PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Christian organizations are providing disaster relief needs and on-going response after the largest earthquake in more than 200 years rocked Haiti the evening of Jan. 12. Below is a list of some of those Christian organizations that individuals can send donations to assist in relief operations.
The FBI is reminding Internet users who receive appeals for money to beware of scams, including phony organizations. The agency suggests:
• Not responding to unsolicited e-mails, including clicking links contained within messages.
• Being skeptical of people representing themselves as surviving victims
• Being cautious of e-mails that claim to show pictures of the disaster areas in attached files because they may contain viruses.
• Not giving personal or financial information to solicitors to avoid identity theft.
• Contacting www.ic3.gov to report suspected fraud.
American Bible Society
Hope for Haiti https://www.877thebible.com/give/haiti/
Clean water, counseling services and portions of Scripture to provide hope and peace are en route to those affected by the devastating earthquake. Working through the Haitian Bible Society, a 32-year-old service organization, American Bible Society and its partners around the world have come together to provide tangible and spiritual support during this crisis.
Baptist Global Response
http://www.baptistglobalresponse.com
An assessment team is being organized by Baptist Global Response, International Mission Board, North American Mission Board and state convention disaster relief directors to enter the country as soon as possible. They will work with Haitian Baptists to identify immediate needs that must be addressed and will draft mid- and long-term plans for an ongoing relief effort.
Initial funding for the relief effort will come from the International Mission Board’s disaster relief fund. On-going relief efforts will be coordinated by BGR.
Compassion International
http://www.compassion.com
Send a $10 donation to assist in relief efforts by texting ‘disaster’ to 90999
The ministry, which works with children and fights poverty through education, child development centers and child sponsorship programs, has been seriously impacted by the quake. To date, it has been able to assess the damage to just 28 of its development centers, discovering there were 100 deaths, 40 severely wounded, 1,200 homes destroyed and 650 homes damaged. The number includes children, family members, development center staff and church members affiliated with the centers. Another 22 development centers are believed to have suffered major damage.
In addition, Compassion International has not been able to account for its videographer, David Hames, who was in a hotel in Port-au-Prince. At least 50 of the ministry’s church partners have also been significantly affected.
In the midst of the loss, Compassion International is in the process of purchasing approximately 500,000 pounds of supplies that will provide medical and immediate relief to its staff, church partners and Compassion’s beneficiaries. These supplies include water, food, medical supplies, temporary shelter, and blankets.
Workers are also tracking down the state of 65,000 children in its program in Haiti.
Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability
Servant Match http://www.ecfa.org/ServantMatch.aspx?Type=Haiti
ECFA “ServantMatch™ Haiti” connects donors to 36 faith-based non-profit disaster organizations operating in Haiti. Categories of aid include hunger relief, humanitarian relief and water.
Loma Linda University
Hospital Adventiste d'Haiti
Loma Linda University has established a fund to facilitate donations to the Hospital Adventiste d’Haiti. The hospital is in need of many resources in order to function around-the-clock during this critical period. Donations can be sent online. Hospital of Haiti project.
Lutheran Disaster Response
http://www.ldr.org
Lutheran Disaster Response is working through the Lutheran World Federation, focusing on issues of water safety and sanitation, assisting with medical triage, and providing emergency sheltering for the many who are now homeless.
LCMS World Relief and Human Care
Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS)
www.lcmsworldmission.org
LCMS WR-HC is working cooperatively with LCMS World Mission, the Synod’s global Gospel outreach ministry, to assess the needs in Haiti and provide relief in timely fashion. LCMS officials are in close contact with LCMS missionaries in Haiti as well as The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Haiti.
LCMS Life and Health Ministries Director Maggie Karner sent an appeal to pastors and congregations asking for physicians, pharmacists, and other medical professionals to volunteer for the team that is scheduled to serve in Haiti March 11-21, 2010.
