Spring Valley Haitian American community speeds aid to homeland after quake.
–Nancy Cutler Eduardo Cuevas Rockland/Westchester Journal News
SPRING VALLEY – The initial shock of another disaster befalling Haiti wore off quickly for the Haitian American community leaders gathered at Konbit Neg Lakay on Sunday evening.
There was no time left to mourn the thousands killed and maimed by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck the southern region of the already struggling Caribbean nation.
It was time to act, the roomful of community activists and elected officials agreed. And it would be a bigger challenge than after the 2010 quake, the 2016 hurricane, or any of the other needed response efforts amid disaster in their homeland.
“There’s a lot of complications this time around,” said Carl Joseph, a former deputy mayor of Spring Valley and active member of the local Haitian community. “Before, at least we had a government in place.