UPDATED Posted Sunday, February 7, 2010 --- 4:15 p.m.
By: Barclay Pollak
STORY: Adoption Process for Local Family

Now, an update to a story we first brought you last month. After a long struggle, a Baraboo family brings home their two adopted children from Haiti.

Lori and Jon Schulz had to jump through several hoops to bring Pierre Richcard and his sister Wedmerlene home from Haiti.

They thought they were almost done but then the earthquake hit and everything changed.

Now, the two kids are home and adjusting to their new lives.

"Now we just want to know if they're going to be alive." Less than a month ago the Schulz's had no idea if their two adopted children were alive or not. Since then things have definitely changed. Now the Schulz's three biological children and their two adopted children are learning to live with one another.

Lori says, " Everything is new and they're just so excited."

Legos are a favorite past time for Pierre Richcard. He also loves Batman and Spiderman; he decorated the refrigerator with pictures of the two and stumbled across this Spiderman costume in the basement.

He's had it on for two days.

Wedmerlene loves being tickled, technology and just like her brother...eating. Spaghetti is their favorite.

Lori says, " We came home from the doctor one day and they opened the pantry and saw spaghetti sauce at 10 o'clock in the morning and that's the first thing said was 'spaghetti.'"

Since the kids have been home they've already determined some things that they really enjoy doing.

One of them is taking a ride in " the machine" or the car the other one is snow.

Jon says, " So you know when we had snow earlier in the week...you know a light dusting... I grabbed some snow and brought it in to the house and they divided it up and they started eating."

The kids aren't the only ones adjusting. Lori and Jon are learning the kid's native tongue, Creole. To help, they use a cheat sheet.

Jon says, " We don't have to use whole sentences we know certain words that are real important to know. You know when something is finished or done obviously the toileting, food, sleep and those kind of things."

The kids are also picking up on some English. One word they might be learning soon is dog.

The Schulz's have a pet but are waiting to bring it home until the kids are fully adjusted.

The Schulz's still haven't officially adopted the children. The last time they spoke to officials on the matter, they told them just to hold tight while they work through some issues.

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UPDATED Posted Sunday, February 7, 2010 --- 1:30 p.m.
By: Barclay Pollak
STORY: Adoption Process for Local Family

Less than a month ago, Lori and Jonathan Schulz were wondering when they they would see their two kids, Pierre Richcard and Wedmerlene.

The Schulz's were in the process of adopting the two children from Haiti when the earthquake hit.

For days the Schulz's gathered what information they could from sources on the ground in Haiti and here in the U.S.

About two weeks ago, after waiting and praying, the couple returned home with the two children.

They are all doing fine and just adjusting to being together.

More on this story on NBC15 News at 5:00 p.m.

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UPDATE Posted Friday, January 22, 2010 -- 4:40pm
Reporter: Zac Schultz
STORY: UW-Whitewater Professor Survives Haiti Earthquake

Whitewater: A local man says he held on for dear life when the earthquake struck Haiti.

Prof. William Chandler is used to addressing a UW Whitewater lecture hall, but usually on the topic of art education. Friday's lesson was called "My Trip To Haiti."

Chandler was there with a group from the Haiti Lutheran Mission Society. They spent the week before the earthquake preparing a new girl's orphanage for its grand opening.

A day before the quake they did some sight seeing, looking at the national palace and other landmarks. "We were there on Monday afternoon. On Tuesday afternoon it was gone."

They were at their hotel when the earthquake struck. "At 4:55, as I'm stepping out of the room, the ground starts to shake, and (my roommate) says, 'Bill, I think this is an earthquake.' I grabbed a hold of a tree. The ground was shaking incredibly violently."

No one in their group was injured. The next morning the airport was closed, so they took their bus to the U.S. Embassy. They saw a lot of the devastation on the way. "Buildings, 4, 5, 6 story buildings pancaked and just dropped down on top of each other."

Eventually they were airlifted to the Dominican Republic. Despite the narrow escape, Chandler is glad he was there for the earthquake. "I'm glad it happened. I don't want to do it again, but I'm glad it happened."

He wants us to know our donations are well spent. "The investment that we make in our contribution dollars is not going to go to a lost cause. Haiti is going to come back one way or another."

Chandler says the orphanage they worked on was not severely damaged in the earthquake. He plans to return to Haiti next January and hopes to bring back photos of all the progress they've made.

