Glimpses from the Haiti Front …

CrossWorld's complete First Response Team is on the ground.

Who are these experienced people?
Our Crisis Team in North America has set criteria for our teams to be effective - five qualifications -and team members must have a minimum of three of these:

• Experience in Haiti
• Experience in Disaster relief work or crisis situations
• Ability to speak the language (Creole or French or both)
• High level technical expertise (medical, community development, engineering, crisis management etc.)
• Proven leadership and organizational ability

What are they seeing and experiencing?

• 2500 adults and 1500 children on the STEP campus in the Bolosse community
• Most people are sleeping in the open air or under tarps
• Medical aid just arriving to the STEP campus in Bolosse
• Immediate needs are for additional fuel, food and water (their task - find it and get it there)
• Competent, experienced crisis team leaders, but they are "running pretty hard" and "running out of energy"
• A situation "similar to a refugee camp"
• The organization of the masses into groups of 20 or so with a leader; several groups form a sector
• The first arrival of basic rations of rice and beans, and all the workers received some nourishment today

Answers to questions coming our way

• The Saturday, Jan 16, CrossWorld News Release and website answered six important questions. Click on the section "News" and then "How does the money get to Haiti?"

• If CrossWorld cannot use you right now, we suggest the following:
  
  a) Write to info@crossworld.org and ask to be screened and placed on a list for an upcoming team
  
  b) Check the www.ecfa.org website (Click "Haiti Disaster Relief"). These are approved organizations for giving to and serving with.

• The best help right now is cash. For example, a requisition for supplies costing $12,000 just went to a supplier on the border with the Dominican Republic. Cash can equal quick help!

• Many want to give stuff and we suggest a strong caution. Only give "stuff" if it has been asked for by a reputable organization on the ground and then ask them what they want and where to send it. Many articles now remind us that "donated goods can pose problems" which make things more difficult. Here are a couple of articles which explain the pitfalls.
  “Disaster do-gooders can actually hinder help” (MSNBC)
  "Cash is best donation after disaster, aid groups say" (CNN)

You can give to CrossWorld's Haiti Disaster Relief Fund. Just Click here and share with those in need.

Good News for Canadian Donors: The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) will match any donation made by a Canadian individual - to the Haiti relief earthquake efforts. The Gift must be made to a registered Canadian charity like CrossWorld Canada, and given before Feb 12, 2010. Maximum gift per donor is $100,000.

To read news from prior days, click on News at the top of the page.