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All Haitian Staff Members Alive and Accounted For, Says Compassion International
STAFF WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK AIDING IN DISASTER RELIEF AT CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTERS IN AND AROUND PORT-AU-PRINCE

Compassion International, the world's largest child development and sponsorship organization, received good news Monday that all of its Haitian staff members were alive and accounted for following last week's massive 7.0 earthquake that destroyed much of the nation's capital city of Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas.

All 74 of Compassion's Haitian staff in the Port-au-Prince area have now had a chance to regroup outside their offices, making the office building's parking lot their interim meeting place while they wait to hear from Engineering Ministries International as to whether or not it is safe to go back inside. The staff briefly meets before going back out into the community assisting as many as 50 child development centers seriously impacted by the quake.

Currently, 22 projects have been contacted, and more are being visited today. Early reports indicate these projects have sustained some casualties, and it is estimated that over 15,000 Compassion children have been directly impacted by the quake.

Meanwhile, Dan Woolley, internet marketing program manager at Compassion USA and resident of Colorado Springs, is still in a Miami hospital for non life-threatening injuries. Dan and his wife Christy, who flew out to Miami to see her husband last Friday, are expected to be back home later this week.

David Hames, who was with Woolley when the quake hit, is still missing. Compassion continues to communicate with the teams working at the hotel and with officials and hospitals in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Hames, a contractor with Compassion, and Woolley were in Haiti to work with Compassion's Child Survival Program, which ensures healthy pregnancies for moms and gives their children a healthier start in life.

Compassion International is the world's largest Christian child development organization that permanently releases children from poverty. Founded in 1952, Compassion successfully tackles global poverty one child at a time, serving more than 1 million children in 26 of the world's poorest countries. Recognizing that poverty is more than a lack of money, Compassion works holistically through local churches to address the individual physical, economic, educational and spiritual needs of children, enabling them to thrive, not just survive. Charity Navigator, America's largest charity evaluator, has awarded Compassion its highest rating — four stars — for eight consecutive years.

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