Five UW-Madison engineering students and an advisor returned home safely Saturday after working in Haiti when the earthquake hit.
The students, who are part of the UW-Madison program Engineers Without Borders, were working to fix a broken pipe that provides clean drinking water in Bayonnais, a rural village located about 70 miles north of Port-au-Prince.
Eyleen Chou, a fifth year mechanical engineering student and one of the students working in Haiti at the time, said the group felt a small shake when the earthquake hit. It wasn't until they began checking their e-mails later in the evening that they realized how severe the damage was.
""We were really concerned because Port-au-Prince is the main artery for the whole country,"" she said. ""All of the really good hospitals, universities and government buildings are centered there.""
Chou said the group was in Haiti from Jan. 9-14 and their travel plans were altered drastically because of the earthquake. She said they had to re-route their flight back home in order to avoid flying out of Port au Prince.
Although Chou said she is happy her and her classmates were able to return safely, she stresses the importance of working to help the people in Haiti.
""We're not the people to worry about"" she said. ""We need to focus on the people of Haiti.""
According to Chou, students can help by donating to the many relief organizations available.
She said, however, that regardless of the amount of money and supplies donated, Americans will never understand the true severity of the situation.
""As Americans, we can live in this bubble and see all the damage, death, and despair, but be removed from it where it does not affect us on a regular basis,"" she said. ""People need to understand that Haiti will be forever affected by this catastrophe.""
Students can visit http://www.interaction.org/crisis-list/earthquake-haiti for a complete list of relief organizations that are currently taking donations.
Students can also text ""Haiti"" to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross to help out with disaster relief.
