How to help victims of the Haiti earthquake

[Chad]

How to help victims of the Haiti earthquake



An earthquake survivor gets first aid treatment in a shantytown near Port-au-Prince, Haiti, after a major earthquake on Tuesday.

"Like the end of the world."This CNN iReport quote comes from a survivor of the catastrophic 7.0 earthquake that rocked Haiti on Tuesday. All Haitians must feel like its the end of the world today after being struck by the largest earthquake in recent history.

Already, several countries (read how Americans are already mobilizing) and non-profits have started to pull together aid efforts for Haiti, where the International Red Cross estimates 3 million people may be in need of help.

Americans who need information about family members in Haiti have been asked to call (888) 407-4747, a line set up by the State Department.

There are many ways to lend a hand, but be warned, many aid sites have been overloaded and were down when we tried to access them. Be patient!

Disaster relief and non-governmental organizations:

• You can make a donation through the American Red Cross' International Response Fund, and it will be allocated specifically for Haiti relief efforts;
• Action Against Hunger has mobilized an emergency response and has teams already on the ground, assessing and responding to needs;
• Habitat for Humanity has been working in Haiti for 26 years, and will be sending a team to assess the impact on affordable housing after the earthquake. To make a donation, go here;
• Mercy Corps has a way for you to donate your money straight to their efforts in Haiti, and Unicef also has a donation site set up;
• Operation Blessing International also has disaster relief teams on the way. A donation of $50 or more will bring emergency food, water, medicine and more to the quake victims;
• Project HOPE, which provide medical supplies and health care services to those in need, is seeking donations for their aid efforts in Haiti;
• The Salvation Army is also sending personnel and supplies to assist in the relief effort, and is in need of donations;
• The United Nations World Food Program has teams "already on the scene, mobilizing emergency food assistance to families." To support these efforts, you can make an emergency donation here;
• Yele, an organization set up by musician Wyclef Jean, a native Haitian, is an additional option.

Faith-based organizations:

• Baptist Global Response, which coordinates the mercy efforts of the Southern Baptist Convention, is sending a team from Florida to help for its initial outreach. In addition to donations, the organization asks that concerned individuals join in focused prayer for Haiti's 9 million people;
• Christian Aid Ministries, an Amish-Mennonite organization, has had staff and a distribution network in Haiti for over 20 years. To help earthquake survivors, they are providing search and rescue operations, emergency supplies such as medicines and food, and later on rebuilding of houses. Donations are being accepted through mail or credit card;
• Compassion International, the world's largest Christian child development program, serves 64,000 sponsored children in Haiti, most near the earthquake zone. Their website allows donors to earmark contributions for Haiti;
• The Episcopal Diocese of New York, which has Haitian congregations and a partnership with the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti, is collecting aid both through the diocese and through the national denomination's Episcopal Relief and Development;
• The Lutheran Church Missouri -- Synod along with their mercy arm, LCMS World Relief and Human Care, announced it was making an initial grant of tens of thousands of dollars available to meet emergency needs. Support their efforts by making a donation here;
• Samaritan's Purse, the international aid and development group headed by Rev. Franklin Graham, landed a medical supplies flight with teams of emergency medical workers Wednesday morning and will begin pouring in additional aid as needs become clear.

The fastest way to donate may be by text. Text "Haiti" to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross relief efforts. Or text Yele to 501 501 to donate $5.

There are so many options available that it's hard to create accurate lists, but we want to point out a couple worthwhile efforts. Take a minute to check these out if you haven't had luck with the sites we mentioned:

• Nick Zantop, a blogger, photographer and globetrotter who says she grew up in the Caribbean, has pulled together a comprehensive list of possibilities on Facebook and her blog, ItsJustLight.com.
• MSNBC also has a nice list pulled together.

How best to help

The Center of International Disaster Information (CIDI) says that "cash is best" for individuals and organizations interested in making contributions to help the victims of the earthquake.

Additionally, interested donors can visit InterAction.org to obtain their list of credible responding agencies for international emergencies, and www.give.org or CharityNavigator.org to get valuable information on making informed decisions when supporting charities.

The White House has also set up a webpage with information on how to help.

source: usatoday.com

 

[HeIsMyFather]

Thank you for this post, Chad. One of my co-workers is from Haiti and his family is there. He has no idea if any of them are dead or alive, as he's had no contact at all. He's very worried for his parents, sisters, and daughter. Apparently, it's very difficult to get through on regular communication channels. I pray that his family managed to avoid injury and is somewhere safe, but hearing the reports from there is not comforting. Haiti is the poorest nation in the western Hemisphere, and with the political situation there building standard are virtually non-existent. Rich and poor alike have been devastated, but the poor will suffer the most.

I hope tomorrow when I go into work that he's at least heard from someone with some kind of news.