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UPDATED Thursday, January 21, 2010 --- 2:17 p.m.

After days of uncertainty, a Janesville family now has their adopted son home from Haiti.

Katie and Shawn Banker had been working for more than two years to adopt Nadi. After the recent earthquake in Haiti, that process went into limbo.

This week, Shawn traveled to Haiti to bring Nadi home. Today, Katie tells NBC15 that Shawn and Nadi have returned home.

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UPDATED Tuesday, January 19, 2010 -- 10:00 p.m.
Reporter: Barclay Pollak
STORY: UW Student from Haiti Returns to Class

Two of his cousins are dead, his native country is in ruins and now he has to turn his attention to his studies.

Gergens Polynice boarded a plane for the U.S. just hours before the earthquake that devastated Haiti hit.

Now the graduate student is back in Madison and he's trying to keep his mind on his education while his family back in Haiti tries to rebuild.

Sprawled out on his living room floor Gergens Polynice, a UW graduate student, shows us artwork he picked up in his native Haiti the last time he visited.

"I'm going to frame them so that they can be side by side."

Like so many UW students, Gergens went home for winter break. He left at the end of December and came back just four hours before the earthquake.

"When I heard it, it was a total shock."

Gergens is originally from a town about 30-miles east of Port-au-Prince. His mother, father, three of his brothers and the family business, a water purification plant, are all there right now.

He says he considered going back to Haiti but, after consulting with his family, decided to stay in Madison.

"It was a tough decision for me to either continue and finish grad school or going back to Haiti."

Gergens just like many other UW students had his first classes of the spring semester Tuesday but keeping focused is proving to be difficult.

He's already got his text books and he's taking about 10-credits this semester.

Gergens hopes to be done with his masters degree in May. He plans on making a trip to Haiti sometime in the near future if only for a few days.

Until then he says he'll rely on the artwork he bought during his last trip to remind him of the good times.

Gergens says he still hasn't heard from several friends that were in Haiti. He also says once he's finished with his education he hopes to go back and help the country develop.

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UPDATED Sunday, January 17, 2010-- 10:00 p.m.
Reporter: Barclay Pollak
STORY: Adoption Process Now On Hold for Local Family

It's been a long hard fought road for the Schulz family. They thought they'd have the two newest members of their family home soon.

"Now we just want to know if they're going to be alive."

Their pictures are already on the mantle with the rest of Schulz kids. But you won't find 6-year-old Pierre Richcard or his 3-year-old sister Wedmerlene anywhere else in the Baraboo home. They are still in Haiti and no one knows in what condition.

Jonathan Schulz says, "They've been looted, a nanny has died and they have to remove her body, there's infant's without formula. It's a very dire situation."

The Schulzs haven't gotten an update on the children since Saturday, and considering the conditions, a lot may have changed.

But this isn't the first obstacle the Schulzs have faced in the adoption process.

Lori Schulz says, " We met all of the qualifications. Our dossier was in. Then they changed the rules basically.

Jon and Lori thought they would have the kids in about a year. But then, according to them, the Haitian government reverted to an old rule from the 70's that says anyone adopting internationally can't have any children and must have proof of infertility.

Jon and Lori have three kids.

Now, they don't know when they'll get to bring little Wedmerlene and Pierre Richcard home. "Its life or death right now and I'm not overstating that because they have no water or food and access to medicine. We don't know if they're alive today and tomorrow or the next day. So the time is really of the essence."

The Schulzs were suppose to go to Haiti on the 23rd of this month to visit their children. But because of the quake they say they can't.

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UPDATED Saturday, January 16, 2010 --- 6:44 p.m.
STORY: UW Engineering Students Return From Haiti

Rebuilding in Haiti is one thing some UW engineering students know well.

Tyler Lark, Eyleen Chou and Randi Schieber got back from Haiti Friday night.

They were part of the "Engineers Without Borders" group from the UW.

The group was about 70 miles north of the earthquake's epicenter, but still felt the earth move.

Immediately afterward, they realized exactly how devastating the quake would be.

"That whole night there was just a feeling of concern and uncertainty," Lark said.

A group return may be put on hold as well.

"We're not relief workers so we're not going to be going back to help in Port-au-Prince," Chou said. "We'll just have to wait until things are safe for us to work on it."

The group's main objective was to assess a bridge crossing that needed to be fixed.

