Rotary clubs and districts worldwide are mobilizing resources to deliver urgently needed relief to the millions affected by Haiti's devastating earthquake.
District 7020, which includes Haiti, has flown in 55 planes filled with more than 50,000 pounds of medical equipment and supplies into the cities of Pignon and Port-de-Paix to bypass logistical problems in the hard-hit capital of Port-au-Prince. The United Nations estimates that more than half of the buildings in the capital have collapsed. About 200,000 people are dead and millions more homeless.
«Rotary had an incredible infrastructure established before the quake, which has made our relief efforts very effective», says Dick McCombe, past district governor and Haiti liaison chair. «We're flying in supplies through backdoor channels and doing things a lot of agencies can't do».
The district's Haiti Task Force, set up two years ago to administer all financial aid to the nation, is working with local clubs to deliver aid to Port-au-Prince and those who have taken refuge in the countryside. McCombe says Rotary was in a good position to help in Haiti, with 33 projects already underway to provide water, sanitation, medical care, and education.
«We changed from teaching children how to read to saving their lives», says McCombe.
Clubs in the district have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for short- and long-term recovery.
«Rotarians are incredibly generous and are doing what needs to be done», says McCombe. «We are setting aside some of these contributions for long-term recovery».Rotarian Claude Surena, head of the Haiti Task Force and president of the Haitian Medical Association, is sheltering more than 100 injured people in his damaged home in Port-au-Prince. His house has become a makeshift hospital and medical distribution center.
Within the next two weeks, McCombe says, a barge will be hired to transport 20 to 30 tons of clothes, blankets, folding beds, and other items to Haiti from Nassau, Bahamas. ShelterBox responds
ShelterBox has already delivered more than 3,300 containers to Haiti, with another 1,000 or more scheduled to be deployed.
«This is the largest, quickest, and most complex deployment in our history», says John Leach, head of operations for ShelterBox. "We organized across four countries to get ShelterBoxes to the people of Haiti quickly».Each box contains a tent that houses 10 people as well as a stove, blankets, and other essential items.
Doctors have been using supplies from the containers to treat the injured. Hospitals in the capital city are using the tents to provide emergency shelter for postoperative patients.
«There's hundreds of thousands of people that are injured. The walking wounded are everywhere», says Mark Pearson, one of three ShelterBox response team members in Haiti. «People are getting taken to hospital now, eight, nine days later». The Rotary Foundation has established the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund, a donor advised fund primarily for U.S. Rotarians who want to donate toward recovery efforts. The fund has raised more than $48,000 so far.
A one-time $5 donation to the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund can be made by texting ROTARY to 90999. Around the world, Rotary clubs, districts, and Interact and Rotaract clubs have donated directly to ShelterBox. Other Rotarian relief efforts in Haiti include:
The Rotary Club of Tocoa, Colón, Honduras, has chartered three flights to send 25,000 to 30,000 pounds of food to Haiti.
A six-person team from the Rotary clubs of Inwood, Manhattan, and New York is working with Comprehensive and Response Service to establish a staging area in the Dominican Republic for bringing medical supplies into Port-au-Prince. Past District Governor Alfonso Leppes launched a campaign asking each of the more than 4,500 Rotarians in Chile to donate $50 to the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund.
Five Rotarian doctors from Venezuela are in Haiti as part of a search-and-rescue team established by their government.
Read about what Rotarians witnessed.How to help
Download a PDF about the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund and frequently asked questions.
If you're a Rotarian outside the United States, visit the District 7020 website for more information, or learn about disaster relief organizations you can contribute to.
Read a letter from Rotary leaders.
Rotary International News -- 22 January 2010 PHOTOS: Haiti earthquack 1; USA president Barack Obama; Rotary Foundation Chairman, Glenn Estess Sr.; Haiti 2, saving one life; English Sheterboxes Rotarian Organization; an enormous amount of materials that can be put inside a shelterbox, for 10 persons; Henrique Pinto and Maria da Graça with one of the English responsibles for Shelterboxes, June 2009; praying together, Haiti 3; There is always someone indiferent to suffering; one lady saved from the complete destruction; Shelterboxes arriving in Haiti in the first hours after the natural disaster; former USA president Bill Clinton and the actor Brad Pitt, the first coordinating american efforts to help haitians, the second, one of the greatest fundraisers for Haiti relief.
Rotarians witness chaos in Haiti
ResponderEliminarAs president of the Rotary Club of Houston, it had been Michelle Bohreer's dream to travel to Haiti and conduct a service project to improve the lives of children there.
On 12 January, 45 minutes into a weeklong trip to Port-au-Prince to do just that, the dream quickly spiraled into a nightmare.
Bohreer and a team of five Rotarians from Houston were heading into Haiti's capital city to implement a water project for an orphanage when a powerful earthquake rocked the area, causing widespread devastation.
"Minutes after the quake happened, thousands of people poured out into the street running and screaming. Hundreds were walking around bleeding," says Bohreer. "It was moments like that when the absolute catastrophe hit you."
The quake, the worst in the region in more than 200 years, flattened much of the capital, killing as many as 200,000 and leaving millions more injured. A massive international relief operation is underway to bring food, water, and medicine to those who need it.
"I was overwhelmed by sights, sounds, and smells that I will never forget," says team member Vicki Brentin, past president of the Houston club. "I held tight to the hands of frightened, injured children and looked deep into the eyes of their mothers or fathers begging for help. That left a compelling and lasting impression on me."
Unable to leave the country, the team members spent four days in Port-au-Prince trying to help in any way they could. They found a collapsed hospital, sifted through the wreckage, and found Tylenol and antibiotic ointment to distribute to injured people.
