This is the fourth diary on the earthquake disaster in Haiti. The first diary was by Dallasdoc,the second by cosmic debris and the third was by Norbrook
Tomorrow, ALifeLessFrightening will be posting this again with new updates.
The reports of the damage are horrific. Over three million people lived within a few miles of the epicenter, and the death toll is estimates range from 50,000 to 500,000 people. This is going to be a long-term project, but the immediate need is enormous.
PLEASE RECOMMEND TO KEEP LINKS ON THE REC LIST.
Government Agencies
USAID - USAID Responds immediately to Haiti earthquake
UNICEF. At a glance: Haiti There is a donation page for Haiti here.
United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund, with donations here. (h/t aaraujo)
World Food Programme
The State Department has set up another cellphone donation link: Text "HAITI" to 90999 and you will be charged for a $10 donation to relief efforts. Americans seeking info on family members in Haiti, call 888-407-4747.
Disasters Emergency Committee is the umbrella group for Great Britain, which the British government is asking their citizens to donate to. (h/t NY brit expat)
Center for International Disaster Information has information on the humanitarian disaster, with links. There's an answer to the questions as to whether or not to give donations of goods. For the public, the answer is no, cash is better. (h/t dibsa)
Secular NGO's
There are two lists of NGO's you can donate to: one on The Rachel Maddow Show website, the other at Reuters AlertNet.
Pan-American Relief PADF is the natural disaster relief arm of the Organization of American States, has more than 150 people working Haiti on economic development, disaster mitigation and protecting human rights. PADF is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization based in Washington, D.C.
Direct Relief International has already sent a 40-foot container of ongoing aid to arrive today (if it can be unloaded.)
Oxfam International provides assistance to victims of emergencies and ongoing disasters throughout the world. They are mobilizing to provide emergency assistance to victims in Haiti, and your donations will also help people in places like Darfur as well. This is the direct link to support Oxfam's Haiti relief effort.
Doctors Without Borders (aka Medecins Sans Frontieres or MSF) is an international group of medical professionals who work in chronically underserved countries, emergency sites and refugee camps around the world. Here is the latest news of their work in Haiti from their site, MSF Teams Set up Clinics to Treat Injured After Facilities Are Damaged. ***Update (h/t NY brit expat) MSF treats more than 1000 patients. Inflatable hospital on the way.
The International Committee of the Red Cross is of course a standby of emergency response throughout the world. Though the American Red Cross took a hit for administrative costs in the wake of Katrina, few NGO's have the reach or the resources of the ICRC.
ShelterBox USA, which provides prepackaged shelter. TexMexhas a diary up coordinating Kossack contributions for ShelterBoxes to Haiti. Please donate to help the helpless victims of the Haitian earthquake if you can. ** Updated X4** So far we are at 22 and counting! AndyT had a successful matching donation challenge.
Partners in Health is based in Boston, and is moving to support relief efforts in Haiti through their established ties.
Portlight Strategies is gearing up to help Haitians with disabilities in the wake of the disaster.
Cell carriers will contribute $5 send on a $5 donation on your account if you text YELE to 501501. Wyclef Jean has apparently verified this on CNN (with video). Easy and can raise a lot of money if we all do it.
The excellent Mercy Corps is preparing an aid mission. Mercy Corps also allows you to donate through PayPal, Google Checkout and Amazon Payments, if this helps.
Save The Children has been working in Haiti since 1985. It has provided emergency relief and assistance to Haitian children and families following various recent disasters, including hurricanes and floods, and they are once again mobilizing.
Valadon recommends California Nurses Association call for volunteers. Another good link is the National Nurses United In addition:
* @NationalNurses on twitter or by following: #haitiRN
* Call the RNRN hotline: 1-800-578-8225
* Support the RNRN/NNU disaster relief effort in Haiti by sending checks c/o California Nurses Foundation, 2000 Franklin St., Oakland, CA 94612. Charitable contributions will be used to pay for travel/related costs and medical supplies for volunteer RNs on their emergency nursing mission in Haiti
Zanmi Lakay Haiti Emergency Relief Assistance. A Pacifica-based photographer and colleague who has been working in Haiti for years and is planning to return next week. Read the blog post above to learn where your donations (please donate!) will go.
