How to Help Haiti

When I am moved to donate to a disaster relief organization at a time of a disaster, such as the Haiti earthquake, I do not designate where the funds are to go. Often, a well-publicized disaster gets more donations than they need, and there is not enough money for less publicized needs, or those that occur soon after.

http://www.networkforgood.org/?source=YAHOO&cmpgn=NEWS

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/01/haiti_earthquake_how_to_help_a.html?sc=fb&cc=fp

Haiti: Some Ways To Help
7:55 am January 13, 2010

By Mark Memmott

Many of us are looking for ways to help the people of Haiti, even from far away. Here are some resources:

-- The State Department's DipNote blog writes that "for those interesting in helping immediately, simply text 'HAITI' to '90999' and a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill. Or you can go online to organizations like the Red Cross and Mercy Corps Mercy Corps to make a contribution to the disaster relief efforts."

-- The American Red Cross has posted more information about its efforts and how to donate here.

-- Mercy Corps' online donations page is here.

-- It's Just Light, a blog by photographer Nick Zantop, has collected a long list of aid organizations and how to donate money to them here.

-- CBSNews.com has its list of aid groups here.

-- Musician Wyclef Jean, who's from Haiti, says if you text "Yele" to 501501, you'll automatically be donating $5 to the Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund. The charge will show up on your phone bill. You can find out more about Yele here.

Our coverage of the disaster began here yesterday, and will continue throughout today. NPR.org's coverage begins here.

Update at 8:40 a.m. ET. Another suggestion, from NPR's Scott Hensley (who blogs at Shots):

-- Partners In Health.

Here's a 2003 NPR report about that group's founder, Dr. Paul Farmer.

Update at 8:25 a.m. ET. NPR social media strategist Andy Carvin adds this:

A number of people have asked NPR about how they can make donations to charities involved in earthquake relief efforts. International charities are just beginning to ramp up their efforts in Haiti. If you're looking to give money to help these relief activities, we've compiled a list of some of the larger, established international aid organizations responding to the disaster:

-- AmeriCares

-- Direct Relief International

-- Doctors Without Borders

-- International Committee of the Red Cross

-- Save the Children

-- UNICEF

NPR is not endorsing or vouching for any of these groups. The list is just a starting point for you and your own research. There are a number of online tools available for evaluating charities and making donations to a broader range of NGOs, including CharityNavigator.org and NetworkForGood.org.

MSNBC's list of aid organizations is at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34835478/ns/world_news-haiti_earthquake/

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1412

For the past five years, I've been a contributor and booster of the Lambi Fund of Haiti, a charity that is very active in promoting reforestation efforts, use of alternative fuels, and infrastructure improvements at a grass-roots level in Haiti. I've developed a great respect for the work they do in the country, and have gotten to know Karen Ashmore, the executive director of the charity, and have written articles for their newsletter. Karen wrote me last night with this plea for help: "Most buildings in Port-Au-Prince have been damaged or have collapsed, which would include homes of staff and families we work with, as well as the grain mills, sugar cane mills, and sites for community economic development. And cisterns and latrines we have supported for safe drinking water and sanitation. Major rebuilding effort needed. Please post on your blog".

To help the Lambi Fund rebuild what was destroyed, visit their on-line donation page.

Portlight.org, the remarkable disaster-relief charity that has sprung up from the hard work and dedication of many members of the wunderground.com community, has also mobilized to help out the victims of the Haitian earthquake. As Paul Timmons writes in the Portlight blog this morning,

Portlight's focus in this is going to be on people with disabilities in Haiti...providing medical equipment, shelter, and food for them...there is an article below about the treatment of this population in the best of times...and this ain't the best of times...

We have a "Go" container in Atlanta which will ship out in a few days...and an ongoing relationship with a community of Catholic sisters in Port au Prince who will be opening shelters...

Any funds we raise will be used to defray shipping costs of medical and clinical equipment...and for the purchase of food and other shelter supplies...Haiti is our neighbor...and Haitians are certainly forgotten people...people with disabilities in Haiti are frequently barely seen as human...

Anyone interested in going to Haiti to help staff one or more shelters for Haitians with disabilities please WU mail us...

So, please visit the Portlight.org blog to learn more and to donate. Portlight is exploring ways they can work together with the Lambi Fund of Haiti to put the materials donated where they are most needed. If you're interested in sponsoring an Honor Walk to help raise funds for the Haitians, please contact Paul Timmons of Portlight, via the Portlight.org blog. Thank you.

There are two things Haiti does have going for it in the wake of this horrible tragedy. Firstly, it is not hurricane season, so the Haitians have six months to rebuild and shelter their homeless before the storms of summer arrive. There is a large mass of dry air over the Caribbean at present, so there will be dry weather for relief operations for at least the next few days. Secondly, former President Bill Clinton was appointed the UN Special Envoy to Haiti last year, and he brings an important visible face to the needs of Haiti's suffering people. A huge amount of aid will be needed for this tragedy.