A Haitian living in Bermuda has returned to his earthquake-struck homeland to search for his missing brother and help his people.

Wesly Guiteau, an insurance broker at Willis, spoke to The Royal Gazette before he flew to the Dominican Republic and drove across the border to take aid to victims of last Tuesday's catastrophe.

"I know countless people that have lost their entire family," said the Pembroke father-of-two. "One of my brothers who lives in Port-au-Prince, his entire neighbourhood has collapsed. An entire family just disappeared.

"In his neighbourhood there were two houses standing — his and one across the street. Another brother is missing. I will obviously try to find my brother but mainly it's relief and rescue efforts to evacuate the people."

The 39-year-old has lived in Bermuda for more than five years but still has strong ties to Haiti.

His parents and much of his extended family live in the Caribbean country, including a 70-year-old aunt who was initially missing after the earthquake.

She has since been accounted for but, as of last night, his brother had still not been found.

He told this newspaper on Thursday that he hoped to hire a fleet of buses to transport survivors from the devastated capital to his hometown of Lascahobas, where they would be provided with food and shelter.

"My wife is letting me go reluctantly," he said.

Mr. Guiteau is now back in Lascahobas and sent an e-mail to friends and colleagues here yesterday, telling them: "My cousin's son, a five-year-old boy, is dead. Several other cousins [are] missing. Every Haitian has lost someone. The death toll will be astronomical when it is finally revealed."

His latest dispatch explains that he has joined a committee to help set up camps for evacuees and has already spent $4,000 on supplies, such as food, water, fuel and batteries.

He plans to travel back to the Dominican Republic and buy more goods and is appealing for donations from people in Bermuda who want to assist.

He has teamed up with two local charities, Haiti Village Health and Feed My Lambs Ministry, and is asking that cash be given to them.

"My main concern is for the long-term," he told this newspaper. "But for me right now, it's a case of going in and trying to rescue the people."

His colleague Susan Pateras said last night that the cost of aid for those evacuated to Lascahobas was likely to be more than $20,000 and urged Bermuda's residents to give generously.

"If you haven't already donated to an existing charity, please consider this effort. Wesly is a proud Haitian who loves his country and his people and who is on the ground in Haiti as we speak trying to do his part to save lives.

"Your support will directly impact those who will be caring for their own stricken community, as well as another 500 to a thousand lives that need immediate food, shelter, water and medical attention."

• Donations for Mr. Guiteau's efforts can be made to Haiti Village Health via Bank of Bermuda account number 010-871135-001. Put either "Lascahobas Relief" or "Wesly Guiteau" in the memo part of the transfer.

• For updates on his progress visit www.directhaitirelief.com or the Facebook page entitled Bermudians for Haiti Disaster Relief Fund.

l Feed My Lambs Ministry's Bank of Bermuda account number is 010-305498-012 or donate at www.feedmylambsministry.org or by post to Feed My Lambs Ministry, PO Box HM 3184, Hamilton HM NX.

As soon as 39-year-old Wesly Guiteau, a Bermuda-based broker, heard that a devastating earthquake had hit Haiti, he began preparing to rush back to his homeland.

Here are two of the dispatches he has sent family, friends and colleagues in Bermuda since last Tuesday's catastrophe.

***************

From: Guiteau, Wesly

Sent: Thursday, January 14, 2010 12:51 p.m.

Subject: Haiti relief efforts

Thank you all for all your support, words of encouragement and prayers for my family and more importantly, for the Haitian people.

I am partly relieved that most of my immediate family are accounted for and they are safe. We still have no words from my aunt (70-year-old nun that I consider a second mother to me).

It is indeed in times like these that we see the manifestation of the true human spirit, the sense of decency inherited in all of us and our common humanity revealed.

Let us all do our part to help the people of Haiti. Most reports so far have confirmed 45,000 dead and 3,000,000 homeless and reports also advised that CASH is the best way to help. You can donate to these well known organisations in a sustained long term recovery effort: UNICEF (UN relief agency), the American Red Cross, www.yele.org (Wyclef Jean's charity).

In the meantime, I am on my way there tomorrow via Dominican Republic (DR) and hope to mobilise a fleet of 12 buses to evacuate the people from Port-au-Prince to Lascahobas (my town) 60 miles west of the capital and six miles to the border with DR. There they will find shelter, food, water and electricity. We will then identify each individual and post their names on various sites for their loved ones looking for them.

From the information received thus far, we will need lots of cash to rent the buses, buy diesel fuel, food and water.

What can one man do in the face of so much human suffering and misery? Apparently not much, but I believe there is strength in unity and together we can replace despair with hope, frustration and anger with faith and justice.

Again, thanks a million for what you have done and what you will do for Haiti in the days ahead.

Sincerely

***********

From: Guiteau, Wesly

Sent: Mon, January 18:06:58 a.m.

Subject: Red Cross etc

Aunt is alive. My parents are not doing well. They are still in shock so I've asked my brother to take them back to Boston for care. Brother is still missing. My cousin's son, a five-year-old boy, is dead. Several other cousins missing. Every Haitian has lost someone. The death toll will be astronomical when it is finally revealed.

As of Thursday, we had collected $1,950 and so far we have spent roughly $4,000 (not including ticket and airfare to DR) on goods.

Late last night I had an emergency meeting with the mayor of Lascahobas and concluded the following:

A) There are already hundreds of evacuees in the city that various people have taken in their homes and many of these homes have no way to feed them.

B) Many more are arriving daily.

C) A committee is now in place to manage the flow of refugees.

D) We have scheduled a town-hall meeting this afternoon to encourage people to give more and to take on more refugees.

E) Two or three camps are possible in Lascahobas with a total capacity of around 500 to 700 people that we can house in a public school and the community centre, but we need to evaluate the ability to take care of these people.

Given the above findings, I have handed the goods over to the mayor's office and joined his committee.

We will start to distribute water and ready-to-eat food like sardines and chorizo sausages this morning to Port-au-Prince. Rice and beans will feed those refugees already in Lascahobas, through a triage process to identify those homes in need.

I have received several e-mails promising more donations to come. Once we know how much we have, we will take a team back to DR to buy more of the same goods in bigger quantity and will also buy materials for the camps and then start to evacuate many more.

I am signing out to catch some sleep now. We have tough days ahead.