Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Help for Haiti



Haiti was recently hit with a traumatic earthquake. From this early report:
Haitians have piled bodies along the devastated streets of their capital after a powerful earthquake crushed thousands of structures yesterday, from schools and shacks to the National Palace and the UN peacekeeping headquarters. Untold numbers were still trapped.

It seemed clear that the death toll from Tuesday (Wednesday, NZT) afternoon's magnitude-7.0 quake would run into the thousands, with the country's prime minister estimating it could be as high as 100,000.


According to World Vision:
"We would be very concerned about a quake of this magnitude anywhere in the world, but it is especially devastating in Haiti, where people are acutely vulnerable because of poor infrastructure and extreme poverty," said Edward Brown, World Vision's relief director in the United States.

Several bloggers have posted about Haiti. And they have great ideas of ways to help, too. Nathan Bransford suggested Doctors Without Borders, saying: "If you'd like to donate to Doctors Without Borders, you can do so here, and you can keep up with their progress here." Another way to donate via Other Lisa: "Text "HAITI" to 90999 to donate $10 to @RedCross relief efforts in #Haiti. It is *that* simple. Learn more here." Karen mentions an organization,  Bethany Christian Services,which she's actually worked with previously, and says "...you can donate directly to one of the orphanages with which Bethany works, GLA Hait" Me? I've always supported World Vision. It's sometimes hard to tell which organization uses the funds to the greatest aid, but I have faith in this Christian-based organization.

You don't have to give everything. But the holidays were recent, and think about all the blessings you've had recently. If you can, consider sharing some of that. If not, just share a prayer. That's cool, too.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Beth - that's great that you took the time to do this. I posted about this on one of my blogs too -- my donation went to Doctors without Borders but there are great ones to choose from. Even a few dollars from many can go a long way!

Kelly H-Y said...

The devastation just breaks my heart. Thank you for this timely and important post.

Unknown said...

Thanks, Beth! I can't watch the news without crying. The impact is so far-reaching. One of my friends adopted a baby from Haiti last year, and they are working on the adoption of an older child from the same orphanage right now. They haven't heard word yet on his safety.

Unknown said...

Oh, gosh Karen! I hope your friends' baby is OK. I have another friend whose brother is there (but they've thankfully heard from him).

Corey Schwartz said...

I just donated to Doctors without Borders, but I may give again to another organization. There are so many to choose from: Red Cross, Unicef, Salvation Army, Heifer International, etc. It was hard to know where the money will be put to best use.

Shannon O'Donnell said...

Wow. Thank you for taking the time to gather and link this information for us. We sponsor a darling girl in Haiti and were so worried yesterday, but we had good news this morning. For too many others, there is no good news.

Thanks, Beth!

Ann Finkelstein said...

Beth:
Thanks for mentioning this on your blog and noting reputable aid agencies. (I'm going with the Red Cross.) One of my facebook contacts mentioned some donation scams, but people can feel safe donating to the ones you mentioned.

Heather Zundel said...

This is so cool. Thanks for posting this Beth.