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Haitian Earthquake: What YOU Can Do!
Posted on 01/13/2010
An earthquake centered near the impoverished Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince caused the collapse of several buildings and an unknown number of fatalities Tuesday. The quake measured 7.0 on the Richter scale and at least 1.8 million people live within the area where the earthquake had its highest intensity.
U.S. President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that his "thoughts and prayers" were with the people of Haiti. "We are closely monitoring the situation and we stand ready to assist the people of Haiti," Obama said in a statement. The Obama administration said that the State Department, USAID and the U.S. military were working to coordinate an assessment of the situation and any possible assistance.
•Concern has been working in Haiti for 16 years with over 100 staff. To support relief and recovery efforts, Concern has launched a $7.5 million appeal. Initial interventions will target existing program areas of Satin-Martin and Martissant in Port-au-Prince. Activities will include the provision of shelter, water, nutrition, medicines, medical supplies and non-food items. Reestablishing services at 10 health centers for malnourished children, and setting up 7 additional infant nutrition centers are urgent priorities. Concern is also launching cash-for-work programs such as clean-up campaigns to reestablish a source of income, normalcy, and the preservation of dignity for surviving families. Donate at: www.concernusa.org/HaitiAppeal, call (800) 59-CONCERN or send to 104 East 40th Street, Room 903
New York, NY, 10016.
•The American Red Cross is pledging an initial $200,000 to assist communities impacted by this earthquake. They expect to provide immediate needs for food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support. They are accepting donations through their International Response Fund at https://american.redcross.org.
•UNICEF has issued a statement that "Children are always the most vulnerable population in any natural disaster, and UNICEF is there for them." UNICEF requests donations for relief for children in Haiti via their Haiti Earthquake Fund at http://www.unicefusa.org/haitiquake. You can also call 1-800-4UNICEF.
•Donate through Wyclef Jean's foundation, Yele Haiti. Text "Yele" to 501501 and $5 will be charged to your phone bill and given to relief projects through the organization. Link: www.yele.org
•Operation USA is appealing for donations of funds from the public and corporate donations in bulk of health care materials, water purification supplies and food supplements which it will ship to the region from its base in the Port of Los Angeles. Donate online at www.opusa.org, by phone at 1-800-678-7255 or, by check made out to Operation USA, 3617 Hayden Ave, Suite A, Culver City, CA 90232.
•Ben Stiller's Stillerstrong campaign will be temporarily diverting all donations to support the Haiti relief effort. Visit www.stillerstrong.org.
•Zanmi Lasante, the Haitian sister organization of the U.S.-based NGO Partners In Health, is one of Haiti’s largest health care providers, serving a catchment area of 1.2 million in Central Haiti and the lower Artibonite Department. Zanmi Lasante has been working for more then two decades in Haiti to increase access to a full range of high-quality health services and to lift entire communities out of poverty through a range of social support and community development. Zanmi Lasante has appealed for assistance for a temporary field hospital which needs supplies, pain meds, bandages. Donate to their Haiti earthquake fund www.pih.org.
•Mercy Corps is sending a team of emergency responders to assess damage, and seek to fulfill immediate needs of quake survivors. The agency aided families after earthquakes in Peru in 2007, China and Pakistan in 2008, and Indonesia last year. Donate online at www.mercycorps.org, call 1-888-256-1900 or send checks to Mercy Corps Haiti Earthquake Fund; Dept NR; PO Box 2669; Portland, OR 97208.
•Direct Relief is committing up to $1 million in aid for the response and is coordinating with its other in-country partners and colleague organizations. Their partners in Haiti include Partners in Health, St. Damien Children's Hospital, and the Visitation Hospital, which are particularly active in emergency response. Donate to Direct Relief online at www.directrelief.org.
•BRAC USA is mobilizing resources to support the rescue and recovery efforts and working with our two partners (Fonkoze, Haiti’s largest micro-finance organization and Zanmi Lasante, the Haitian sister organization of the U.S.-based NGO Partners In Health). Donations can be made at http://donate.bracusa.org/
•Oxfam has a staff of 200, including a 15-member emergency response team, to bring expertise in water, sanitation and public health in Haiti, as well as local knowledge and community networks established over the past decade. Oxfam is rushing in teams from around the region to respond to the situation to provide clean water, shelter, sanitation and help people recover. Donate to Oxfam America online at www.oxfamamerica.org.
•International Medical Corps is assembling a team of first responders and resources to provide lifesaving medical care and other emergency services to survivors of the earthquake. Donate online at www.imcworldwide.org.
