LEOGANE, Haiti - A catastrophic earthquake that occurred in Haiti on Jan. 12 has brought humanitarians and rescuers from across the world to the island to aid the victims, including a U.S. Navy member from Muscatine.

Andrew Alvarado, 21, is among the thousands of people who have been called on to help distribute supplies, assist families and clean up the rubble that once made up communities in Haiti.

Alvarado and his fellow crew mates are aboard the USS Carter Hall, which is anchored near Leogane, Haiti, west of Port-au-Prince. The service members board boats to ride to the island each day to work and bring in supplies.

Alvarado has gone ashore twice to help move debris in the three weeks he's been near Haiti.

The need for assistance and the different types of jobs are vast.

Alvarado's primary job is to give haircuts to his fellow shipmates aboard the USS Carter Hall, which is conducting humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in Haiti.

"I'm the ship's barber. I took a class and I am actually pretty good at it," Alvarado said, adding that the most popular buzz is a medium fade.

Alvarado, a third class ship serviceman, is responsible for inventory of the ship's store and contributing to the morale and well-being of the crew. Alvarado also participated in community relations projects in Haiti.

"We were the first American ship to arrive and I don't know how long we'll stay, until they get everything they need I'm sure," he said during a phone interview Monday from the ship.

Alvarado, a 2007 Muscatine High School graduate, was stationed at a naval base in Little Creek, Va., when the quake struck Haiti. He found out about 16 hours before it was time to ship out that he was on the list to go, so he packed right away.

"It was a surprise but we knew they needed us," he said.

He said it's rewarding to know that the Haitian people appreciate the hard work of the military and volunteers.

"It's a smaller, country-type town," Alvarado said of Leogane. "When you look on the beach debris are everywhere. It's gotten a lot better in the past two or three weeks."

He said the children wave and give thanks and that time is going by quickly for him.

When he was in Muscatine, Alvarado said he was a manager at Taco Bell and wrestled in high school. He said he misses his family, including his sister, Brittney Alvarado, 16, and mother, Cruz Martinez of Muscatine, and his father, Raymond Alvarado, of West Liberty. He joined the Navy right out of high school.

Alvarado said his experience learning about a Third-World country in a time of desperation has helped him appreciate what he has at home all the more.

"We are very happy to be here," Alvarado said of himself and his crewmates. "It's just an amazing thing to see. I am definitely glad that I live in America and I wouldn't take that for granted ever again."

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