MOSCTHA Director Edison Suero (pictured in red) and a staff member load medical supplies to be delivered to a displaced person camp in Haiti following the January 12, 2010 earthquake.

This past February, I was privileged to accompany the NGO MOSCTHA (The Socio-Cultural Movement of Haitian Workers) as they worked tirelessly to bring desperately needed medical supplies, food, water, shelter, as well as doctors and nurses, to the thousands of people affected by the devastating earthquake of January 12, 2010.

MOSCTHA was founded in 1985 with a mission to improve the quality of life for Haitian immigrants, and other impoverished populations in the Dominican Republic. Through its various programs and initiatives, MOSCTHA seeks to promote education and the defense of human rights, develop medical infrastructures in under-served border areas, encourage natural resource education and preservation, and foster cooperative community and entrepreneurial development. Following the January 12, 2010 Haitian earthquake, MOSCTHA was pressed in to action as a humanitarian aid NGO providing a wide variety of emergency services. MOSCTHA has been on the front lines in Haiti since immediately after the earthquake distributing all manner of aid required including: distribution of medical supplies, medications, and vaccinations to displacement camps, teams of doctors and nurses to treat wounded and ill Haitians, food and water, as well as tents and tarps for shelter. Most recently, MOSCTHA has focused on assisting elderly Haitians who have been disproportionately affected by the earthquake. The work of MOSCTHA has continued at a sustained pace since the earthquake, and continues in earnest today.

MOSCTHA Executive Director Joseph Cherubin oversees the organization of emergency medical supplies in Haiti.

The relief operations of MOSCTHA are run by Joseph Cherubin and his son Edison Suero, a 28-year-old native of the Dominican Republic, who has been working non-stop to see that aid gets delivered to the many thousands of Haitians in need. He is a man of relentless energy and drive — it’s exhausting to watch him work — and he exemplifies the selfless initiative of someone who has the people of Haiti in his heart. Edison also generously tolerated my presence, and I am indebted to the support I received by MOSCTHA while in Haiti. They fed me, gave me a place to sleep, and generally provided for my well-being in a challenging and inhospitable working environment.

MOSCTHA Director Edison Suero delivers medical supplies, water, and a team of doctors and nurses to a displaced person camp in Carrefour Haiti.

It would be extremely difficult for any journalist working in a disaster zone as devastated as Haiti without the support and assistance of NGO’s on the ground such as MOSCTHA. I only hope that the images produced as a result of their hospitality and generosity will produce the desired effect of a continued flow of charitable donations for the weeks and months to come.

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Even though the dramatic images have faded from our television screens, there is still much work to be done in Haiti. A critical need now is providing tents to those living on the streets and in displacement camps as the seasonal rains approach. Please visit the MOSCTHA web site here and donate what you can so their work can continue.