They've fixed shattered limbs, amputated a young child's mangled fingers and witnessed the ultimate in human resilience.

But Bermuda's doctors in Haiti are running short of essential supplies, and have issued a plea for help.

Doctors Christopher Johnson, Stanley James and Alicia Stovell-Washington flew to the country on Sunday, 12 days after it was devastated by a huge earthquake.

They're accompanied by a team of medical technicians and Phillip Rego, a Bermudian charity worker who funds two orphanages in Haiti, plus a medical clinic in Bon Rebos, near Port-au-Prince.

Dr. Johnson, who is keeping an online journal of his experiences, explained that 200 patients were waiting in the hot sun when the doctors arrived at the clinic on Monday.

"We set compound fractures, amputated mangled fingers on a three-year-old, treated malaria exacerbations and diabetic complications. It was a long day but it was extraordinarily rewarding," he wrote. "The people are incredible humble and noble. There are no signs of looting, rioting, or public disorder. The only guns that we have seen were in the hands of UN soldiers travelling in normal convoys.

"There is so much more today and a greatest challenge is supplies."

He later added: "We need a central coordinated body to get us the additional supplies. This is not a money problem this is an organisational and distribution problem. We are in close communication with our regional UN director and she is sending a chopper to get what we need. The chopper pilots are staying at our hotel we are lucky. In this age of technological advances, we should be able to communicate rapidly and efficiently."

He commented: "In the meantime, we are truly blessed that these people accept us in this wretched tragedy. Often, in Bermuda or the US, we question whether we are truly needed or appreciated. While this dilemma will not be solved easily, I know that I am exactly where I am meant to be; that feeling is peaceful, overwhelming, and no one can take it away."

The trip has been made possible by donations of cash and medical equipment by a range of Bermuda and international companies.

Dr. Johnson later updated his journal to say the US Army Airborne Rangers had arrived at the clinic to help with supplies and he hoped a plane being sent to Haiti today by Bermuda's Cornerstone Bible Fellowship (see separate story) would be able to bring additional equipment.

His colleague, Dr. Stanley James, described the scene when they first arrived at the clinic.

"It was clear that they knew we were coming. It was packed. They held us in a spell. It was in their eyes. Their eyes were mysteriously searching us," he wrote.

"They said nothing. We quietly arranged ourselves and they began to jockey for first position. We saw children with broken bones, women with tattered dresses but seamless smiles. We saw wounded men who had the dignity of a prince and the sensitivity of a child.

"There were open wounds turning grey, and shattered bones two weeks old. We saw illnesses which escape the western clinician's usual practice, but we were all they had. It seemed like the day went fast and then we sat and ate. We ate Haitian food. They cooked it in pots over a coal fire in a house. They made juice from fresh squeezed fruit. We had smiles as wide as Horseshoe Bay... this was our first day. We made a difference."

• The team has set up a blog on the internet at http://projectchangehaiti.blogspot.com and a Facebook page named Operation Haiti Earthquake.