Major Tom Louden, head of the Salvation Army's Broward office, with his team, was among people who rushed to Haiti helping the victims of the disaster. Following the crisis, Louden left South Florida with an assessment team armed with emergency food, medical supplies, water and blankets.

Talking about the difficulties that the team faced Louden said, "It took nearly three days to reach Port-au-Prince. The team's first plane on Jan. 13 was diverted to Turks and Caicos. On Jan. 14, the team flew to Cap-Haitien International Airport. Then next morning, at 5 a. m. Jan. 15, the team headed to Haiti's capital, but hazardous road conditions turned a six hour drive into 16 hours".

He further added, "The closer we got the worse it was... we began to see the human devastation... parents could only cover the bodies of their dead children with clothes."

Louden returned to Fort Lauderdale on Jan. 17, and will go back to Haiti in two or three weeks. The Salvation Army is accepting monetary donations. Louden is presently looking for satellite communication system, heavy construction equipment, massive amounts of medical supplies, food and water and a C-130 cargo plane for delivery.