The Le Bonheur Children’s pediatric team arrived in Port-au-Prince Jan. 30, 2010, at around 2 p.m. The on-ground communications and logistics coordinator, Amanda Mauck, began taking notes and snapping pictures the moment they stepped on the plane. Here’s a snippet of her observations thus far:

We felt as though we were in the lap of luxury on the flight in. I got to sit in the jump seat, so I saw the view from the cockpit as we arrived. We can’t say enough about how wonderful and hospitable everyone was from FedEx on the plane. To our pilots Fred and Art, and our on-board help, Mark and Stephanie, thank you.

When we landed, we were on the tarmac for thirty minutes, maybe an hour, waiting on security. Because the airport is completely locked down with military personnel everywhere, we had fewer safety concerns than we initially expected. Security arranged for a van to come pick us up. We all rode in the same van, and the drive through Port-au-Prince gave us a bit of an idea of the damages sustained.

Buildings were completely collapsed, though from our seats it was hard to see back into the shantytowns off of the road. There were piles of rubble covering the road, but that being said, there were also people lining the streets to sell goods. It had some resemblance of normal life, with dealers selling everything from food and clothes to backpacks.

We drove past the tent cities that have cropped up. Though most of the rumbling has subsided at this point, many Haitians are simply scared to stay indoors. The people have been peaceful, friendly, hospitable and non-threatening. We all feel pretty safe.

We arrived at the compound where we will be living, and it’s really great. It has a seminary, a dormitory for residents and the clinic. Many relief workers, close to 100, are staying here and the nuns are going out into the community. The Columbian and Brazilian Red Cross teams have come and set up camp on the soccer field, which adds more to the number of relief workers in the area (about half an hour from Port-au-Prince).

We’ve had home cooked meals every day, and we feel blessed to be here in this situation, knowing it could be much worse. Everyone is healthy and staying hydrated because of all of the hard work to set up our operation. We cleaned out a storage unit for an Operating Room and emptied a bunch of rubble from the waiting area. We have pharmacy and lab capabilities and exam rooms for eight patients. With help from those around us and in the community, we unloaded two forty-foot containers of supplies. There are people from the U.S., Chile, France, Italy, Columbia, The Dominican Republic, Mexico and of course, Haiti, working together to make this happen. It’s been amazing to watch, and it seems to me, the only thing that is going to help this recovery is the continual push to help one another.

With the physical labor aside, we’re now ready and anxious to see patients.