Never does Roosevelt Richard rest in his Vernal home without picturing his 80-year-old mother sleeping on a hard, dry plot of dirt surrounded by other Haitians left homeless by that country's Jan. 12 earthquake.

“I can’t get her over here,” Richard said softly. “My dad has a visa, but mom doesn’t. I’m just going to keep trying. So complicated, the U.S. government!”

Even though the young third-year law student hasn’t managed to bring his parents to the U.S., he has been instrumental in the placement of hundreds of orphans into American homes.

For 7 years prior to moving to the United States, Richard worked at the Foyer de Sion orphanage processing and translating papers into English, a priceless aid in assisting American families as they completed complicated adoption procedures.

There were 150 orphans who, prior to the earthquake, had been approved for adoption by families from Utah. Richard was needed to help finish these adoptions so the children could be moved to the homes prepared for them.

Less than a week after the 7.0 quake and when the aftershocks were still rocking the ground, Richard returned to the island nation he left two years ago.

He found most of the orphans living outside the orphanage, fearful that an aftershock would topple what remained of the building. This was a valid concern. By Jan. 24 at least 52 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater had been recorded.

Richard, who is attending Utah State University Uintah Basin, spent two weeks trying to complete the paperwork needed to fly children in the process of being adopted to their new homes. He and the Utah Hospital Task Force were successful in getting nearly 150 orphans into the arms of parents who had been waiting for them.

“The kids were excited to come to America,” Richard said. “Once they had been moved to the U.S., they were even more excited to be here and feel safe.”

Richard would like more people to consider adopting children from Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere.

“Or if they can sponsor kids to come to school in America,” Richard said, “that would be helpful.”

The newly-married man explained that he would like to find “a respectful family” willing to sponsor two girls, ages 9 and 5. The mother wants the children to be educated in America.

Educating the young sisters in Haiti will be more difficult than ever, as many of the schools were significantly damaged or destroyed.

“All the best schools in the country and most of the government buildings have collapsed,” Richard explained.

The San Francisco earthquake of 1989 also measured 7.0 and, even in a state with stringent building codes, the seismic activity caused major damage. Haiti’s poorly-built infrastructure suffered far greater devastation.

“It was overwhelming to see the destruction,” Richard said. “The smell of dead bodies. The bones in the street. You can’t understand unless you see.”

On the morning of the quake, a friend called Richard and told him about the earthquake. The Haiti native was, of course, concerned about his family, but he didn’t expect the damage to be so extensive.

“At first I didn’t realize is was so big,” Richard admitted. “I know that in Haiti we don’t have houses that are built for that.”

After watching news coverage of the event, he became even more concerned, but still did not expect that over 200,000 people would soon be identified as dead and more than 300,000 injured.

“My parents are kind of okay,” Richard said unhappily. “My dad fell down and bruised his knee. He is 80 and they are living in a tent next to where they used to live.”

This is the same home where Richard grew up. His journey to the United State began when he started working for the orphanage. Couples from Utah and Idaho often came to adopt children. For seven years he worked with the agents and met parents who were taking children home. Eventually these people helped Richard attend Brigham Young University where he studied at the English Language Center. He met his wife of five months, Erin, and the couple moved to her hometown of Vernal where Richard is continuing his study of law.

Richard thinks of his home and his parents daily, but he understands that for now he needs to prepare himself to help his country.

“My first hope for the country’s recovery is to rely on the Haitian people,” Richard said. “Because I know when we put ourselves together we can do the unthinkable. On the other hand, we appreciate the generosity of the American people, the leadership of President Obama and other leaders around the world who are helping us.”

Those interested in contacting Richard about sponsoring a child may do so by e-mailing him at roooseveltr@yahoo.com. (There are three “o’s” in the address.)