Rodney Diverlus, 19, is currently a second-year Performance Dance student at Ryerson University. Rodney was born in Port-au-Prince Haiti, and immigrated to the United States when he was nine years old. Following a period of time in Florida, he moved with his family to Hamilton, where they currently reside. Many members of his extended family and friends still live in Haiti. During the first days of the earthquake aftermath he helped his parents scramble to find them. Here is his story in his own words.

Q: When did you hear about the quake and what was your initial reaction?

I received a frantic call from my parents that night explaining that something happened and they couldn't get through to anyone. Without details, I was confused. Haiti has a history of having natural disasters, and since it wasn't hurricane season, I was confused as to what it was. It wasn't until Wednesday during the day that I got a full extent of the catastrophe

Q: What were the first steps you took to find your loved ones?

My parents led the tasks of finding my family members. I am a full-time university student and it was hard for me to really focus on everything I had to, on top of constantly calling folks back home. I don't think people understand how hard it is to try and locate dozens of family members. From grandparents, to uncles, to aunts, to first, second and third cousins, to family friends, to past co-workers, my parents took on the daunting task of trying to find dozens of past connections.

Q: Are you facing any problems in finding them or in getting them to safety? Have you spoken to the embassy? Are you having visa problems? What has immigration said?

Over time more news is trickling in. There are still many that are missing, especially the ones that lived in Carrefour (where the earthquake hit directly), but for the first two days, no news came in at all. Soon after that, I received hourly updates on the progress of the search and rescue. We are now looking into the process of bringing some family members here, but of course the priority is to get their aid and care back home.

Q: What do you think about the relief efforts so far? Should Canada be doing more?

I am proud to see ordinary Canadians step up to the challenge. In solidarity with the Haitian people, the relief efforts have taken a grassroots approach. This is fantastic to see because it ensures that ordinary Canadians are engaged in the issue and that awareness and care is built around the issue. An example is on our campus, where over $28,000 was raised in less than a week, just by bucket donations and reaching out to the campus community. I think the important thing for Canadians to remember is that, even after the story fades out in the front pages of the media, there are still thousands upon thousands of Haitian folks who are still going to need short-term and long-term aid.

Q: What is your community doing to help the cause?

I am very involved with the Ryerson Students' Union, and soon after the earthquake, emergency meetings were scheduled to discuss relief efforts. A concert was planned for Wednesday, Jan. 13, the day after the earthquake, and in less than 24 hours, media was contacted, promotion was increased, and the nature of the event changed to be a benefit concert. The day following, dozens of volunteers took to the streets and canvassed the campus, speaking and engaging thousands of students and soliciting donations. It was important for us to stress that every little bit counted, and, since students are traditionally in a lower socioeconomic bracket, it was important to empower them to donate without shame. In less than a week, over $28,000 was raised in the campus alone. As of now, followup events and fundraisers are in the planning stages.

Jacques Bazin is a Haiti-born humanitarian worker and president of JB Humanitarian, a non-profit organization that assists the poor and young people coming out of foster care. Though he describes himself as an average person, his life has been exceptional. Jacques has worked on many different humanitarian ventures in Haiti including projects related to education, agriculture and sustainable resources. He was working in one of the schools he set up at the time of the earthquake. Here is his story in his own words.

Q: What happened when the earthquake hit?

I was in one of my schools when it happened. We heard a noise -- a big noise -- and in the split of a second, you don't see the school anymore. All you hear is children crying, and there was no one, nobody to help because we were in the mountains. It's very emotional, you know, when you are looking at children and people dying and crying for help and you cannot help all of them. It is painful. The worst part about it is, until now, as we speak, help has not yet reached them.

At the age of 17, Pierre Clemence-Fritz left Haiti and his only sister, Gloria Sainvil, to come to Canada in search of more opportunities. He is now 25 and working for Aditya Birla Minacs, an outsourcing solutions company. He sends money to support Gloria, 20, and hopes that one day he can bring her to Canada. They share a unique relationship, as Pierre is Gloria's last remaining blood relative and he is the only family she has. News of the earthquake has been a nightmare for him. Here is his story in his own words.

Q: When did you hear about the earthquake and when did you hear about your sister's whereabouts?

Well, the Monday before I was feeling off. I started feeling shaky for no reason. I had a bad feeling that something was going to happen to my sister. So, I called my brother and told him about it. The next day he sent me a text and said there was an earthquake. I said, "No there wasn't. You're lying and it's not funny." But then my supervisor came to me and told me "Yes, it's true." I couldn't breathe. I was so scared I couldn't focus, so I asked my supervisor if I could leave and she let me go.

Pierre Clemence-Fritz's sister in Haiti, Gloria Sainvil, is 20.

Q: What were the first steps you took to find your sister?

After I left work my first step was to try calling her. Everybody at work was giving me long-distance cards, even one guy that I didn't know. I took the next few days off work and tried everything I could. I called the embassy and Red Cross, but, nothing. I tried to call her too, but there was nothing either. Finally on Friday I decided I had to go back to work just to distract myself.

One guy called in because he had been trying to sending a Western Union money transfer to his family because somebody had died. The company had frozen the transfer, though, because they said it looked suspicious. I told him "No problem sir, I can help you release the funds." After I did that, he asked if there was anything he could help me with, so I told him about my sister and he said he would call me by the end of the day. I heard nothing.

I worked again on Saturday, and around 10 a.m. my phone rang and I thought it was going to be this guy. It was my sister! I jumped so hard out of my chair that I bashed my knees off the desk and hurt myself.

She told me she knew I wouldn't forget about her and she was so happy to hear from me. She had survived the earthquake but was injured, and she got hurt again during one of the aftershocks. She wouldn't tell me how bad, because she didn't want me to worry.

So I told her, "As long as I can hear your voice, I will be OK. I'll fight for you to come here," and I've been trying ever since. I send her money through Western Union and I put minutes on her phone so she can call me.

Q: Have you encountered any problems getting her to safety?

As soon as I heard from her I started working on bringing her here so I could take care of her. I have a good job, you know? I work six days a week and the only thing in the world I want is for her to be with me here, because I can take care of her.

I talked to immigration and the lady told me I had to send all of my information in - my contact information and a letter showing how much I make a year. So I did, but then she told me she could only come as a visitor, I couldn't be her guardian.

I went all the way to Montreal, Quebec, and waited in line. There were so many people, there had to be more than 1,000 just standing in line. I drove there and waited all that time for nothing.

I asked the immigration people, 'Why? I have a good job I can take care of her, why do you let all the babies in, but not my sister?' She said it had to do with her age. My sister is 20 years old now. But they still haven't sent help to the area where she is - near Delmas - and she needs my help.

She is only about 30 minutes from the airport there, you can even walk it and it doesn't take long. The nearest Western Union to them is like two hours away, and they don't have any food or water. So I have to keep sending them money, but it's hard you know, because it's so far away for them. She can't really do much right now because, like I said, her feet are injured.

I feel lied to, you know? On the TV they were saying that they would open the borders and they would let people in, but that isn't true. Not for me. Why? I work six days a week, I showed them my papers, I can afford to have her here.

I really feel for everybody that has been hurt by this, I do. But, right now, I have to take care of my own, and I just want my sister to come here. I don't understand why they won't let me. I feel like they lied to me.

Q: What do you think of the relief efforts so far?

It's good that they are sending relief, you know, lots of people are hurt. But they haven't done anything for me. Where my relatives are, they haven't received anything: no food, no water, doctors, nothing. They live so close to the airport, and it would be so easy to get them help.

I feel sorry for everyone else too and if I could adopt I would. But, I only have one person. I want my sister first.