They say they feel lucky to have been north of the disaster, which also allowed them to get out of the country easier.

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UPDATED: Friday, January 15, 2010 --- 9:10 p.m.
Reporter: Chris Woodard
STORY: Only on NBC15: Volunteers From Beloit Return From Beloit

Families of local medical volunteers who had been stranded in Haiti returned home to an emotional reunion at O'Hare airport earlier this afternoon.

Earlier this week on NBC 15 News we heard from Beloit's Pam Charles in Haiti and we spoke with her husband and family who were hoping and praying for her safe return.

Today, their prayers were answered.

Pam Charles and other volunteers with Health Ministries for Haiti were administering medical care to the needy the day the quake hit.

They did what they could with limited medical supplies to help those injured in the quake.

There are horrifying images of the devastation Pam Charles will never forget.

She says, "Just seeing the rubble and seeing a little child sitting there all alone, and not knowing does he have a parent somewhere? We need people to know that Haiti was in desperate need of help before this and now the need is even greater and we can't forget the people that we left behind."

The volunteers were conflicted over whether to stay and help or leave but with no medical supplies or equipment, there was little more they could do.

They cleaned wounds and bandaged them, made splints for broken arms and legs out of boards they found on the street, even turned one of their suitcases into a crib for a young child with nothing left.

But they say most people needed something that's simply not there a hospital and a surgeon.

Even all the images crossing our television screens don't really do justice to the horror and despair they say they left behind.

Jennifer Weitzel Blahnik says, "This one little girl came with a neighbor and she had a severely fractured face and her mother and sister had perished in the earthquake but she wasn't aware of that yet. She was still in shock."

Mary Parry says, "You could just hear all the background screaming. I mean I was really scared."

Weitzel Blahnik says, "People began bringing the injured to his front yard (the doctor they were staying with) and luckily we had our medical supplies with us at the house."

The U-S government told the volunteers if they didn't take a military aircraft home today, it could be a week or more before they could get out of Haiti again.

The volunteers say one memory that will always remain with them is the sounds the night of the quake.

There were people screaming and crying, but also singing in church services, thanking God that they had survived, and praying for those who had not.

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UPDATED Thursday, January 14, 10:00 p.m.
Reporter: Barclay Pollak
STORY: Sun Prairie Family Learns Daughter Survived Earthquake

She's been gone for almost two weeks. Now a Sun Prairie family gets gets word of their daughter's return from Haiti.

18-year-old Erica Renz left for Haiti on January 4th. She was due back tomorrow. But after days of spotty communication, her family finally got some good news. Their daughter is alive and well!

"They're at the U.S. Embassy right now."

Just moments after we arrived at Renell Renz's Sun Prairie home this afternoon, she got word that her 18-year-old daughter Erica survived the earthquake that devastated Haiti.

Renell says, "They're very secure, they're very safe, they have water... places to charge their phones."

When the trip first started, Renell was in constant contact with her daughter.

Erica even sent a picture of her in a pool with one of the disabled orphans she was there helping.

But after the earthquake, communication became inconsistent, sometimes going as long as 24-hours without any contact. In the meantime, Renell watched new details unfold on television.

Renell says, "It almost feels like sometimes you have to watch it so that you can feel like you're that much a part of it with her."

Most of the communication that Renell had with her daughter or one of the other eight people she was with on the trip took place via e-mail. That was until Wednesday night.

At about 6:45 p.m., Erica sent her mother this text message. In it she tells her mom that she is okay and that she isn't scared.

It may not be the phone call her mother would've liked, but it helped put her mind at ease.

"Just pure joy."

When Erica will return home is still unclear. Renell says it could be soon or it may take a few days. Either way, she's happy to know her daughter will be coming home. Now Renell wishes everyone who's missing a loved one was in her position. "My heart goes out to those people now who don't know where their loved ones are."

Renell says this probably won't be the last mission trip Erica takes.

In March, the UW-La Crosse freshman was planning on going to Jamaica as part of an alternative spring break program.

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UPDATED: Thursday, January 14 at 4:15 p.m.
Reporter: Chris Papst
STORY: Nurses Leave Haiti Just One Day Before Earthquake

Thursday, we learned that four nurses from St. Mary's Hospital were in Haiti on a relief mission and left just one day before the earthquake hit. We spoke with three of them.

Last week, Naomi Fenske, Ericka Haney and Maria Steinke went to the impoverished nation for seven days to help in any way they could.

"It really opened my eyes to what we take for granted here," said Fenske.

Like plumbing and clean water.

Part of their mission included helping run an orphanage. They gave the children clean clothes, food, medical care and vitamins. And now, they have no idea if any of the children are even alive.

"I haven't heard anything since after the earthquake about how that orphanage is doing. I have no idea," added Fenske.

"We were just down there and met so many people," said Steinke. " We tried to make a difference down there and all of a sudden this just hits an already devastated country."

Said Haney, "It hard to be here because we feel so helpless. These people need so much help to begin with and now they are hurting even more."

While down there, the women worked with four interpreters. And they only know of two that lived.

"They were so happy for the love and attention we could give them," stated Fenske. "To actually see that with your own eyes, that makes this real and makes this earthquake hit closer to home."

The nurses encourage everyone to donate to Health Ministries for Haiti out of Beloit. That is who organized their trip. We have that information on this news channel under Newslinks.

Also St. Mary's Hospital has set up a matching fund up to $10,000 for any of their employees that would like to donate.

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UPDATED Wednesday, January 13, 2010 --- 10:00 p.m.
Reporter: Barclay Pollak
STORY: Volunteers From Beloit In Haiti When Earthquake Occurred

They left on Sunday for a seven-day trip to Haiti. Now,friends and family of six volunteers stranded in the country are left wondering when they'll be able to come home.

The good news: the six volunteers from the Beloit area were staying in one of the few buildings left standing in the Port-au-Prince Area.

The bad news: they may be forced to call that place home for a little while longer while friends and family here in Wisconsin work on bringing them back.

"Yeah probably just embrace for a long time and thank God that she is home."

The celebration is already planned, but when Brian Cain and his adopted son Cleus will see their wife and mother next is still up in the air.

Cleus says, "I feel very scared for her."

Brian and Cleus, who is from Haiti, say Sarah was there with a group called Health Ministries for Haiti.

Volunteers with the nonprofit organization help out at an orphanage in Port-au-Prince and provide medical treatment at local clinics.

Cleus says those things and many others are desperately needed in the area.

" It was very hard. The heat, no electricity, no food, no clean water...very hard for people to drink clean water and eat properly like we do here."

Brian and Cleus spoke with Sarah Wednesday and they say she's doing well.

But others in the group are struggling.

"There was some panic in her voice.. she wants to get out."

In September of last year Glenn Parry and his wife Mary began sponsoring a little girl named Olivia.

Mary was supposed to meet her on this trip. Now, the focus for Glenn has shifted from their meeting to getting his wife home safely.

Glenn says, "There was a reason for them to survive it and now I'm just hoping that she can stay strong until she gets home."

For Doctor Pierre Charles most of his day was spent on the phone with his wife Pam.

He says she's doing fine but her safety was the least of her concerns.

"I kept pressing her about her own safety... I think her safety was not a question."

Pierre's wife along with the other women are due back in Beloit on Sunday.

The men are optimistic that they'll make it back by then. But a lot needs to happen before they can come home.

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UPDATED Wednesday, January 13, 2010 --- 2:35 p.m.

From the Associated Press:

BELOIT, Wis. (AP) -- Six southern Wisconsin residents on a medical mission survived the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

John Weitzel, of Beloit, says his daughters Sarah Cain and Jennifer Blahnik were in Croix Des Bouquets Cain is an imaging technician at Beloit Memorial Hospital and Blahnik is a nurse for the city of Madison.

He told the Beloit Daily News his daughters operate a nonprofit called Health Ministries for Haiti and previously traveled to Haiti to help the poverty-stricken residents.

Pierre Charles, a surgeon at Beloit Memorial Hospital, says his wife Pam Charles is there. She is a nurse and she told him she wants to stay and help the injured.

The three women were with three other Beloit and Madison area residents in the only building left standing on a street after the earthquake.

Information from
Beloit Daily News
http://www.beloitdailynews.com

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED Wednesday, January 13, 2010 --- 5:45 p.m.

From the University of Wisconsin-Madison:
by John Lucas

Two separate groups of University of Wisconsin-Madison students are unharmed and accounted for after Tuesday’s catastrophic earthquake near Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

The first group is a team of UW-Madison students traveling with the student organization Engineers Without Borders, UW-Madison. The group is safe in the rural village of Bayonnais, Haiti, approximately 70 miles north of the capital.

