Update on Haiti

Thankfully FFP's homes for the elderly and orphanages in Port au Prince are still standing and the people are safe. The UN has posted an update recently that, in summary, explains that the Government has declared the search and rescue phase over. There were 132 live rescues by international search and rescue teams. Humanitarian relief efforts continue to scale up in Port-au-Prince, Jacmel, Leogane and other affected areas. The number of people leaving Port-au-Prince is increasing daily. More than 130,000 people have taken advantage of the Government’s offer of free transportation to cities in the north and south west. FAO estimates that the number of people leaving cities for rural areas could reach one million, putting pressure on already vulnerable communities. WHO reports that despite difficult conditions, there are no reported outbreaks of communicable diseases including cholera, measles and rubella. There are enough fuel supplies in country for the next two-three weeks until the port is likely rehabilitated to receive new supplies. The full report is an interesting update on the devastation but also the progress. A link to the UN site is here

Open Letter on Haiti Relief

Friends, by now you have heard of the devastating earthquake that has hit Haiti. Port au Prince is flattened. Hospitals are destroyed. Government centers are in ruins. The hotel Montana, where many of us used to stay has collapsed. Now, a massive relief effort is underway. Haiti is just a few hundred miles off our shores. People are in the streets now, in the dark. There is no electricity and no running water. There are terrible casualties now but they will grow in the coming days if relief does not get to the survivors quickly, within hours. Our government and various NGOs are the only things that are able to help at all. As many of you know, I have worked with Food for the Poor www.foodforthepoor.org for the last five years on potable water systems, mostly in Haiti. They have phenomenally low overhead and phenomenally high efficiency with our charitable dollars. They have set up a fund devoted exclusively to Haitian earthquake relief and even now are in Haiti, assessing the situation and working to reestablish feeding centers, water systems and to provide medical aid. It will only take a minute for you to contribute to this effort by going to www.foodforthepoor.org. A link is on this page. Please click on it and give what you can, then send this message along to your friends. This is a truly desperate situation. We are Americans. This is a moment for us to do the right thing.

Thanks.

Ed Buckley

Press Release FFP

Food For The Poor

Updated Information:

Interview available with Executive Director Angel Aloma, and staff member in Haiti.

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Jan. 12, 2010) – An earthquake hit off the coast of Haiti, about 10 miles west from the Caribbean nation's capital of Port-au-Prince, according to the US Geological Society. The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.0.

Currently, Food For The Poor has a group of 12 college students, and two faculty advisors in Haiti on a mission trip. They attend Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida. Our President/ CEO is in communications with Lynn’s President Dr. Kevin Ross, who is gathering information as it comes in from the students’ parents. Food For The Poor’s Mission Officer in Haiti said the students were dropped off at the Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince at 4 pm. We have learned there has been some damage to the hotel and are working to ascertain that the students, advisors and our staff are safe.

Food For The Poor has been in contact with several members of the staff currently in Haiti. Employees have reported the following accounts:

-- A hospital has collapsed in Pétionville, a town in the outskirts of Port-au-Prince

-- There appear to be more homes down than standing in several areas of Port-au-Prince

-- Major number of homes down in the area of Delmas

-- One staffer saw a five-story building collapse

-- One employee saw a major bridge, the Croix de Mission, collapse right in front of her as she drove home. The bridge is a major artery to the North end of Haiti from Port-au-Prince.

-- A portion of Food For The Poor’s main office in Port-au-Price has collapsed. Our feeding center (Food For the Poor provides food for thousands of Haitians on a daily basis there) and the charity’s warehouse are there. We are still gathering information on the extent of the damage.

-- Cell phone communication continues to be limited.

-- Food For the Poor has 2 employees in Santo, Domingo where the shocks were strongly felt. The hotel they were at during the quake asked all guests to stay in the lobby until the shocks subsided.

Food For The Poor will do everything it can to reach out to the people of Haiti, and will keep updating our website as information comes in.

"Our hearts go out to the people of Haiti who are watching this disaster unfold around them. This country seems to take a beating far too often," said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. "We have been monitoring the situation since it first happened, and we will take immediate steps to offer relief to those suffering from this earthquake."

Pourt au Prince Earthquake

Only a few short weeks ago, we finished our tip through Haiti in Port au Prince. At the time, it was a thriving city - the epicenter of commercial life in Haiti. Over three million people live there, many in poverty. Yesterday, January 12, 2010, the worst earthquake in 200 years hit Haiti with its epicenter five miles from Pot au Prince. The city we saw no longer exists. In its place is devastation. We desperately hope that the Food for the Poor facilities and warehouse are not destroyed because thousands and thousands of people will need food from the supplies that they have. The medical needs of the people can only be imagined. A source for help to the people there is the Food for the Poor website, where donations can be made directly to the aid effort. I am providing a link to the most recent article on the quake here and a link to the Food for the Poor donation page. Anything you can do would be deeply appreciated. Our prayers are with them.

Donation to Earthquake Relief

For a donation the the earthquake aid efforts by our partner in the water well project Food for the Poor click here

Haiti Earthquake

Recent Earthquake article click here