The Lambi Fund, a secular non-profit nonprofit whose mission is "to assist the popular, democratic movement in Haiti. Its goal is to help strengthen civil society as a necessary foundation of democracy and development. The fund channels financial and other resources to community-based organizations that promote the social and economic empowerment of the Haitian people." They support "projects that embrace the following principles: non-violent, non-partisan, community-based, promoting the advancement of women, using education and training for empowerment, and promoting the overall democratic movement."
BCO Gal posted the Facebook Group Earthquake Haiti
Tomsank's friend who has worked in Haiti for many years recommends Yele Haiti is a grassroots movement that builds global awareness for Haiti while helping to transform the country through programs in education, sports, the arts and environment. Yéle’s community service programs include food distribution and mobilizing emergency relief. Grammy-Award winning musician, humanitarian and Goodwill Ambassador to Haiti Wyclef Jean founded Yéle Haiti in 2005.
PrometheusUnbound suggests Heifer International. Though not first responders, this group does long term infrastructural work. HI currently has 16 projects under way with more than 16,000 families and several farmer associations. The projects in Haiti, which are scattered around the country, with none close to Port-au-Prince, range from training in sustainable farming and crop diversity to gifts of livestock, seeds, trees and grains to training in nutrition, aquaculture and fish production.
Related to this kind of infrastructure support, yg17 recommends TÉLÉCOMS SANS FRONTIÈRES. Communications infrastructure has been completely destroyed and helping to bring that back online will be a huge help to recovery efforts and to allow Haitians to get in touch with family they may have elsewhere in the world.
glassbeadgame recommends the International Medical Corps. It is a global, humanitarian, nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives and relieving suffering through health care training and relief and development programs. Donations can be made here.
Mr. Rick reminds us that animals will be in trouble as well. Donations can be made to Humane Society International.
Religious Groups
cybernun recommends two faith groups already on the ground in Haiti: Catholic Relief Services and World Vision, where you can also sponsor a Haitian child under their care.
LNK recommends the Quakers' American Friends Service Committee, with its stellar track record of aid.
drmah recommends the United Methodist Committee on Relief which uses 100% of donations for relief.
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is also collecting donations, and will use 100% of the donations for relief. (h/t ecologist)
Frederick Clarkson recommends Church World Service organization.
Dan in Illinois suggests Little by Little
Moondance suggests Presbyterian Church (USA)
Sister Havana recommends the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, which has started a Haitian Earthquake Relief Fund. According to the website, 100% of funds collected will go to aid - JUF will absorb all administrative costs.
DeepHarm recommends Convoy of Hope a nonprofit that networks with churches in the community where need exists. Provides necessities like food and water. Has Charity Navigator's highest rating year after year and was already in Haiti when the earthquake struck.
leevank suggests IMA World Health, which is a faith based nonprofit organization that provides health care services and supplies.
AnnieJo offers a link to the Mennonite Central Committee, a relief-and-development organization with staff currently in Haiti.
The YENTA Of The Opera recommends American Jewish World Service Haiti Relief.
Abraham Running For Congress When I Turn 25 mentions Mission's Door which has facilities and operations in Haiti. If interested they have a donation page here, if you want donations to go to Haiti click "Haiti Earthquake Relief Project."
aaraujo mentions Episcopal Relief & Development Haiti Fund and Anglican Relief and Development
Pam from Calif adds International Orthodox Christian Charities. "IOCC in the spirit of Christ's love offers emergency relief and development programs to those in need worldwide, without discrimination, and strengthen the capacity of the Orthodox Church to so respond."
The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee is also taking donations. "UUSC advances human rights and social justice around the world, partnering with those who confront unjust power structures and mobilizing to challenge oppressive policies." (h/t antimony)
today:
from Norbrook:
AmeriCares has asked to be added to this list. Their donation page is here. AmeriCares restores health and saves lives by delivering donated medicines, medical supplies and humanitarian aid to people in need around the world and here at home.
feralike recommends the Pan American Development Foundation.
chillindame recommends The Jean Cadet Restavek Foundation Restaveks are child slaves. This is an organization for children run by a Haitian man who is a former child slave.
TEXT a Donation!
I found this collection of ways to donate through text messages also. Added to the bottom of the list is one added (via the comments) by Me. Note, your phone bill will reflect the charges. Earlier in the day someone also recommended sending the message STOP afterward so you don't get a monthly charge/donation. Not sure how accurate that advice is but thought I'd pass it along.