Five students and a professional engineering advisor travelled to the country on Sunday, Jan. 10 as part of a project to build a small hydroelectric plant. They reported feeling small tremors in their village.

The team was scheduled to return to the U.S. on Friday, Jan. 15, but has been advised to stay in the village of Bayonnais and continue to work on their EWB project as the United Nations and emergency crews begin responding to the disaster.

University staff from the College of Engineering and the Offices of the Dean of Students are monitoring the situation and are assisting with travel logistics to the extent possible.

In addition, seven current and former UW-Madison students were also in the country as part of the Milwaukee-based Haiti Project.

Five group members returned to the U.S. on Tuesday, hours ahead of the disaster and two others remaining in Haiti have been accounted for.

The volunteers were doing electrical work and trying to establish an Internet connection for a small village in the mountains near the community of Jeannette in the southwest part of the country.

“We’re very thankful that all of our students are unharmed, and wish them a safe return,” says Dean of Students Lori Berquam. “But we recognize how lucky we are and send our thoughts and prayers to the people of Haiti as they cope with this unthinkable catastrophe.”

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Release from the UW Credit Union:

UW Credit Union to Provide Giving Opportunity for Haitian Earthquake Relief

Madison, WI, January 14, 2010 – UW Credit Union is announcing a giving opportunity for members. Beginning today, members will be able to donate directly from their Web Branch accounts to the American Red Cross International Relief Fund in order to assist communities impacted by the January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti.

When members log in to Web Branch, they will find an icon to click at the top of the main page.

Once clicked, a window will pop up, and members will have the opportunity to make a financial gift with funds coming directly from any of their UW Credit Union accounts. All funds given by members will be contributed to the Haitian earthquake victims.

The American Red Cross provides aid to support the immediate needs for food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support for disaster victims.

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UPDATED Wednesday, January 13, 2010 -- 4:30 p.m.
Reporter: Dana Brueck
STORY: Earthquake Means Trips To Haiti Are On Hold for Haiti Medical Mission of Wisconsin.

The devastation in Haiti's a blow to the mission of a local group. Its life changing work is on-hold.

"I work here. I have my patients. I love my patients. I'm making a difference in their lives, but in this one corner of the world, I feel like what we're doing there is changing those people's lives," Dr. Maureen Murphy says.

Dr. Maureen Murphy's life changed after her first trip to Haiti in 1997.

"I thought, ok.. I'll go one time ... I can ... my kids are young."

"Well since then... I've probably done something every day in regards to my work in Haiti."

Her work there involved opening a clinic in Thiotte in 2002.

"We did hear, just now, 15 minutes ago, we did receive word from the people at our clinic, and they are safe."

The village of 25,000 people sits southeast of the country's capital: a city in ruins after Tuesday's earthquake.

"Any people who are saved, it's because the people themselves are moving those rocks because they don't have big bulldozers."

The devastation hit home for Murphy.

The Lake Delton doctor's also the founder of The Haiti Medical Mission of Wisconsin.

"I heard about it last night, about 5:40, when I came home, opened my door... my son said phone been ringing off the hook... there's been an earthquake. "

A medical surgical team from the volunteer organization was supposed to leave Friday for Thiotte.

"My initial reaction was how sad. We cannot send our team that is ready to go, all packed, in two days."

Pictures capture Murphy's team at work; how volunteers change the lives of patients.

"We have sent surgical tables, anesthesia machines, equipment to run a really very nice facility."

But what's perhaps less obvious -- how the patients change the lives of volunteers, Wisconsin nurses and doctors like Murphy.

"I feel it's been my call to follow this path, and it's been an honor and it's very humbling to walk it."

Volunteers remain on standby, ready to go, if they find a way to get there.

Murphy was scheduled to leave in March, but the trip -- her 14th to Haiti -- is on hold.

All of the group's volunteers pay their own way -- the clinic relies on donations.

If you'd like to help, head to:
www.haitimedicalmission.com

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UPDATED Wednesday, January 13, 2010 --- 8:30 a.m.

As NBC15 News reported last night, some UW students with the group "Engineers Without Borders" are in Haiti.

They posted this message on their blog:

We are ok! Don't worry, it was a mere tremor here. But please do keep an eye on the news for PAP airport as our travel plans may be affected.