First response engineering team returns from Haiti

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. — Engineering Ministries International (EMI) was part of the initial first responders to the Haiti earthquake. As the leader of EMI’s disaster response program, Scott Powell went to Haiti on Jan. 16 with a team of two other men to partner with Samaritan’s Purse and Food for the Hungry.

Powell’s team consisted of himself, a civil engineer; Zack Graham, a structural engineer from Montana; and LTC Scott Peck, an army officer stationed at Peterson AFB who went as a volunteer. The team was tasked with providing support to set up clean water systems and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. The three men spent almost three weeks in the quake-ravaged city of Port au Prince and experienced firsthand the devastation that took the lives of an estimated 150,000 people.

EMI has a long history of development work in Haiti, having completed more than 80 projects in the organization’s 27 years. EMI is committed to the rebuilding of Haiti, having already sent two more teams since the initial response with a fourth team on the way. One of its two teams on the ground provided training this week for Haitian workers with Food for the Hungry to assess damaged buildings. There is huge shortage of trained personnel to assess damaged structures.

The rebuilding efforts in Haiti will take years and EMI said it will be in the forefront of that effort seeking technical volunteers and continued fundraising to bring relief to the devastated nation. Visit the EMI website at www.emiworld.org for more information and to find out how you can be involved.