Help the folk in Haiti - you can donate safely here..if you like

[TGMatt]

So feels like a touch of Deja-vu for me personally as I watch the BBC America channel on this Haiti earthquake..I remember being in OZ when the Hurricane hit the US coast and we watched an Australian news chopper land and report on the crisis whilst simultaneously hearing from the US govt that they couldnt reach it...I remember firing off an email to my US mates to do something , anything to help...


I know people have different thoughts on this, and I have no desire to influence you, other than to offer you a safe way to get money across to help if this is in your field of thought....

I have..I am grateful for what I have , and where I am...and I know I can create more...so that is all I will offer..

I did some research on this and found that Unicef seems to be a "safeish" bet on it actually reaching them...so check it out if you like , make your own decision ( i have posted a couple of items from the site)

Thats all

Cheers


www.unicefusa.org/haitiquake


Fieldnotes: Blogging on UNICEF's child survival work in the field

« Helping Haiti: We’re in this together | Main | Other ways to help us help Haiti »
On the ground: Relief efforts for the Haiti Earthquake

richard-haiti.jpg
Our colleague Richard Alleyne is blogging from Haiti on UNICEF’s disaster relief efforts for children.

Ordinarily, the tiny town of Jimani on the Dominican Republic’s southwest border with Haiti could be described as sleepy and nondescript. Save for the military barracks and a few outdoor produce markets, day-to-day life seems to pass without much variation. This has all dramatically changed however in the days since a massive earthquake rocked Haiti, reducing its capital and surrounding communities to rubble.

With telecommunications spotty at best and flights into the capital city of Port-au-Prince still a logistical challenge, scores of UN agencies, relief groups and government ministries have descended upon Jimani transforming it into a hub of humanitarian activity.

While efforts to aid the three million Haitians affected by last Tuesday’s earthquake involve getting relief supplies in through any and all available ports and airstrips on Haiti’s western and northern coasts, the primary coordination of relief efforts are occurring from Jimani--the closest point to Port-au-Prince on Haiti’s eastern border.

Haitians seeking treatment and curious area residents congregate outside a hospital in the small border town of Jimani in the Dominican Republic.
© U.S. Fund for UNICEF/Alleyne/2010
Haitians seeking treatment and curious area residents congregate outside a hospital in the small border town of Jimani in the Dominican Republic.

Jimani’s proximity to Haiti’s capital, (just under an hour’s drive) makes dispatching relief teams to the crumbled city considerably easier, but it also makes for an attractive destination to Haitians desperately seeking medical attention for their injuries.

Survivors of the January 12th earthquake in Haiti being treated (or await treatment) at hospital in small border town of Jimani in the Dominican Republic.
© U.S. Fund for UNICEF/Alleyne/2010
Survivors of the January 12th earthquake in Haiti being treated (or await treatment) at hospital in small border town of Jimani in the Dominican Republic.

Jimani’s sole medical facility, originally equipped to serve the small community, has in recent days been inundated with Haitians suffering from crush injuries, exhaustion and severe trauma. The scenes of hastily bandaged limbs and blood-stained hospital sheets are grim and the number of injured streaming across the border is increasing. In response to what appears to be a brewing crisis, the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Health is scrambling to reassign doctors from neighboring districts to help meet the growing demand. There is also the very essential and basic issue of language. For the most part, the Haitians seeking treatment speak French or a French Creole and the medical personnel on the Dominican side of the border speak Spanish. Communication has been difficult but treatment is being provided.

Vehicles transporting relief supplies and injured Haitians pass through guarded border crossing separating Haiti and the Dominican town of Jimani.
© U.S. Fund for UNICEF/Alleyne/2010
Vehicles transporting relief supplies and injured Haitians pass through guarded border crossing separating Haiti and the Dominican town of Jimani.

UNICEF also has teams operating out of Jimani through the UN cluster system and is continuing to bring in supplies from its regional hub in Panama. To date, UNICEF has delivered to the people of Haiti; oral rehydration salts and water purification tablets to combat the spread of deadly diarrhea disease; emergency health kits, kitchen kits, tarpaulins and tents to provide housing and jerry cans for the safe storage of drinking water. The children’s agency will continue to coordinate its efforts to ensure that there are adequate stores of essential medical supplies for treating the injured in Haiti so Haitians won’t have to travel to receive medical attention in the aftermath of such a catastrophe.

To donate to the victims of the Haiti earthquake please visit

www.unicefusa.org/haitiquake

[cosmicmechanic]

Hey,

Thanks for the link, this was on my list of things to do today and you made it really easy. If anybody else is in a position to help please do.

Best Wishes and Health to All,

Neil

[dekotaj]

Matt.Thanks

[Chasplaya]

For the few of us in New Zealand these are vetted sites:

Donations to Christian World Service can be made at www.cws.org.nz, by posting to PO Box 22 652, Christchurch 8061 or calling 0800 74 73 72.

Donations to UNICEF NZ's Haiti Emergency Appeal can be made by calling 0800-800-194 or going online at www.unicef.org.nz.

Save the Children Haiti Emergency Appeal donation line: 0800 167 168. Visit any one of Save the Children's shops (see: www.savethechildren.org.nz) or send a cheque, made out to Save the Children, to Freepost PO Box 6584, Marion Square, Wellington.

Donations to Oxfam New Zealand's appeal can be made at http://tinyurl.com/ye85k42.

World Vision is also collecting donations. Please call 0800 80 2000 or pledging $30 through their Telecom account by phoning 0900 4 HOPE. Donations can also be made at www.worldvision.org.nz.

Red Cross has also launched an appeal. Visit http://www.redcross.org.nz/cms_display.php to donate. Alternatively, make donations at any ASB Bank branch nationwide, or put money into ASB account 12-3192-0006848-01, reference: Haiti.

Donations to support Caritas' response in Haiti can be made by calling 0800 22 10 22 to make credit card donations, online using a credit card at www.caritas.org.nz or by posting to Caritas, PO Box 12193, Thorndon, Wellington 6144, New Zealand.

Donations to Medecins sans Frontieres' efforts can be made by visiting http://www.msf.org.au.

Christian aid organisation CBM (formerly Christian Blind Mission) is accepting donations at 0800 77 22 64 or 9 414 9405 from within New Zealand or online at www.cbmnz.org.nz.

[TGMatt]

Bump for a good cause 31000 members and 4 people commenting...????

[TGMatt]

Just for anyone in the states ...watch 60 minutes on now..to get perspective...find a way to contribute..in some way...any way...

[tovo]

TGMatt wrote:

Bump for a good cause 31000 members and 4 people commenting...????

There's not much to say Matt. All the information is there, thanks for providing it. In this case action speaks louder than words.

[dekotaj]

Help the folk in Haiti.I cant even bare to think of the horror that must be.I cant imagine the loss and suffering this poor people must feel.A sad song they must all here.And so with that i will sing them a prayer.GOD SPEED TO ALL THOSE WHOM SUFFER!And my he find away to heal all that suffering you feel.

Thanks be to god.

[TGMatt]

I just watched a doctor I happened to recognize on 60 minutes show a 12 year old girl having her leg hacksawed off with a hacksaw using alcohol as the antisepetic...

I just cannot believe the horror their (there)...

We can all do better in this day and age..

[Chasplaya]

Bump, just watched a recent newsclip, these people are in serious trouble. The need our help, the celebs did their bit with a Telethon, Sandra Bullock and Leonardo DiCaprio donating $1US million apiece, amazing... Lets do our bit too.