MAF — Mission Aviation Fellowship
http://www.maf.org/news/maf-news/massive-earthquake-hits-haiti
Mission Aviation Fellowship, which has worked in Haiti for 23 years, reported that one indigenous MAF worker is feared dead and two more were missing after the earthquake, although none of the ministry's missionary staff in Haiti were injured. The ministry evacuated all non-essential personnel and families from the region even as it ramped up operations to help with emergency disaster relief.
Its hangar, located at the small international airport in Port-au-Prince, has been used as a logistics point to help relief flights get their supplies—food, water, medicine—into the country. It has helped to receive relief workers from World Vision, the Mennonite Central Committee and the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, plus provided cargo warehouse space for Operation Blessing, Baptist Haiti Mission and Samaritan's Purse.
Using its supplies and expertise, MAF has established a satellite communications center at the Port-au-Prince airport, allowing relief agencies to effectively communicate with those in and outside of Haiti, accommodating workers from at least 16 international aid groups.
The ministry also deployed its new Kodiak airplane and four crewmembers to join its fleet of three aircraft already serving the relief effort in Haiti. The bush plane uses jet fuel, which is more readily available than aviation fuel. It is believed to be the first time the Kodiak has ever been used for disaster relief work.
Mennonite Central Committee
http://mcc.org/haitiearthquake
MCC has committed an initial $100,000 for immediate needs in Haiti. MCC is appealing for donations to fund these efforts.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
http://www.pcusa.org/pda/index.htm
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is responding to this earthquake through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and its partners. Presbyterian World Mission is gathering information on the safety and status of our mission personnel and ecumenical partners in the area.
Red Cross — American
Send a $10 donation by texting ‘Haiti’ to 90999
http://www.redcross.org/
The Red Cross is contributing an initial $1 million from the International Response Fund to support the relief operation, and has opened its warehouse in Panama to provide tarps, mosquito nets and cooking sets for approximately 5,000 families.
In addition to Red Cross staff already in Haiti, six disaster management specialists are being deployed to the disaster zone to help coordinate relief efforts. At this time, the American Red Cross is only deploying volunteers specially trained to manage international emergency operations.
There has been an outpouring of support from the public. To help, people can make an unrestricted donation to the International Response Fund at www.redcross.org or by calling 1-800-REDCROSS (1-800-733-2767). The public can also help by texting “Haiti” to 90999 to send a $10 donation to the Red Cross, through an effort backed by the U.S. State Department. Funds will go to support American Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti.
Salvation Army
http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn_2.nsf
The Salvation Army, which has 700 workers permanently stationed in Haiti, set up a staging area in South Florida to help with its emergency response, while U.S. teams worked with corporate partners and vendors to send bulk food, water, and other basic supplies into Haiti.
Officials with The Salvation Army, which operates schools, clinics, a hospital, feeding programs, children’s homes and church-related activities through some 60 Corps community centers across the country, report that one of its compounds near Port Au Prince experienced severe damage, including collapsed buildings, though no one was hurt. The children’s home, the clinic and the church suffered major damage.
Several smaller buildings, including residences, collapsed. The second compound that houses Salvation Army administrative offices is being used as an emergency operations center; damage was slight to this compound, and its hospital in Fond-des-Negres, about 75 miles west of Port-au-Prince, had minor damage, but there were no injuries.
In the United States, 5,000 volunteers in El Dorado, Kansas helped pack one million meals for delivery to Haiti, courtesy of Numana Inc. By the end of January, the ministry expected to have a total of two million meals packed and delivered to Haiti. Dozens of local Salvation Army units already held benefits or are planning fundraisers for the relief effort. To date, more than $3.5 million has been raised.
A 14-person Salvation Army medical team, including eight doctors, arrived in Port Au Prince, with medical supplies on Jan. 17, with several more teams expected to arrive. Besides the pre-packaged meals, the army was providing bottled water, tents, lanterns and other supplies, along with several 15,000-gallon water purification units and multiple mobile hospitals.
Samaritan's Purse
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/articles/responding_to_haiti_earthquake/
The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team of crisis-trained chaplains has deployed to Haiti within 24 hours of the earthquake and an assessment team was discerning how best to meet the needs of the victims.
The response team deployed in coordination with Samaritan's Purse, the international relief organization headed by Franklin Graham, who is also president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Together, the two groups will meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of those who have been affected by the earthquake. Franklin Graham is the son of evangelist Billy Graham.
The first shipment from Samaritan's Purse included a chartered DC-3 loaded with disaster relief supplies, medical staff, water engineer, 4,800 blankets, 160 rolls of plastic, 2,200 solar-powered flashlights, 2 water filtration units, 1,152 jerry cans for clean water and 1,440 hygiene kits.
The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team is a nationwide network of chaplains across 40 states that are specifically trained to deal with crisis situations. Since the ministry was launched in 2002, it has deployed following dozens of natural and man-made disasters, including hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fires and shootings.
World Concern
http://www.worldconcern.org/haiti-earthquake/
World Concern, which staffs 100 people in Haiti, survived a major hit when its building was unscathed, even as the building next door collapsed, killing at least 12 people. At least 16 workers were unaccounted for and one death was confirmed, Angela Thermidor, the prevention training director for World Concern's HIV programs. World Concern has been in Haiti for 31 years.
Since the quake, World Concern, based in Seattle, distributed all of its supplies to needy residents. Because its headquarters remained intact, numerous other agencies are operating out of the facility. Satellite communications have been established and a plan developed for several agencies to work together to reach more people.
World Help
http://www.worldhelp.net
World Help is positioned to assist the thousands of people who find themselves suddenly in desperate need. Their long-time partners are on the ground in Haiti to help assess the need and make arrangements to get the aid and supplies delivered immediately.
World Help is currently raising money to:
• Ship and distribute much-needed medical, food, and clothing supplies
• Set up temporary hospitals and emergency food centers
• Purchase survival kits, water, and food for those who have been devastated
Vernon Brewer, found and president of World Help is currently in Port-au-Prince. “I walked the streets of Port-au-Prince and all I saw was the utter destruction of an entire nation—a nation that has lost everything,” Brewer wrote in his blog. “The latest estimates are that 150,000 people are dead, 1.5 million people are homeless, and 3 million have been affected by this earthquake.”
“But as I looked around me, amidst the devastation, I saw a people who are trying . . . a people who want to rise up and rebuild their nation. In fact, on each city block, I saw people digging with their bare hands. Some were using plastic plates to dig. They are desperate to help. They are desperate to find the bodies of their loved ones. And they are desperate to rebuild,” wrote Brewer.
World Vision
http://www.worldvision.org
World Vision has worked in Haiti for three decades, and quickly deployed its staff, including 800 Haitian workers. Although its main building was rendered uninhabitable, it was able to secure a 90,000-square foot facility in which to orchestrate supply distribution in conjunction with Operation Hope for Haiti and numerous south Florida churches. Assistance was also being provide by World Vision’s national office and warehouse in the Dominican Republic.
Immediately after the quake, World Vision teams were able to distribute supplies it had stored in preparation for the hurricane season. Even so, the ministry quickly ran low on medical supplies, blankets, and tents and other supplies. World Vision teams visited more than 10 hospitals in the Port-au-Prince area, handing out gauze, bandages, syringes, latex gloves and antibiotics. One aid worker, Dr. Lesly Michaud, said that the local hospitals were not only running low on supplies, but also on medical personnel.
World Vision is appealing for at least $25 million in the U.S. to fund the response in Haiti. More may be necessary.
In addition to its regular staff, World Vision has about a dozen international logistics and disaster response experts deploying to launch humanitarian programs not only in the capital city, but also in rural areas and along the border.
Working in five regions in Haiti, World Vision has 20 development programs serving more than 300,000 children, with more than 52,000 sponsored children last year.
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