Well, if you haven’t heard yet, Haiti has been struck by its biggest earthquake in over 200 years (read report here). They’re in trouble and they need help. Let’s cut to the chase. Here’s some ways you can help if you want to support Haiti.
REMEMBER: There are a lot of people wanting to help out in Haiti. Those with experience are likely to get the gig ahead of you.
WARNING: Whenever a crisis like this hits, scammers try to take advantage of the good intentions of folks. Before you donate anywhere check out the organisation here and do some research before you volunteer your time!
Volunteer in Haiti.
OK, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There are a lot more volunteers than there are ways to get them to Haiti and working in an orderly manner. This guideline has been issued by the International Center for Disaster Information:
“Volunteers without prior disaster relief experience are generally not selected for relief assignments. Candidates with the greatest chance of being selected have fluency in the language of the disaster-stricken area, prior disaster relief experience, and expertise in technical fields such as medicine, communications logistics, water/sanitation engineering. In many cases, these professionals are already available in-country. Most agencies will require at least ten years of experience, as well as several years of experience working overseas. “ (Center for International Disaster Information)
There are a bunch of organisations looking for volunteers and donations – a great list of them is here.
A few others are:
The California Nurses Association is looking for volunteer qualified nurses to travel to the disaster zone. You can read more about that one here.
Matador Exchange – We have been following this one on Twitter and the folks over at the Matador travel network are working hard on a volunteer project.
National Nurses United is also looking for volunteer nurses.
Hands On Disaster Response are assessing the situation and are usually open to committed volunteers.
CIDI are taking registrations of Doctors, nurses and EXPERIENCED disaster relief folks.
Donate to Haiti
Once again folks, don’t get carried away here. The Haitians don’t need junk and they don’t need clothes. Cash is what is needed most. Read CIDI’s guideline to appropriate donations here.
“Americans can help the most by donating cash to an established relief agency,” says Suzanne H. Brooks, Director of CIDI.
The three website you NEED to see BEFORE you start handing over the cash are:
Make sure your chosen charity is legit before you hand over the money. There is a great guide on not getting scammed when you donate online here.
Some legit organisations that already have their shit together regarding the Haiti emergency are these ones:
Catholic Relief Services: Address and mail checks to: The Archdiocese of Detroit CRS Relief Efforts (4th Floor) 1234 Washington Blvd., Detroit 48226; donate online or call 800-736-3467.
American Red Cross: Donate online at their website or call 800-REDCROSS.
The Haiti Foundation Against Poverty: Non-profit organization in Grand Rapids that funds an elementary school in Port-au-Prince seeks donations, food and medical supplies to send to Haiti.
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I pray for those people who have been injured in Haiti. the earthquake in Haiti is one of the word disasters this year. I just hope that they would be able to recover soon.