•Freedom from Hunger is responding by channeling relief support through organizations already on the ground with established working relationships in poor communities. They are working with ACLAM (Action Contre La Misère), a FFH local partner in Haiti since 2000. 100% of your gift will go directly to the relief and rebuilding efforts. www.freedomfromhunger.org
•CARE has had an active presence in Haiti since 1954, CARE's work there focuses on HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, maternal and child health, education, food security, and water and sanitation. www.care.org
•Catholic Relief Services has more than 50 years of experience in Haiti and currently serves some 200,000 of the poorest and most marginalized Haitians in the areas of health and nutrition, education, water and sanitation, HIV/AIDS, agriculture, peace building and migration. www.crs.org
•PLAN has worked in Haiti since 1973, and currently implements child-centered community development programs featuring Health, Education for Girls and Boys, HIV/AIDS, and the Rights of the Child. www.plan-international.org
•Save the Children has worked in Haiti since 1985, primarily in Port-au-Prince and the Central Plateau region, and provides health, education, protection and food security programs to vulnerable children. www.savethechildren.org
•The American Refugee Committee has responded tp Haiti by focusing on helping the displaced. Shelter, water, and sanitation are all critical priorities. Their operations are currently focused in both Port-au-Prince and on the Haiti/Dominican Republic border area. www.arcrelief.org
•Heartland Alliance has established an emergency fund to assist survivors of the devastating January 12 earthquake in Haiti. A Heartland Alliance team is participating in on-the-ground assessments and in planning emergency responses with governmental, international, and community groups. Heartland Alliance's focus is on three major areas: immediate protection services, short and long term psychosocial services, and health care. www.heartlandalliance.org
•CHAI, a 501(c) (3) charity dedicated to educational and medical missions in Haiti, has set up an emergency relief fund to send immediate aid to the first and second response teams on the ground and through organizations like Partners in Health. Donations can be made online at: www.chai-haiti.org or you can send checks to: CHAI, Earthquake Relief Fund, c/o Diane L. Sauerbier, Assistant Branch Manager, Charter One, 101 Dixie Hwy ILB526, Chicago Heights,IL 60411, Tel: (708) 755-741.
•Haitian Congress, is an organization of Haitian diaspora raising funds for Haiti. http://haitiancongress.org.
Other organizations that are helping
The World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists (WCMP)has established an emergency cell that will closely monitor and assess the situation on ground, and will serve as the bridge between the global community of donors and partner humanitarian agencies. Please direct your communications to the following address: WCMP- Haiti Emergency Cell, Imtiaz Khan, MD, ikhan@thewcmp.org or +1-630-242-2792
With communications crippled in Haiti after Tuesday’s devastating earthquake, Internews is working with local partners on the urgent need for information during this humanitarian disaster. Haitians need information now: how to find food, shelter and water, how to connect to loved ones who survived, and eventually, how to rebuild. A rapid response team from Internews that includes media specialists and radio technicians is deploying to assess the extent of damage to Haiti’s media infrastructure and bringing broadcast equipment that can quickly be used to broadcast emergency information. Gift will be matched dollar for dollar by a grant from the MacArthur Foundation.
Some recommendations for relief giving, provided by Arabella Advisors
• Support medium- to long-term recovery efforts that "Build it Better." Most donors will see the stirring images from Haiti and react today, donating dollars that are allocated for emergency humanitarian relief. Relief activities are obviously critical, but they do not address the need for longer-term recovery, which will require even more dollars and receive far less attention. Donors should consider making longer-term investments. They should also consider making their investments more strategic by following the Hurricane Katrina response mantra, "Build it Better." In Haiti, donors can provide financial support to improve the water and sanitation infrastructure, education system, housing stock, access to healthcare, and more.
• Support organizations with a long-standing history of development work in Haiti. Many international organizations have a decades-long presence in Haiti, providing development programs across a range of sectors. These organizations have well-established relationships with local communities and community-based organizations. Supporting these organizations maximizes existing expertise and response capacity and minimizes the learning curve associated with working in a complex disaster environment.
• Add disaster funding to an existing mission. Donors can most effectively leverage their resources for responding to the Haitian earthquake by tapping their in-house expertise. For example, a foundation whose mission is to support shelter can focus on rebuilding homes in earthquake-affected communities. Recovery needs in Haiti will span all sectors: environment, agriculture, shelter, water and sanitation, education, protection, health care, etc. You can help best where you know the most.
• Support disaster-risk reduction. Advance preparation and early warning systems help reduce the damage disasters cause. As Haitians work to rebuild their communities following this natural disaster, preparedness needs for future emergencies should be taken into account. This includes support for alert and communication systems, disaster-proof construction, agricultural planning, and operational contingency planning.
And here are some recommendations for avoiding fraud
With the outpouring of generosity spawned by the earthquake in Haiti, the FBI has released a brief message cautioning donors against being scammed. This message has been reprinted below:
The FBI today reminds Internet users who receive appeals to donate money in the aftermath of Tuesday's earthquake in Haiti to apply a critical eye and do their due diligence before responding to those requests. Past tragedies and natural disasters have prompted individuals with criminal intent to solicit contributions purportedly for a charitable organization and/or a good cause.
Therefore, before making a donation of any kind, consumers should adhere to certain guidelines, to include the following:
•Do not respond to any unsolicited (spam) incoming e-mails, including clicking links contained within those messages.
•Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as surviving victims or officials asking for donations via e-mail or social networking sites.
•Verify the legitimacy of nonprofit organizations by utilizing various Internet-based resources that may assist in confirming the group's existence and its nonprofit status rather than following a purported link to the site.
•Be cautious of e-mails that claim to show pictures of the disaster areas in attached files because the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders.