From the ground | First person accounts from Haiti

On January 13, 2010, an earthquake measuring 7.0 rocked the impoverished nation of Haiti. In the hours that followed, reports of the incredible damage to both the city and its inhabitants began to emerge. Even at this point the total extent is unknown. The only clear message coming from Haiti is that the earthquake has created a disaster that the area has never seen.

In an effort to get a full picture of what is going on in Haiti, the Times contacted a few non-profits as well as others who were living in Haiti at the time of the quake or who have left to provide aid to the country. Many of these people are blogging, sending emails or tweets updating family, friends or the non-profit they work for. With their permission, the Times will be publishing excerpts of their updates.

Licia Betor, Haiti Rescue Center

Licia describes herself as "a wife and mother to three wonderful and wild boys." She has lived in Haiti since 1995 as a part of the non-profit Real Hope for Haiti organization that her family runs. She works in the Haiti Rescue Center which houses about 60 children and treats drop-in patients as well.

Her brother, Casey Zachary, currently lives in the Seattle area.

January 15, 2010

We do not have any more gas for our car. Enoch is just beside himself about everything. He of course grew up here and had seen a lot in his country. He was shot in the shoulder when he was 13 during one of the overthrows of the government here. He has seen lots, and lots of things. But this is the worse he has ever seen. He wants to help, just like everyone. He want to make sure his friends and family are okay. He want to do all he can to help anyone. He borrowed a motorcycle of a friend today and took a backpack of supplies in to just see if he could help anyone. We still have not heard from his mother. Continue reading.

James Addis, World Vision

Addis is a senior editor for the World Vision Magazine. He works out of the Federal Way World Vision offices and recently arrived in Haiti to blog and write about the disaster there.

January 14, 2010

Navensky Charles might be surrounded by the stench of death, but he is alive.

Like all patients at L'Hospital General in downtown Port-au-Prince, the 18-month-old cannot be accommodated in a hospital building. The few buildings still standing are unsafe to use.

Consequently, he lies in a hospital bed in a street outside. Regularly, trucks rumble past carrying corpses. They come from the city morgue about a block away. Outside the morgue hundreds of bodies are stacked three deep.

But Navensky is alive. When his house started to collapse, his father, Jerome, dashed upstairs to rescue him. They both made it outside just as their home caved in all around them. Navensky suffered a broken shoulder, leg, and arm during the hurried escape. Continue reading.

If you know of someone in Haiti who has been blogging, please email Erika Riggs or Michelle Ma .