On Tuesday, the day of the earthquake, Thomason had left the city in the late afternoon and was traveling out of the city and to the farm sites on the central plateau that he’s planning on working on.
“We didn’t feel the first earthquake,” he said, “because we were in the Land Rover and driving up into the mountains.”
Thomason and his traveling companions did feel the aftershocks, but there wasn’t any physical damage in the area he was in, about 40 miles outside of Port-au-Prince.
Thomason’s travel plans changed after they realized the severity of the earthquake.
“We very quickly realized that the partners we were going to work with were going to help them, so we decided to get out of the way so they could focus on medical assistance,” Thomason said.
“The most unfortunate thing,” Thomason said, “is that it seemed like the country was beginning to gain momentum, just within the past few months. Port-au-Prince seemed cleaner.”
Both Thomason and Dillaha said that they hope their projects can continue at a later date.
Most of the projects that go through the Tech Office of International Research Education and Development have to be approved and funded by the agency that coordinates aid activities in Haiti, the United States Agency for International Development.
Dillaha said that after discussions with their partners in Haiti, talks would resume within about a month to determine priorities.
“I feel they will want to continue with planned projects to rebuild the country,” Dillaha said.
For now, Dillaha’s office is working with Hokies United and PIH. All funds collected by his office are being donated to the PIH Web site so that Hokies United can keep better track of the total funds donated by Tech-affiliated groups.
Thomason said that although there have been somewhat shocking scenes featured in the media, such as people brandishing machetes in the streets of Port-au-Prince, he doesn’t believe that’s the true essence of the Haitian people.
“This is a terrible disaster in a country that on its best day struggles,” Thomason said. “Desperate times bring out desperate actions. What would we do if it had happened to us?”
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