The devastation is Haiti is unfathomable.  The death and loss are incomprehensible.  Amidst so much misery, it's only human to search for stories that offer faint hope or small comfort.

 

As international rescue teams began to land in Haiti, there are reports that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of survivors remain trapped under the rubble.

Searchers from the United States, Britain, China, France and Iceland will use specially trained sniffer dogs, special cameras and jackhammers as they focus first on collapsed schools, hotels and hospitals.

Danielle Trépanier of Doctors without Borders was buried for 24 hours in the basement of a home in Port-au-Prince.  When the earthquake struck, she was relaxing in her second story bedroom.  Within seconds, she had fallen through two floors into the basement, according to The Guardian of London.

Local workers risked their lives to pull her from the rubble, according to Doctors without Borders.  Trépanier was in shock but suffered only minor injuries.

 

Meanwhile, orphanages jammed with children reported making it through the quake without losing a single child, according to MSNBC.  And a missionary trapped for 10 hours in the ruins of her mission was reunited with her husband who drove hours to dig her out.  And a college student sent her parents a two-word text message: “I’m OK.”

The recipients of that text message were Joan and Steve Prudhomme of East Greenwich, R.I. Their daughter Julie had gone to Haiti with 11 other students and two faculty advisers from  Lynn University of Boca Raton, Fla., to work on an irrigation project for the mission group Food for the Poor.

“We read an e-mail last night stating one sentence: ‘I’m OK,’ ” Joan Prudhomme told NBC's Matt Lauer from the family’s home in Rhode Island. “And we were overjoyed.”

 

To help the people of Haiti, please consider contributing to the emergency relief organizations:

•The American Red Cross is pledging an initial $200,000 to assist communities impacted by this earthquake. They expect to provide immediate needs for food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support. They are accepting donations through their International Response Fund.

•UNICEF has issued a statement that "Children are always the most vulnerable population in any natural disaster, and UNICEF is there for them." UNICEF requests donations for relief for children in Haiti via their Haiti Earthquake Fund. You can also call 1-800-4UNICEF.

•Donate through Wyclef Jean's foundation, Yele Haiti. Text "Yele" to 501501 and $5 will be charged to your phone bill and given to relief projects through the organization.

For more information on surviving earthquakes, please go to the Survivors Club Earthquake/Natural Disaster Support Center.

Read more about the five myths of earthquake survival.