Tonight, bluecrayon also noted via the comments that the major cell phone carriers, TMobile, Sprint, AT&T and Verizon have waived their usual fees for these donations. Rachael Maddow, who is doing an excellent job covering this disaster, provided that info on her show.
Glassbeadgame also noted that Visa and MC are waiving their credit card fees on donations for Haiti aid, and if you contribute to Interaction Amex will waive its fees as well.
Text the word "Yele" to 501501 to donate $5 on behalf of the Yele Haiti Foundation, founded by Haitian musician Wyclef Jean. (this is probably the most popular one judging by Twitter and Facebook today)
• Text the word "Haiti" to 85944 to donate $5 to the Rescue Union Mission and MedCorp International.
• Text the word "Haiti" to 25383 to donate $5 to the International Rescue Committee.
• Text the word "Haiti" to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross.
• Text Haiti to 52000 to donate $10 to the Salvation Army. You can do it up to three times (no need to send STOP message)
By the way, NPR did a story on text message donations today.
UPDATES:
- This social network fundraising effort is attracting the attention of other media. The Dallas Morning News contacted Dallasdoc today:
Tonight I had a conversation with a reporter from the Dallas Morning News, who noted our efforts to raise money for the victims in Haiti and emailed me because of my screenname. I had a long chat with him in which I extolled the good heart and caring nature of the people in this community. "We are liberals and progressives, we are interested in politics because we care about people," I told him. I described how this community responded to a simple appeal with incredible energy and self-sacrificing generosity, and that after five years here I had expected no less of us. He was impressed, and is working on an article about how new media and social networking sites are mobilizing to help the Haitians. He got the idea for that article from us.
He also notes another important, insider view of disaster relief, and a liveblog effort by mindoca. Deservedly on the rec list right now.
I held off on posting this tonight so the SHELTER BOX effort by TexMex would get all the attention it deserves. Typical of what we have seen when this community comes together, people have now donated enough to buy 22 shelter boxes. That's $22,000 folks! In what, a day? Amazing.
Mini-UPDATE: SallyCat informs me that it's now 22 boxes AND COUNTING! Lets see how high it goes.
Partners in Health has now started a BLOG about its efforts called Stand with Haiti. It has very useful information. Dr. Farmer was also on Campbell Brown (CNN) tonight. The video doesn't seem to have been posted yet.
Partners in Health is also putting out a call for health volunteers, in case you are a medical professional who can help out that way:
We are deeply grateful for the multitude of people who have contacted us wanting to provide medical assistance. As patients flood to our sites from Port-au-Prince, we're finding ourselves in need of both medical personnel and supplies. In particular, we need surgeons (especially trauma/orthopedic surgeons), ER doctors and nurses, and full surgical teams (including anesthesiologists, scrub and post-op nurses, and nurse anesthetists).
If you are a health professional interested in volunteering, please send an email to volunteer@pih.org with information on:
Your credentials
Language capabilities (Haitian Creole or French desired)
Overseas experience (if any)
Any prior experience in emergency/post-disaster relief efforts
Availability
Contact information
As phone lines in Haiti remain down and transportation and communication are difficult, PIH is still in the process of determining where we can set up operations in Port-au-Prince, and how we can transport patients and volunteers to our sites. We will be able to offer more concrete information after these logistical matters are resolved.
Once again – thank you for your support. Kenbe fèm.
An (unfortunately) necessary warning:
This was on MSNBC, and in our urge to help, we should also remember to be careful:
The FBI, Better Business Bureau and software security companies Wednesday all warned Internet users to exercise caution before opening their wallets to organizations claiming to be charities that will send financial assistance to Haiti.
"Apply a critical eye," said the FBI in a statement, and do "due diligence before responding to those requests."
DeepHarm provides the very useful link to Charity Navigator the organization that rates charities for cost-effectiveness and other factors.
We all want to help, but please make sure that your money is really going to an organization that is going to help, not a scam artist.
Thank you everyone for your help and donations. If you cannot donate money at this time, please consider helping to keep this series going. I will be more than happy to send you the coding, which you can change to suit you.
A Message from Michelle Obama (thanks Tazzz)