Help for Haiti

Members,

Here is a list of organizations that are not main line, who you might consider for making a contribution to help fund post earthquake relief efforts.

You can use the Comments to add your own favorite group. When you do so, please be sure to include a link to the organization's web site, so their programs and other essential information about it can be seen by others.

Help Haiti Today

1.

FYI: another Haiti donation link below, courtesy of my longtime college friend:

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: Elizabeth Fox

Date: Fri, Jan 15, 2010 at 3:44 PM

Subject: Thank You and News of Haiti

Dear Friends and Family,

As many of you know, a 7.0+ earthquake hit Haiti on Tuesday evening devastating Port-au-Prince and many of its surrounding areas. I had been in Haiti for a little less than a week when it had occurred, as I was beginning a job with the GHESKIO-IMIS centers in conjunction with Cornell's Division of Nutritional Sciences as the Nutrition Training Coordinator of the clinic. I have not been physically hurt; and am currently safe in Santo Domingo with my family, extremely grateful for all of the support that I’ve received.

I was at the GHESKIO clinic at the time of the quake only a few kilometers away from the epicenter - the buildings at the clinic have some damage but are for the most part intact. Beyond the clinic, however, has suffered a great deal. My colleagues and I walked home that evening (~1 hr walk) and stayed at Le Clos (where we lived) for that night and the next day with our neighbors and friends. The following evening, our neighbors returned to take us with them to the French embassy. Thursday morning, Rebecca Heidkamp and I were able to make it out of the city by bus to Santo Domingo. None of this would have been possible had we not been graced with the help of many incredibly generous neighbors and friends.

Many people are helping one another in Haiti, and it’s been the heart of the efforts that I’ve been able to witness - people helping family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, strangers, etc. The aid is “coming” but while I was there, it had not been very well organized or in effect. The first response (first 48hrs) came from the community, not internationally. Although there has been chaos, sorrow and many losses, the first few days after the quake were marked by people working and supporting one another to a tremendous degree. That first night, there were waves of crying and silence, but also of song and prayer. People were working to support one another in this time of need. It has been a true example of community, and I am extremely appreciative to have been able to witness it. Many of the GHESKIO doctors, on their own accord and despite of their own personal losses, have already returned to the clinic and have been spending their days treating those who have been injured and also providing anti-retrovirals/ TB medication to patients who were on-site. This has been incredibly important as GHESKIO is in the center of many destroyed neighborhoods, among many people who are homeless and in need of help. American medical doctors are arriving to GHESKIO today or tomorrow, and will be providing medical care there as well.

I am blessed to have been able to have left Haiti without even a bruise. However, many are not nearly as fortunate. It is not the best of situations - few tools to remove concrete from bodies, limited food and water, very cold nights, etc. Haiti and its people are in need of support. While I was there, most people were still very calm. But, as water, food, clothing, etc becomes more scarce, the tide may change. There will be a need for food, water, clothing, medical supplies, doctors, etc in the short-term. But there will also be a need for support in rebuilding homes, hospitals, micro-credits, etc. in the long-run (and many times this sort of relief is forgotten a few months after an incident).

I am no longer in the country, and can no longer tell a story beyond this point. I am trying to find the best ways to help Haiti from where I am now - realizing that if I were to have stayed or returned, I would be using up the limited resources that are available, instead of providing needed support. I believe that at this point in time, support of relief efforts is one of the best ways to contribute. I am not aware of many specific programs, but do know of a few. Specifically, GHESKIO, the organization I was working for, has been providing support to the surrounding areas (http://weill.cornell.edu/globalhealth/online-global-health-journal/global_health_news/january_2010-_earthquake_devastates_haiti/). Its website to provide support is http://wcmchelpshaiti.org/. The clinic is close to many areas that have high need and is a good place to direct donations because it is working for both short and long-term goals in Haiti.

I hope that you keep Haiti in your thoughts in the coming months, as it is a place full of love and life, but also full of great need.

Best wishes,

Elizabeth Fox

2.

An efficient and effective alternative channel to help those in Haiti, follows:

To the readers of the Bay Area Francophile List:

Accounts of the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti have been
heart-wrenching, and many opportunities for making financial contributions
have been widely publicized throughout the Bay Area. I wanted to add one
more to the list: the Berkeley-based What If? Foundation. Founder
Margaret Trost has been raising money to feed and educate children in
Haiti for nearly ten years, and the results have been simply stunning. If
you aren't comfortable donating to a huge organization, and want to give
to a group that is remarkably cost-effective, please do consider the What
If? Foundation. In 2008, over 92% of the donations received by the
Foundation went directly to Haiti. For more information on the What If?
Foundation, go to: http://whatiffoundation.org/

Thanks for listening,
Suzanne


"Each in his own way imagines Paradise;
since childhood I have envisioned it as a library."
--Jorge Luis Borges

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Suzanne C. Toczyski, Ph.D.
Professor of French
Sonoma State University
1801 E. Cotati Avenue
Rohnert Park, CA 94928
http://www.sonoma.edu/users/t/toczyski/
Telephone: 707.664.4177
Fax: 707.664.2363
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