Haiti Earthquake
Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) -- Jean Baptiste Vanise suffers the anguish no mother should have to bear.
She received a text message from her 12-year-old son Tuesday afternoon asking, "Where are you?"
Since then, nothing.
Her only child, Marc Valends Louis Charles, played the violin at Holy Trinity School and Craft Center in Haiti. That's where she believes he was when Tuesday's 7.0-magnitude earthquake flattened large parts of Port-au-Prince and turned this mother's life upside down.
She returned to the school Thursday, just as she did Wednesday and Tuesday.
A sign at the gate says "Visitors Welcome."
The music classroom where she believes her son remains entombed sits in a corner of the teal building with its open courtyard.
Video: Obama:'Haiti must be a top priority' Video: Rescued from the rubble Video: Makeshift hospital in Haiti
10 biggest quakes since 1900
Haiti Earthquakes
Port-au-Prince
She has heard from someone at the school that Marc Valends was not there when the temblor hit; that he was with another child or that one of the teachers dropped him off somewhere.
As much as she might want to, she does not believe that's the case. So she returns to the school.
A Holy Trinity official will not let her near the classroom because an overhanging roof could fall. Aftershocks continue to be felt, with strong jolts waking people in the early morning hours Thursday.
Still, several young men are digging through the rubble.
Armand St. Louis, 30, says his 8-year-old cousin and a 19-year-old girl are still trapped. He has talked with them, St. Louis said.
He is digging his way down from the computer room, which collapsed onto the music room.
"It's dark, and she's scared," St. Louis says.
But he is determined to get to young Clautide Nelom.
"I'm about to go back in there," he said. "I'm doing my best. There are other people in there. We're getting no help to get them out.
"Nobody's coming."
Vanise, the anguished mother, asks for quiet so she can call out to her son although she's a good 30 yards away.
"Louis Charles," she shouts a couple of times.
"Marc Valends," she then shouts a few times.
Nothing. Silence. She breaks into sobs.
The bereaved mother does not know what to do, where to go next. She has looked for him everywhere, she says.
"This is the only place he could be," Vanise says, walking away.
She received a text message from her 12-year-old son Tuesday afternoon asking, "Where are you?"
Since then, nothing.
Her only child, Marc Valends Louis Charles, played the violin at Holy Trinity School and Craft Center in Haiti. That's where she believes he was when Tuesday's 7.0-magnitude earthquake flattened large parts of Port-au-Prince and turned this mother's life upside down.
She returned to the school Thursday, just as she did Wednesday and Tuesday.
A sign at the gate says "Visitors Welcome."
The music classroom where she believes her son remains entombed sits in a corner of the teal building with its open courtyard.
Video: Obama:'Haiti must be a top priority' Video: Rescued from the rubble Video: Makeshift hospital in Haiti
10 biggest quakes since 1900
Haiti Earthquakes
Port-au-Prince
She has heard from someone at the school that Marc Valends was not there when the temblor hit; that he was with another child or that one of the teachers dropped him off somewhere.
As much as she might want to, she does not believe that's the case. So she returns to the school.
A Holy Trinity official will not let her near the classroom because an overhanging roof could fall. Aftershocks continue to be felt, with strong jolts waking people in the early morning hours Thursday.
Still, several young men are digging through the rubble.
Armand St. Louis, 30, says his 8-year-old cousin and a 19-year-old girl are still trapped. He has talked with them, St. Louis said.
He is digging his way down from the computer room, which collapsed onto the music room.
"It's dark, and she's scared," St. Louis says.
But he is determined to get to young Clautide Nelom.
"I'm about to go back in there," he said. "I'm doing my best. There are other people in there. We're getting no help to get them out.
"Nobody's coming."
Vanise, the anguished mother, asks for quiet so she can call out to her son although she's a good 30 yards away.
"Louis Charles," she shouts a couple of times.
"Marc Valends," she then shouts a few times.
Nothing. Silence. She breaks into sobs.
The bereaved mother does not know what to do, where to go next. She has looked for him everywhere, she says.
"This is the only place he could be," Vanise says, walking away.
Where her son made music, anguished mother listens for life
FHED, INC., a US-based 501 (c) 3 International Relief Organization is urging everyone to help Haiti by providing humanitarian aid and assistance to people in Port- Au- Prince. Our fundamental principles, http://fhedinc.org/fundamental.htm, base on free and direct access to beneficiaries to make sure our efforts go directly to the intend recipients. FHED's relief efforts team are located in Cote Plage 16 Thorland, Carrefour at Salesians Fathers establishments providing free health care to citizens in Carrefour and are planning for a long-term development disaster aftermath program where over 15.000 people are camping from Sisters and Fathers camps combined. This is our Relief Camp in Haiti and it serves also as a bridge to connect with citizens in Mont-Organize and Carice where we are providing humanitarian aid and implementing an integrated sustainable development program for 10 years.
This is a horrendous disaster, please donate online to our Secure Paypal link at http://fhedinc.org/donation.htm or send humanitarian aid supplies directly to FHED Relief Camp in Cote Plage 16 Thorland, Carrefour at Salesians Fathers establishments. Meanwhile, we launched on February 8, 2010 a health fair Clinic in Carrefour which is FREE and open to the public of all ages from 7:00 am to 12 pm Monday to Friday . Please Contact Ms Marie Carmel Cassandre Pompée at 509 3775 8890 for more infos. Our drop-off location in UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is 9602 Avenue L, Brooklyn NY 11236 (Corner 96 street).
This is a horrendous disaster, please donate online to our Secure Paypal link at http://fhedinc.org/donation.htm or send humanitarian aid supplies directly to FHED Relief Camp in Cote Plage 16 Thorland, Carrefour at Salesians Fathers establishments. Meanwhile, we launched on February 8, 2010 a health fair Clinic in Carrefour which is FREE and open to the public of all ages from 7:00 am to 12 pm Monday to Friday . Please Contact Ms Marie Carmel Cassandre Pompée at 509 3775 8890 for more infos. Our drop-off location in UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is 9602 Avenue L, Brooklyn NY 11236 (Corner 96 street).
People around the world await word on loved ones. Are you looking for a family member or friend? Search this list to connect.
Titanyan, Haiti -- Daniel Rouzier clutched a mahogany rosary and a pair of latex gloves in his left hand, his face covered in a sterile mask.
He watched intently as two front-end loaders clawed into piles of dirt and dumped it into freshly dug trenches. Arms, legs, entire bodies flailed and flew before reaching their final resting place.
The stench of human flesh, decomposing for 17 days, carried with the wind.
Rouzier took it upon himself to bury the estimated 2,500 bodies here. They were mothers, fathers, sons and daughters who were never given a proper burial after they perished in the earthquake that leveled the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince on January 12.
He watched intently as two front-end loaders clawed into piles of dirt and dumped it into freshly dug trenches. Arms, legs, entire bodies flailed and flew before reaching their final resting place.
The stench of human flesh, decomposing for 17 days, carried with the wind.
Rouzier took it upon himself to bury the estimated 2,500 bodies here. They were mothers, fathers, sons and daughters who were never given a proper burial after they perished in the earthquake that leveled the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince on January 12.
Businessman arranges burial rites for about 2,500 quake victims
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