Dominican Republic Teams Bring Relief in Haiti (VIDEO)

Dominican aid workers, under the watchful eye of Peruvian peacekeepers, carried on a food distribution operation today (19 January) one week since a terrifying earthquake hit the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. MINUSTAH

Humanitarian workers from the Dominican Republic prepare to distribute food in the slum of Cité Soleil, outside Port-au-Prince, after Haiti's powerful earthquake left the area with widespread food shortages. UN Photo/Marco Dormino

(PORT-AU-PRINCE/SALEM) - Aid workers from the Dominican Republic, under the watchful eye of Peruvian peacekeepers, spent the day carrying on food distribution operation today. It has been one week since a terrifying earthquake leveled much of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.

Death toll estimates are around 200,000 now; the number has grown as each day since the disaster has passed.

Survivors of the quake, people of all ages and backgrounds, lined up in an orderly fashion to accept food rations delivered by land from neighboring Dominican Republic, which was largely unaffected from the 7.0 seismic movement that devastated Port-au-Prince.

Through a translator, Dominican Aid Worker Ramon de la Cruz, said, "The Dominican government is contributing here. We've got ten trucks daily with up to 30,000 food rations - every day."

Aid from the Dominican Republic was the first to land in this shattered country. Since right after the earthquake struck last Tuesday, the assistance has steadily flowed into Haiti, where people are very desperate for help.

The aid for these people includes mobile kitchens and food rations which are greatly in demand. Other deliveries have included heavy machinery and medical aid.

Many of the injured have been transported to hospitals in the Dominican Republic.

The UN says the outpouring of aid has helped ease historical tensions dating back to colonial times between these two Nations, which share the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.

Special thanks to UN video crews on the ground in Port-au-Prince for footage in this report:

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Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 covering the war in Afghanistan, and he was in Iraq over the summer of 2008, reporting from the war while embedded with both the U.S. Army and the Marines. Tim holds numerous awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing, including the Oregon AP Award for Spot News Photographer of the Year (2004), first place Electronic Media Award in Spot News, Las Vegas, (1998), Oregon AP Cooperation Award (1991); and several others including the 2005 Red Cross Good Neighborhood Award for reporting. Serving the community in very real terms, Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website. You can send Tim an email at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com