Aid Workers Believe Friend May Have Survived Quake

OLORADO SPRINGS – With rescue workers still pouring through parts of the Hotel Montana in Haiti, friends at Compassion International believe David Hames of Colorado Springs may still be alive.

Hames was with survivor Dan Woolley filming a segment for the Colorado-based relief agency when the quake hit.

It’s believed that Hames has a backpack with him packed with food and water that could have sustained over the last six days. There are also reportedly many pockets of safety within the collapsed building that rescuers may not have reached yet.

“We have some Compassion staff stationed at the Hotel Montana just trying to direct some rescuers to where we think David would be so we’re doing everything we can to make sure we get David home,” said Kathy Redmond, U.S. Communications Director for Compassion International.

Compassion has close ties to Haiti, where it’s been helping children in poverty since 1968. Redmond says the staff in Colorado Springs and Denver talk daily and are close with the 75 members of Compassion Haiti.

“We’ve had quite a few of our Haiti staff who have lost loved ones as many as five loved ones at a time,” said Redmond. “For the team to be doing the work they’re doing and also be hurting at the same time it’s a really difficult time for people here.”

Redmond calls the mood in Colorado Springs a mixture of encouraged and stressful. They’re working to help 15,000 children and checking on their 50 church projects throughout the country.

Compassion International leaders call this the most devastating natural disaster they’ve ever dealt with. They worry that as time goes by aid to the country will fade but they say their presence in the country will not disappear. If you’d like to contribute to the long-term rehabilitation of Haiti through Compassion International follow this link.