Georgia Kurko said it was a desperate country 20 years ago when she started doing mission work in Haiti.

"But now, everything has a look of [being] destroyed and torn down and falling down right when you're walking," said Kurko, who is the director of the Haiti Fund in the Ohio Valley.

This was fellow volunteer Mary Harrison’s first trip to the country.

"Actually seeing it in person took on a whole new meaning. Immediately, I started to tear up and was very emotional," said Harrison.

The missionaries are used to working with Haitians who don't have much, but now, they said more and more people have nothing at all

"[There’s] an urgent feeling of people everywhere now who need food and water to get through the day. How are they going to get it if we don't help?" said Kurko.

The Haiti Fund missionaries took gifts and supplies to school children, and taught them Bible lessons.

"They seemed positive. They were happy to see us. They were so sweet, I could have taken a bus load of them home with me," said Harrison.

Kurko said money is what the country needs the most right now, and just 50 cents a day can provide a healthy meal for a Haitian.

"I wouldn't say it’s an exaggeration to say that's probably going to save someone’s life," said Kurko.

It's a dire situation for a desperate country -- where rebuilding could take a lifetime, according to the missionaries.

"I want to see it do better, but I don't know if it can," said Harrison.

Kurko plans to head back to Haiti after Christmas, and Harrison will make a second trip in about a year.