Port-au-Prince:  The first UNITED SIKHS’ medical team of 6 doctors including two family practice physicians, a rehabilitation/pain management physician, a neurologist, an occupational therapist and a physical therapist returned after helping survivors with acute medical issues and physical rehabilitation.   The medical team took approximately $45,000 worth of medical equipment with them, including therapy equipment, medicines, and wound care supplies. UNITED SIKHS rehabilitation team has been asked to come back and be a part of the planning and building of a new 250 bed rehabilitation hospital which will be built in Port-au-Prince.  Dr. Sagina Kaur commented, “It’s not enough for us to come there and help once, we need to leave behind something sustainable so that the people of Haiti will continue to heal. That will be the focus of our next effort.”

The group teamed up with “Health Empowering Humanity”, a NGO that facilitates access to healthcare.  The living conditions in Haiti make patients extremely susceptible to illness and disease.  “It was astonishing to see the children that parents were bringing to us. They were so severely dehydrated that in many cases we had to scrutinize whether they are alive or not,” said Sagina Kaur, a family practice physician from Chicago and Medical Director for UNITED SIKHS.

For many, the experience of serving those in need in Haiti has brought the teachings of Sikhism to life.

“I realized how important the teaching of Guru Nanak to feed the hungry is. I’m happy I came and helped those in need with hot-meals” said Karnail Singh, Sr. V.P. Guru Nanak Gurudwara Surrey, BC, Canada. “The work we are doing brings the teaching of Guru Nanak sahib ji into direct and substantive action. I request that not just the Sikh community, but people of all backgrounds support this organization as best as they can,” added Vicky Dhillon, City Counselor Brampton, Ontario.

Coming home was bitter sweet for the team.  “We feel like we could have had an even greater impact if we had planned for more time,” said Ayesha Hussain, a family practice physician in Toronto.
Dr. Baljinder Singh added, “Our job as a medical community is now to focus on how we will make the disabled and injured of Haiti functional and contributing members of society; else we will see a second wave of problems for Haiti which will be more detrimental than the actual earthquake”.Sukhwinder Singh of Surrey, BC who has been helping out at the University of Miami hospital said, “It has been a real eye-opener. Medical school can never fully prepare you for a scenario like this. The overwhelming number of patients and the slow progress due to limited doctors and nurses is heartbreaking. Everyone is trying their best and the medical teams are giving it all they have and getting very limited rest.”
“What I didn’t expect is how emotionally difficult it was for us to leave our patients.  Many started to cry when we told them we were leaving” said Gurbans Kaur.   Shaila Singh, an occupational therapist from Rochester, New York, added, “Therapy services are immediately and desperately needed for the people of Haiti.”