stricken areas of the
world including Colombia, El Salvador, Turkey, Thailand, India
and Bangladesh. Recently, however, his attention has been
diverted to the destruction caused by the recent earthquake in
Haiti.
“I have worked in so many
devastated places on the face of the earth, but this was by far
the ugliest,” said Roberson.
“The heartbreak in Haiti
was an epidemic even before the earthquake, the disaster just
exacerbated
it.”
While vividly recalling the scent of
death at the scene, he described Haiti as a completely
collapsed country.
“It’s a hundred
times worse than people could ever imagine. On the best
day in Haiti before the earthquake, the country could already
define heartbreak and disaster. There was already a
terrible amount of poverty, disease and malnutrition. Now it is
much worse.”
HELP is a small nonprofit
organization, but it has big connections. Aside from
implementing mobile medical clinics, water purification
systems, and disaster management, Roberson has been a pioneer
in the use of telemedicine. He has been able to work directly
with doctors in the United States via satellite link-ups, which
use audio-visual teleconferencing with medical devices
attached.
“During tsunami relief
operations Dr. Michaels, who is my associate here, was able to
diagnose tuberculosis from over 10,000 miles away,”
Roberson stated.
Because emergency medical needs are
so great in disaster areas, Roberson has created a portable,
solar-powered, telecommunication medical
backpack to use. He also retrofitted a 20-foot cargo
container, turning it into a medical clinic known as
"Doc-in-a-Box." HELP stores telecommunication
satellite gear in it in order to reach a large network of
doctors when the need arises.
“I’m excited as we move
forward with this technology, not only to help with medical
needs, but to engage the hearts and minds of people
here,” Roberson said.
He hopes to motivate people and
service groups by showing them the live video feed of a
disaster area so that they can see what is truly going on
there.
Randy Roberson provides aid to a victim of
last month’s earthquake in Haiti. Photo courtesy/
Jean Gross
“It gives us the capability
for the first time to really share the plight of the people in
these places,” he said.
Aside from telemedicine
developments, HELP also brings much needed water purification
systems to disaster areas. Roberson said that
contaminated water is one of the biggest killers in the world
today, and the problem is made worse after an earthquake or a
flood that results in contamination. They use a system
that works well and is also inexpensive. It is basically
a chlorine gas generator that works by using the electrolysis
of salt. Roberson has successfully brought these
portable, sustainable systems to indigenous tribal people in
small villages in the middle of nowhere, teaching them to use
the system safely and effectively.
With these efforts alone, it is no
wonder that Roberson was recently chosen to be a consultant for
disaster management by the Philippine National Red Cross, and
has served as a consultant to the South African Parliament for
developing disaster preparedness planning.
Still, Roberson feels that there is
so much more to do. With some 460,000 people in Haiti
living in makeshift camps, where the needs of the famished and
thirsty aren’t being met, what can be done?
Medical attention and supplies are
obviously among the greatest needs. Even the simplest
wounds are getting worse as the environment after the
earthquake has been anything but sterile, and there is a severe
shortage of antibiotics.
“People are getting infections
and limbs are turning gangrenous. Amputations are
happening constantly down there right now,” he explains.
“In many places it’s a
matter of people biting down on a stick while doctors cut off
an arm or a leg with a hacksaw. It so much more ugly that
people could ever imagine. Again, it redefines disaster and
heartbreak”
HELP stands for a voice, a heart, a
hand. Roberson is not only a hero in Haiti, but also a
hero to those in need around the world. Still, he cannot
get to disaster areas without help, as 95% of his contributions
come from local Payson organizations and individuals. If
you would like to help, visit disasterlogistics.org or mail a
donation to HELP, P.O. Box 58 Payson, AZ 85547. In
addition, HELP has an account set up at the Wells Fargo bank in
Payson.