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(April 4, 2010) - On my fourth day in Haiti this March, many of us who went with Mission Waco to Ferrier, Haiti, stopped in Milot, a city about 30 miles away from Ferrier in the northeastern part of the country.

There, we had a chance to visit the hospital that grew from housing about 80 patients to more than 400 patients  after the earthquake, according to a New Jersey doctor.

Across the road from the white, crowded facility was a row of large tents set up to house most of those patients brought in from Port-Au-Prince.

It's also where we spotted Americans dressed in scrubs walking in and out of the tents, standing out like sore thumbs.

I and my group found ourselves drawn to those other Americans who we never met and would probably never see again.

"How long have you been here?"

"3 months, you?"

"We got here this week. How is it looking? What have you been doing during your time here?"

"I'm a doctor from New Jersey. We are trying to get these patients over here taken care of first and.... (etc)."

"Ok, the bus is leaving, good luck!"

In such a quick conversation, we bonded with people from different parts of the United States who we'd probably pass by on an American street and never say hello to on any other given day.

But on that day, we shared each others compassion for these Haitian people, we knew the difficulties that lie ahead.

We knew we had a bond with these Haitians that is almost like a secret kept between each other, because we were witnessing first-hand a great need for help.

Many Central Texans have had such a "secret" for more than 20 years. Before the earthquake, people all over our area donated to projects that would help build a better life for many Haitians.

Mission Waco, World Hunger Relief and Hope For The Hungry are some of the charity groups to name a few.

Now, after the earthquake many more Central Texans have given donations and asked what more they could do.

Over the next week, News 10 will share with you some of the stories out of the Mission Waco trip and the projects you can become a part of.

If you have such a story yourself about visiting Haiti yourself, please feel free to share with me here this week.

These are two numbers to call for information on how to help:

Mission Waco (254) 753-4900

Hope For The Hungry (254) 939-0124