AMDA’s Rehabilitation Project for Haiti
for Recovery from the Earthquake of January 2010
【AMDA’s emergency relief activities】

Activity Report

緊急救援活動の様子】

7 January 2011
AMDA President Office
3-31-1 Ifukucho, Kita-ku,
Okayama-shi,
Japan 700-0013
1. Outlines of AMDA and its activities in Haiti after the earthquake in January 2010
On 12th January 2010, Haiti was hit by a disastrous 7.2 magnitude earthquake. The
estimated number of deaths was 250 thousand, and that of the injured was over 300thousand. Among those who were injured, thousands of people had to have their legs
amputated and were left in need of social rehabilitation. Since mid-October 2010, theoutbreak of cholera has caused another tragedy in the country. Each time thesedisasters took place, the Association of Medical Doctors of Asia (AMDA) immediately
took action by considering what was actually needed by the people in Haiti.
AMDA is a non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to humanitarian aidfor people affected by either natural or man-made disasters. While focusing on
emergency aid as its main mission, AMDA has conducted various activities towards thereconstruction of the communities of the sufferers of disasters. This unique style of aid
is based on AMDA’s guiding principle of appreciating diversity of culture, and on thespirit of “Sogo Fujo”, which is a Japanese traditional ethic of mutual aid. Thus AMDA
has respected the positions of those who receive aid and encouraged them to be able tosupport themselves so as to become providers of aid in the future.
Having its headquarters in Okayama, Japan, AMDA has an international network of
30 chapters and 47 collaborating organizations around the world that allows a quick
dispatch of personnel. Since its foundation in 1984, AMDA has worked in 51 countries
and 123 places in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe, in collaboration withgovernments and UN agencies such as UNHCR, WHO, WFP and UNOCHA. Since
2006, AMDA has held General Consultative Status in the Economic and Social Council ofthe UN.
AMDA’s activities in Haiti have included emergency relief, provision of prosthetic
limbs, and medical treatment for those infected by cholera. In August 2010, AMDA helda sports event in the Dominican Republic for the young Haitians, Dominicans andJapanese by way of psychological care for the survivors and of cultural exchange. On
12th January 2011, AMDA staff and the New York branch of Tenrikyo (a religion foundedin Japan with over 2 million followers worldwide) will hold a memorial service in New
York City for the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. AMDA has also arranged anopportunity for Japanese people who survived the huge Hanshin Awaji earthquake in1995 to meet a Haitian girl, who is one of the recipients of prosthetic limbs from AMDA.
The girl will visit Japan in mid-January 2011 to see the people who wish to share theexperience of overcoming disabilities after a huge natural disaster. In these ways,
AMDA is sincerely committed to its mission of humanitarian aid in Haiti following its
guiding principle, as it always is anywhere in the world.
12. Details of AMDA’s activities in Haiti after the earthquake in January 2010
2-1 Emergency relief activities (from January to March 2010)
Two days after the earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010, the first AMDA medical
team was dispatched from Japan and Canada, followed by more teams until the end ofMarch. For those three months, thirty-six medical staff in total were dispatched from
AMDA’s chapters in Japan, Columbia, Nepal, India, Canada, Peru and Bolivia. They
engaged in emergency relief activities mainly in two hospitals in Saint Marc andGonaives, respectively. As the airports in Haiti were shut down, medical staff arrived
via land from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. In addition to supportingthese local hospitals, AMDA donated medical supplies and food through local NGOs who
had been in a collaborative relationship with AMDA.
2-2 Provision of prosthetic legs (from May 2010 to date)
When local needs shifted from medical aid to reconstruction, AMDA started theproject of providing prosthetic limbs for those disaster victims who had their limbs
amputated during life-saving treatment. Jean-Max Bellerive, the Prime Minister ofHaiti, announced that about four thousand people had to have their limbs amputated.
AMDA started a project of providing prosthetic limbs free of cost as it realized theimportance of the amputees rejoining society and helping to reconstruct the country.
AMDA Prosthetic Centre was launched in DASH Hospital in Port-Au-Prince, and one
Japanese prosthetist has been dispatched to the centre.
Targeted recipients:

30-50 Haitian sufferers of the earthquake who had legs amputated

Number of prosthetic limbs produced:
Number of Staff:

42 (as of the end of 2010)

1 prosthetist dispatched from Japan
3 local staff (coordinator, assistant/bodyguard, driver/interpreter)

Place: DASH Hospital (Delmas, Port-Au-Prince)
Activities:
1) Procurement of materials and a machine to make prosthetic limbs
Used parts and materials were collected in Japan to reduce the cost and help
more people who needed prosthetic legs. Thanks to cooperation by the Kumamoto
College of Medical Care and Rehabilitation in Japan, 500 used parts weighing 230kg
were collected from prosthetic limb makers in Japan and shipped to the Dominican
Republic on 15th July 2010. The package of the used parts and materials wasdelivered to Haiti in late September 2010, after being kept at the customs for months
due to strict customs clearance procedures.
A large machine to make prosthetic limbs was purchased through OMEGA in
Puerto Rico using a donation from Rotary International 2780 District.
2) Activities by the staff:
With the machine and used parts/materials that were delivered to AMDA
Prosthetic Centre, 28 prosthetic legs were made and given to recipients free of charge
by the end of November 2010. The total number of prosthetic limbs made at thecentre was 42 as of 30th December 2010. The Japanese prosthetist worked with local
staffs to make prosthetic legs and provide gait training to the recipients.
In September 2010, a Haitian coordinator started “Haiti-Japan Cultural Club” in2Port-Au-Prince as a means of providing continued psychological care to Haitianchildren after the sports exchange programme in August. The Japanese prosthetist
was involved in this activity as an adviser. At the Cultural Club, Haitian children,
who only have rare opportunities for entertainment, enjoyed such events as
experiencing traditional Japanese craft work (“ORIGAMI”) and sports. It is also
expected that the Cultural Club will contribute to a better understanding of Japan by
Haitian children. A Japanese language class for Haitian young people was also heldevery weekend. As the number of applicants increased to more than 40, the numberof classes was increased to two.
【AMDA Prosthetic Centre in DASH Hospital】

BA
B: Japanese prosthetist treating a HaitianA
child
A:

DASH Hospital

C:Japanese prosthetist making prosthetic limbs

D： The first recipient of a prosthetic leg
E： Japanese prosthetist and recipients

CD3

E

←AMDA is holding a meeting
to explain its project to Haitians.

Total number of staff who joined the multi-national medical teams dispatched to Haiti(including those who joined cholera missions) as of 30th December 2010
ChapterDoctorNurse
Midwife
Coordinator
Japan (AMDA Headquarters)
7110Canada
51Columbia
32Peru1
Nepal
2
Bolivia
5India31Total2091119 Doctors, 9 Nurses, 11 Coordinators, 2 Prosthetists (41 in total)

2-3

Prosthetist
22“Grass-Roots Citizen Diplomacy by Humanitarian Aid” : Project of aninternational soccer and cultural exchange programme (August 2010)

AMDA organized a soccer and cultural exchange programme for juveniles in August2010, as a treatment for trauma, inviting junior high school children from Haiti, theDominican Republic and Japan including eighteen Japanese children. It was the firstevent to realize the “Grass-Roots Citizen Diplomacy by Humanitarian Aid” that AMDA
has advocated, and provided an opportunity of teaching young people of these three
countries about their important role as members of the international community.
Japanese participants also had a chance to visit United Nations in New York, whichgave them more understanding of international cooperation.
【Soccer exchange】↑Gifts from AMDA

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Players at lunch→

Mikio Tajima, Honorary Advisor to UN, and Japanese team

Soccer pitch in the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo

2-4Emergency relief for treating cholera epidemic (from November 2010 to date)

