CNN's Soledad O'Brien Talks To Tonic About Devastation and Inspiration, in Haiti and Chile

We have all heard about the devastation in Haiti and Chile following the earthquakes that rocked those two countries, but few of us have been able to experience the aftermath of those events firsthand.

Yet CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O'Brien had the unique opportunity to cover both of these disasters on the ground in the past month, and talked to Tonic about the differences between the two countries, and ways people can help.

Overall, O'Brien says the differences between the two disasters has been stark. Although Chile was hit with a much larger quake, their relative wealth and solid infrastructure has helped them fare significantly better than Haiti, which was already struggling well before their quake.

"I think in a lot of ways Chile is just much better positioned to withstand a massive earthquake. Even though theirs was significantly larger than the one in Haiti, it's all about the structures," O'Brien said Tuesday while attending an event celebrating Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, NJ, which just changed its name. "Haiti has really poor physical structures: concrete cement, very sandy texture, a lot of limestone and built by hand. But in Chile, we did our live shots in front of a building in Conception that had fallen (completely sideways) and at last count 8 people had died and 79 walked away. That's how a structure can make a difference in how catastrophic an earthquake can be."

Yet the optimistic journalist admitted that the seriousness of the Haitian quake has an unexpected upside: it has shined a light on the dire conditions in the country and inspired millions to help.

"This can be a wonderful opportunity for people who give money to help this country that's just off of our coastline," she explains. "Haiti had hundreds of thousands of orphans before the earthquake. Haiti had an unemployment rate of 85 percent before the earthquake, so the world has to decide whether to say, 'Well, bummer for you,' or to say, 'This is an opportunity to invest and make all these dollars that come in make a difference.'"

O'Brien, who is working on a CNN documentary about Christian missionaries helping in Haiti, has already done her part to help at least some Haitian children — with the help of her own kids.

"My kids, their project for their second -and third-grade classes, is they got plastic bags and put in notebooks and pencils and pencil sharpeners and stickers because when I was in Haiti the kids loved these little horse stickers my son put on the back of my blackberry. They went, 'Oh, these are great.' So I said, 'We should bring some stickers next time I go.' So I brought two roller bags of 300 notebooks, pencils and stickers and it happened to be the first day of school. That was something little we did. Did it make a huge difference? No. But a bunch of kids have notebooks now. So there's a lot of things you can do that cost nothing or very little."

Holy Name Medical Center President and CEO Michael Maron also spoke to Tonic at the event, just hours before boarding a plane to Haiti to do his part to help. Maron said the hospital has been working closely with Hospital Sacre Coeur in Milot, the largest private hospital in northern Haiti and Holy Name staff raised $20,000 to buy the overwhelmed facility a much-needed regenerating oxygen tank, a life-saving item for patients on a respirator or under anesthesia. Maron is also heading down to help the hospital, currently at more than four times its regular capacity, become more organized and manage their resources better.

"We're trying to add an element of infrastructure," Maron tells Tonic. "Everything is still somewhat chaotic and they need advice on setting priorities. What are your resources? What can you do to be a little better off?"

"All the stories we've heard from physicians when they've come back is it has created an element of selflessness and strong sense of spirituality," he added. "They see the spirit of the people. I absolutely want to witness this. I see these doctors come back transformed."

O'Brien says she has witnessed that same spirit, both in the native people and those who have dedicated their lives to helping struggling Haitians.

"There's this real sense that all this work matters," says O'Brien, who plans to travel back to Haiti with her 9-year-old daughter to volunteer. "It would be so easy to give up, and there are so many people who are not giving up. It'd be so easy to say this problem is way too big, but people are there everyday. How can you not think there is something special about that?"

Want to help the people of Haiti and Chile? Check out Tonic's Haiti coverage for ideas, and click here for ways you can help in Chile.

Photo of Soledad O'Brien in Concepcion, Chile and photo of O'Brien on a food line in Haiti both courtesy of Soledad O'Brien/CNN.