The Salvation Army in Haiti has now distributed more than a million meals in its response to the earthquake. The most recent distribution alone saw more than half a million meals given out in four hours. The organisation continues to work alongside other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and agencies, and it has now formed a good working relationship with the US Army's 82nd Airborne Division.

Late on Friday 29 January an officer in charge of the US 82nd Airborne Division requested that The Salvation Army conduct a distribution in the most dangerous part of Port-au-Prince, the capital city of Haiti. He agreed to provide security for this event and for the next distribution planned on Monday. Both distributions proceeded without incident and there is now a very effective and valued relationship with both the United Nations and the 82nd Airborne Division.

Major Kelly Pontsler, Public Information Officer in Haiti, describes what she saw: 'At 2pm the convoy of trucks arrived, escorted by four vehicles carrying approximately 40 members of the US 82nd Airborne Division. Within minutes of their arrival, the container trucks were in position, Salvation Army and military personnel had taken their places, the doors were opened and food began to move.

'For the dozens of staff and volunteers on-site for this distribution, this was about service. For the thousands of displaced people gathered on the dusty road, this was about continued survival.

'As smoke billowed from the ravine of smouldering rubbish which runs along the narrow road, family members followed in turn to present their food ration card for a stamp. As the line inched forward, each bearer of a card received food. The packages – containing rice, beans, and vegetables – provide a family of five with a week's worth of nutrition. An estimated 552,000 meals were distributed in less than four hours.'

Medical treatment continues to be provided, with an average of well over 200 people being treated each day. Lieut-Colonel Lindsay Rowe, Chief Secretary for The Salvation Army's Caribbean Territory, says: 'The work being done by these dedicated doctors, nurses and support staff is truly amazing. I stood in awe as they engaged in complex medical procedures with very limited medical resources at their disposal.'

This was the colonel's first visit to Haiti since the earthquake. He writes: 'Nothing could have prepared me for what I would see and experience as I arrived in the crumbled city of Port-au-Prince. The sights, sounds and smells confronted me with the magnitude of this earthquake like no other medium possibly could.

'The city of Port-au-Prince lies in ruins – a mass of rubble and debris. Many of the buildings that appear to have survived the 33 seconds when the earth trembled are in fact structurally compromised and will need to be destroyed.'

The Salvation Army compound, in the heart of one of the poorest and most dangerous areas of the city, is made up of a school for 1,500 students, a children's home for 52 orphans, a medical clinic that serves more than 200 patients each day, a 1,000-seat corps (church) building, the divisional headquarters for Haiti Division, staff apartments and a conference centre, several unattached officers' quarters and an administration building. All but the school building are unsafe and will need to be rebuilt.

The divisional headquarters relocated to rented facilities on Friday (29 January).

The main focus for Salvation Army relief teams continues to be on the 20,000 people living near the main Salvation Army compound in Port-au-Prince but on Thursday (28 January) distribution began in Petit Goave, 68 kilometres from Port-au-Prince. This appears to have been the first large-scale distribution of food in the area since the earthquake. Reaching the town was no small challenge – roads had been partially cleared in places where rock and debris had slid into the roadway, making it almost impassable.

Lieut-Colonel Rowe says: 'When we reached the Salvation Army compound in Petit Goave the corps officers (ministers), Captains Reliere and Lynda Janvier, and 20 of the corps's boy scouts were awaiting our arrival and a large crowd had gathered on the street with their distribution numbers in hand. United Nations soldiers provided excellent security and 500 boxes, each containing enough food for a family for a week, were distributed in an orderly manner. The meals distributed were ready-to-cook, fortified rice-soy casseroles. Families need only to add hot water and the meal is ready to serve.'

Assessment visits are being organised to Leogane and Jacmel to investigate the level of need and the logistics of extending relief operations to these communities. An assessment team visit to Le Bon Samaritan orphanage in Port-au-Prince resulted in a delivery of 20 tents and seven cases of food. A commitment was made to continue weekly deliveries of food to the 130 children there. Other orphanages in the area are also receiving visits to assess their needs.

'Port au Prince has become a city of tents,' says Lieut-Colonel Rowe. Even those whose homes are structurally sound will not sleep or cook inside, choosing instead to pitch a tent and build a fire in the backyard.

The colonel illustrates this feeling of fear with the story of a retired Salvation Army officer, 86-year-old Major Catherine Pacquette, a recipient of the Order of the Founder – The Salvation Army's highest honour – who took a taxi to divisional headquarters to request a tent and a sleeping mat. 'My house is fine,' she explained, 'but there is no sleep inside.'

Please support The Salvation Army's relief effort in Haiti. Financial contributions can be made by calling 1-800-SAL-ARMY (725-2769), by visiting our website, www.SalvationArmy.ca, by mailing donations to The Salvation Army Territorial Headquarters, Canada and Bermuda, 2 Overlea Blvd., Toronto, Ontario M4H 1P4, or dropping off financial donations at the closest Salvation Army unit in your area. Donors should specify their gift to the Haiti Earthquake Disaster Relief Fund.

Click here for more information on relief efforts.

Top photo: Salvation Army scouts help unload food for distribution in Petit Goave, guarded by United Nations troops; bottom: Chief Secretary Lieut-Colonel Lindsay Rowe with schoolchildren at the Salvation Army compound in Port-au-Prince