Cholera has become epidemic in Haiti since mid-October 2010. It started in
Artibonite Department, middle-north of Haiti, and quickly spread all over the country
within a month. According to the Haitian Government, the number of cholera patientsreached 104,918 and that of the dead was 2,539 as of 10th December 2010. It is
expected that the number of patients and death would increase further. Due to thedesperate shortage of doctors and nurses, aid in the form of medical treatment as well aseducational activities to spread knowledge of preventing infectious diseases were needed.
Considering such needs, AMDA decided to dispatch a medical team from Japan. The
team, including Dr. Suganami, President of AMDA Group, a nurse and a coordinator left
Japan for Haiti on the 1st of December 2010. Two more doctors specializing inemergency relief and tropical medicine joined the team later. Parmaceuticalpreparations such as oral rehydration solution, lactate Ringer’s solution, zinc solution,
antibiotics, drip infusion sets and disposable gloves, procured by an AMDA coordinatorin the Dominican Republic, were packed in 324 cardboard boxes and shipped to Haiti vialand.
Following the decision by the Haitian Health Ministry, AMDA started medical
activities in the Salvation Army Hospital in Fond-des-Negres, 120km from
Port-Au-Prince. (AMDA and Salvation Army had cooperated in the emergency relief
activities in September 2005 for the sufferers of Hurricane Katrina in southeastern U.S.)
On December 7th, the team arrived in the Salvation Army Hospital, and medicines
carried in two trucks were donated by AMDA to the hospital.
The AMDA team, in cooperation with the staff of the hospital, treated 108 cholera
patients from 7th through 24th December 2010. The first death took place on 15th5

December, and 8 patients died as of 24th December. At the Salvation Army Hospital, aquiet room in a hospital ward was used for cholera patients. The room had only 15 beds
but 26 cholera patients at most were hospitalized there. The room was close to otherwards and was used as the entrance to the kitchen. It wasn’t even equipped with awashing basin or antiseptic solution. It was recognized that a new, special facility forcholera patients should be built urgently.

Dr. Suganami and AMDA staff carrying boxes of medicine

AMDA medical team and hospital staff

Staff of WHO, Haitian Embassy in Dominican Republic and AMDA

Boxes of medicines

Japanese doctor working with a translator

On 17th December, an AMDA coordinator-nurse in Dominica moved to Haiti and amidwife from AMDA Canada joined the team. After the AMDA team from Japan went
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back on 20th December, those two women made painstaking efforts during the Christmas
vacation as the hospital went understaffed. This eventually left them and theremaining nurses at the hospital to treat the cholera patients. As the hospital’s
operation went back to normal on 25th December, the AMDA team handed over its task to
the hospital and suspended its activities at the Salvation Army Hospital. Meanwhile,
AMDA will continue information gathering in preparation to resuming its mission inHaiti soon.
2-5

Rehabilitation project for Haiti - future planA year after the earthquake, AMDA has plans for the following projects:(1) AMDA Soul and Medicine Programme: ASMP (12th January 2011)
ASMP is a multi-religious ceremony to commemorate the dead, and AMDA has
conducted ASMP ceremonies in many places in the world. To commemorate the firstanniversary of the earthquake on 12th January 2011, AMDA is planning to hold amemorial service in New York City, in cooperation with Tenrikyo New York branch.
(2) Inviting a recipient of a prosthetic leg to Japan (January 2011)
AMDA is going to invite a Haitian girl, one of the prosthetic recipients, to Japan
with an AMDA Haitian coordinator. They will also be accompanied by the Japanese
prosthetist who has been working in Haiti since May 2010. Arrangements areunderway for them to attend the 16th anniversary of the Great Hanshin Earthquake
to meet the survivors. AMDA wants to take this opportunity to appeal to the worldthat all of us should pay respect to those whose lives were affected by suchcalamities.
Through all these activities, AMDA would like to call attention to the significance of“Grass-Roots Citizen Diplomacy by Humanitarian Aid” principle that it advocates, as away of international cooperation and contribution realized by ordinary citizens.

711) "AMDA would like to call attention to the significance of “Grass-Roots Citizen Diplomacy by
Humanitarian Aid” that it advocates, a way of international cooperation and contribution realized byordinary citizens.">> "AMDA would like to call attention to the significance of “Grass-Roots Citizen Diplomacy by
Humanitarian Aid” that it advocates, [as] a way of international cooperation and contribution realizedby ordinary citizens."
OR "AMDA would like to call attention to the significance of the “Grass-Roots Citizen Diplomacy by
Humanitarian Aid” [philosophy/spirit/ethos/principle] that it advocates, as a way of international
cooperation and contribution realized by ordinary citizens."

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