Jay Estes, the Zebulon man volunteering in Haiti, called his wife, Sharon, yesterday and said he heard the military has quit flying people back to the United States.
At that he’s not sure what to expect when he and his helphaitinow.org group of six other volunteers get to the airport in Port-au-Prince today, when they expected to catch a lift home.
Sharon said if they have to go back to Santo Domingo it could mean an extra day or two before they can get home, but Jay's hoping that's not the case.
Jay also told Sharon he's heard "some disturbing numbers on infant mortality."
Of the 1,000 new-borns each year, he said around 630 don’t live one year. I take that to be the case regardless of the recent tragedy that struck the area.
Jay had to have been put off by this because he said this with a mind that a year from now that many of the children his group helped won’t be alive.
He told Sharon "Malaria is rampant and continues to claim lives and with the horrible conditions since the earthquake it’s a breeding ground." He told her the rivers are "so contaminated with garbage," and that the group is really glad it took water purification pills with them.
Sharon hopes the next time she hears from Jay it will be when he's back on home turf.
