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On January 12th, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake and several very strong aftershocks struck 10 miles outside the capital city of Haiti, Port-of-Prince. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest on the world.
The capital city has been devastated with collapsed buildings and people trapped beneath the rubble, including the National Presidential Palace, Congress, United Nations Headquarters. Full reports of casualties, damage and needs are not yet available, but it is estimated that the death toll can reach more than 100,000.
To see in Google Earth the actual time images you could go to:
http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2010/01/haiti-imagery-layer-now-available.html
For donations or contributions you may contact a number of nonprofit institutions that are responding to the needs of the affected population. These institutions have many years of experience working in the country.
At this point it is recommended to do cash donation to the institution of your preference. INTERACTION explains why cash is best way to contribute:
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"The best way to help is to donate financially to organizations responding to a disaster. Cash allows relief professionals to procure exactly what is needed in a disaster situation and ensure that donations are culturally, dietary, and environmentally appropriate. Cash donations do not use up other scarce resources, such as transportation, staff time or warehouse space. As needed, cash can also be transferred quickly to where needed, helping bolster the economy of the disaster-stricken region".
Here a list of potential institutions. If you have any doubts about the institution please read: Consumer Alert: Beware of Charitable Scams During Haiti Relief Effort
American Red Cross, recommended by The State Department
www.redcross.com
They prefer cash donations, but their list of priorities includes water and calling cards. |
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INTERACTION for a list of recognized members
http://www.interaction.org/crisis-list/earthquake-haiti
Friends of the Orphans
http://www.friendsoftheorphans.org/s/769/inner.aspx?sid=769&gid=1&pgid=252&cid=1903&ecid=1903&crid=0&calpgid=61&calcid=719
Caritas
http://caritas.org/
Material & Business Donations
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
http://www.uschamber.com/bclc/haitiearthquakeresponse.htm
1-888-MY-BIZ-HELP
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
For material donations from business you may contact the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC) who immediately after the earthquake activated the Office Depot Foundation-sponsored Help Desk to connect companies who are interested in providing relief to the victims. The Help Desk is a central hub for businesses to share information on the relief and recovery efforts and document corporate aid contributions in real-time.
You may follow them in Twitter www.twitter.com/chamberbclc
In Europe: Swiss Solidarity www.swiss-solidarity.org
Texting Donations of $10 from your Cell text "Haiti" to:
For Volunteering or other information and guidance in supporting international disasters donations visit Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI) www.cidi.org
We invite all of you to get a discussion going. Please submit your comments at the end of this article. Thanks.
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