Riding Along on an Aid-Delivery Mission
Aftershocks and crowds make it difficult to get food and water to those in need.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Jan. 17, 2010— -- More than 250 tons of aid have been delivered to Haiti just in the last 24 hours. But getting those rations to the thousands of people living on the streets without access to food and water has been a challenge.
ABC News was able to ride along as aid workers from the World Food Programme hoped to deliver 40,000 rations to some of Port-au-Prince's hardest hit areas.
"The priority now is to distribute high-energy biscuits, water purification tablets, and we're bringing in ready-to-eat meals," said David Orr, public information officer for the World Food Programme, as boxes were loaded into the truck. The organization hopes to reach nearly 60,000 people today.
In the end, though aid got delivered, obstacles prevented the workers from even approaching their goal for the day.
For one thing, the scope of the disaster was so large that the aid group had to step up the delivery and include secretaries and other workers who did not normally load relief vehicles. Everyone from the office pitched in.
Soon, the strong aftershock caused volunteers to flee an already earthquake-damaged warehouse. Many refused to go back in for fear it would collapse.
