Volunteers are needed to help treat victims of the Haiti earthquake as part of an effort organized by WELS Committee on Relief (COR).

The COR is seeking licensed medical professionals including doctors, nurses, and physical therapists to staff a hospital in Jimani in Dominican Republic—a need identified by a WELS assessment team that traveled to the town on the border with Haiti Feb. 4. There is also a need for translators—volunteers bi-lingual in English and Spanish and/or English and French.

Currently the hospital is providing emergency, critical care, and physical therapy services for those injured in the earthquake—services not widely available in Port-au-Prince where most hospitals were destroyed. Eventually the hospital will be devoted to providing long-term rehabilitation services as the need for critical care services gradually declines.

The COR currently has funding to bring in two groups of volunteers, one from March 9-17, the other from March 15-23. The COR will consider qualified WELS and non-WELS members, although non-WELS members will need to be invited and accompanied by a professionally qualified WELS member on the trip. Volunteers will be provided travel costs, meals, and lodging. Mark Vance, director of operations for the COR, says there is a potential for future trips if they're needed and funds are available.

Vance, who was part of the WELS team to visit the hospital, says he anticipates there will be a need for volunteers for months to come and that he walked away impressed by the volunteers from other groups who were already on site. "What's going on is so magical," he says. "These volunteers are totally focused on serving these victims—it impacts you as a Christian. How can you not want to help them and share your Savior with them as well?"

Photo credit: ©2010 Evelyn Hockstein/CARE