Since he assumed the role more than 30 years ago, local attorney Albert Momjian’s efforts as honorary consul to the Republic of Haiti for the Philadelphia region have involved everything from helping to donate equipment and supplies to Haitian public hospitals to organizing community outreach programs for local Haitian children.

But that role has changed drastically in the wake of the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that leveled Port-au-Prince, the country’s capital, Tuesday and left possibly hundreds of thousands dead and thousands of others homeless.