Is Uncle Sam Going About Things the Right Way?

Today's paper seemed to fill the void I felt from yesterday's... the story which the New York Times has been following consistently, the Americans accused of kidnapping Haitian children, really stuck with me.
In it, the journalist Ian Urbina writes that the U.S. "was airlifting 15 injured children aboard private flights to the United States each day" but now because of the Americans who were captured it is very difficult to evacuate any children, and he writes that only three children are airlifted per day.
I have been on the edge about this story ever since it broke, because while I understand that these ten Americans had the intention of helping children out of a horrible tragedy, at the same time they went in not knowing if these children were actually orphans and could have caused additional feelings of misplacement for them. In addition, it is so classic for outsiders to come into a situation that they have no personal connection with and think they can fix everything, solve everything. It is my understanding from news reports both in publications and on the news itself that the Americans are from a church group and have no understanding of the culture in Haiti, the lives that these children were leading beforehand and thus it is hard for me to believe that they could have done more good than harm if they were not caught.
I think the culture barrier here makes this tragedy really difficult to effectively communicate and that in many cases the people of Haiti should be asked what they need rather than just throwing supplies at them or taking children off the street. In other words, more background work needs to be done so everyone gets the most out of the relief efforts and situations like with this American group do not keep happening.
The more mistakes made, the more relief efforts are hindered such as with the airlifting of the children who are in serious need of medical attention which the hospitals in Haiti are incapable of giving due to shortage of supplies and space.
If Americans are going in to help, let's do this right, respect the culture and traditions in place and listen to what is truly needed by each individual.