"The injuries were too severe for the medicine we had, but receiving care of any kind during that time gave them hope. It gave us hope," says Bohreer. "I've never been so proud to be a Rotarian."
On 15 January, she and her team were able to board a charter flight to the Dominican Republic and, from there, back to Houston, where they arrived safely the next day.
Bohreer says her club will be back to help the country rebuild.
"We as Rotary have an obligation to take care of people who are suffering under such difficult conditions," she said.
From safety into catastrophe
A day after the earthquake, Caleb Lucien, a member of the Rotary Club of Pignon, and nine other Haitians traveled 85 miles south from Pignon to Port-au-Prince to assess the damage and help victims.
"The city is completely destroyed," says Lucien, Health and Hunger Resource Group coordinator for District 7020 in the Caribbean. "We drove past hundreds and hundreds of dead bodies. The loss of life is beyond belief."
Lucien spent US$3,500 of his own money on water and food to distribute to victims. He also searched for Rotarians who he knew lived in affected areas and helped evacuate more than 120 injured people to Pignon.
"It was not a time to feel or think about the devastation. It was a time to act," he says. "I grieve, but I have to move forward and focus on getting Rotarians to help in the recovery."
He is working closely to bring relief supplies to affected areas with District 7020's Haiti Task Force, established two years ago to administer financial aid to the nation.
"The immediate need for the next two to six months is shelter, food, and clean water," says Lucien. "In the long term, I hope to see Rotary help with rebuilding infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, and churches."
By Ryan Hyland
Carissimo Amigo e Companheiro Rui Dantas,
ResponderEliminarAgradeco o apoio/acompanhamento sobre a situacao calamitosa no Haiti e aproveito as palavras da Prezada Compa. Florinda Carneiro, para nelas me apoiar tambem, e, lhe enviar bons desejos em nome proprio e do Clube, fazendo votos que sua Amada Mae recupere bem e firmemente consigo a sua cabeceira.
Um Abracao Rotario e em breve contamos consigo aqui em Luanda.
manuel
(Angola)
As primeiras SHELTERBOXES chegaram a Porto Príncipe e outras centenas devem chegar mais tarde hoje.
ResponderEliminarO Time de Socorro da SHELTERBOX formada por David Eby (E.U.A), Robinson Wayne (E.U.A) Mark e Pearson (Reino Unido), que estão na capital do Haiti desde quinta-feira, recebem as primeiras SHELTERBOXES no Aeroporto de Porto Príncipe ontem.
A equipe diz que doze destas caixas serão utilizadas para construir um hospital de emergência no aeroporto.
"Estamos ajudando a construir um hospital de campo com estas tendas no aeroporto", disse Mark Pearson. "Estas são as condições desesperadas, amputações estão acontecendo a cada meia hora. Há uma necessidade urgente de tendas em hospitais e esta é nossa primeira prioridade."
Chefe de Operações SHELTERBOX John Leach disse: "A segurança de nossos funcionários no Haiti é de suma importância. Estamos trabalhando com as principais as agências em terra para garantir que SHELTERBOXES não só sejam distribuídas de forma rápida e eficiente, mas que a nossa equipe seja capaz de trabalhar em um ambiente seguro".
Mais algumas Centenas de caixas devem chegar a PORTO PRINCIPE hoje a tarde de Miami em um avião fretado. Enquanto isso, milhares SHELTERBOXES estão sendo embaladas no Centro de Operações da SHELTERBOX no Reino Unido.
O Diretor e Fundador da ShelterBox Tom Henderson disse: "A devastação no Haiti mudou todos aqui. Temos agora nossas caixas no chão e é um enorme privilégio poder ajudar. A escala da devastação é enorme.”
Graças a determinação de nossos funcionários e voluntários, temos sido capazes de atender ao desastre em tempo recorde. Nossos agradecimentos vão para as equipes de voluntários, bem como aos nossos doadores, que nos permitem fazer isso.
A SHELTERBOX depende inteiramente de doações públicas e da generosidade das pessoas. Nós não recebemos financiamento governamental peço se possível, para nos ajudar. "
Carissmo Amigo e Comp. Miroslav Petrovic,
ResponderEliminarObtivemos apoio de quase todos os restantes Companheiros do Rotary Club de Luanda, pelo que ja estamos efectuando a transferencia bancaria de USD 4.000,00 para o nosso Districto 9350, pela mao do Tesoureiro do Clube, o Prezado Comp. Rodrigo dos Santos, e que equivale a 4 ShelterBoxes/CaixasAbrigo e que ira juntar-se a eventual ajuda de outros dos Clubes desta nossa Regiao Rotaria do Sudoeste Africano, que inclui Angola, Namibia e parte da Africa do Sul ate a Provincia do Cabo Ocidental na Costa Indica, no Leste daquele Pais.
Saudacoes Fraternais e Rotarias.
manuel
Dear Henrique,
ResponderEliminarGreetings from Atlanta where I am about to go on another STOP mission. I hope this finds you well.....often I read of you in rotary articles, you have so much energy and are so dedicated to public health it is wonderful.
Henrique today I was talking with Yinka Kerr (Team lead STOP......she replaced Virginia Swezy) about the need to try to source some Portuguese speaking STOP team for Angola. I mentioned you and that you had been on STOP yourself and would know very well what is required of a STOPer.
So I would like to introduce you to Yinka by cc of this email in case you find any suitable medical professionals that might be interested. As you know it is an incredible experience for the STOPer and the support to the countries visited is really needed.
Thanks again for all you are doing......many blessings to you
Jenny
(Australia)
"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly
endless" …… Mother Teresa