As most of you have heard by now, Haiti has been really taken by surprise by a recent earthquake.
The news reports aren’t improving either. It looks like it’s going to be a really tough couple of months years ahead, let alone what it will be like over the next week of search, rescue, and clean up.
I’ve read and strongly believe that aid within the first couple weeks (even the first couple of days) is very critical in these situations. At the same time, I know that many are conflicted as they want to make sure donations are being used to actually help those in need.
Recently, charity: water sent out an e-mail (and a blog post) about donating directly to their partners in the region. I trust the mission and the objectives of charity: water and therefore wanted to pass along the information, in case any of you haven’t seen it yourselves.
The following was taken from charity: water’s most recent blog post:
Haiti was hit yesterday by what could be considered the worst natural disaster for the region in the last 200 years.
An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.0, shocked the country just before 5 p.m. on Tuesday, collapsing buildings and cutting water and electricity services in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas. Aftershocks of 4.5 magnitude or higher continued through the night and early Wednesday, thwarting immediate aid efforts for an estimated 3 million affected by the quake. Thousands are expected dead or injured and many more will be displaced with their homes reduced to rubble.
Photo courtesy of @LisandroSuero.charity: water’s two local partners, Partners in Health and Concern Worldwide, are reacting to the disaster swiftly and comprehensively.* We need your support. In the interest of immediate relief, we’re asking that donations be made straight to our partners.
To donate to Partners in Health’s efforts, click here.
To donate to Concern Worldwide’s efforts, click here.Already one of the poorest and densely-populated countries in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has struggled to overcome the effects of a slew of rough storms in 2008 before this week’s disaster. More than 4 million people (42% of the population) already lack access to safe drinking water. Disasters undercut development efforts tremendously.
If you have a non-profit or source that you trust and/or have given to, you can list it in the comments below.
Courtney and I will be using the charity: water partners listed above.
Let’s all keep them in our thoughts.
I’m gonna give some money to Christian Aid. It’s not much but at least it’s something.
We donated to OxFam yesterday to give what we can for the Haiti disaster. I feel like they’re a reputable organization.
I always hesitate to donate to organizations that I’ve never heard of. Some or all of them might be excellent but I don’t really have the time to do “due diligence” on them.
The Miami Herald ran an excellent list in today’s edition which I’m going to rely on and choose one or two orgs that I have already heard of. The link is at
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/haiti/story/1421696.html
Smart Money also has an excellent guide on wisely donating to Haitian relief
http://www.smartmoney.com/spending/budgeting/smart-giving-for-haiti-earthquake-aid/
We donated to Partners in Health – one of the organizations charity: water recommends – after reading about them yesterday in various news articles online and hearing an NPR interview (and after doing a bit of research on their philosophy and financials too, of course). They’ve been working in Haiti since 1985 and seem to be doing some amazing work. They’re founder is a man by the name of Dr. Paul Farmer, who I had never heard of until yesterday, but who is evidently a really exciting and inspiring person. (For those interested, there’s a book about him called Mountains Beyond Mountains that’s supposed to be quite good.)
For folks who want to read reviews about possible organizations to donate to, Charity Navigator is an amazing resource. It reviews and rates the efficiency of non-profits and their financials. They’ve compiled a list of highly rated charities that are working in Haiti right now.
Thanks for posting this, Baker. I for one hope many Americans and those from countries across the world will open their hearts and their wallets to help those affected in Haiti. Great cause.
What has really amazed me over the past couple of days is the quick impact technology allows us to make in this situation. You can donate online and in some cases even text your donation in just seconds. Can you imagine how much easier this makes the very hard job of coordinating resources for such a huge event? It wasn’t too long ago when we’d have sent in checks and they would have to wait weeks to build the financial momentum for recovery that they have almost instantly today.
I’m just amazed at how quickly people can come together to do good for people who live so far away, and I like that technology makes it easy for us to follow our hearts with immediate donations. Thanks for posting the information.
I’ll definitely be giving some money to help Haiti in this time of need.
I’ll be honest in that I’ve never really been affected by disasters in third world countries or earthquakes or even the tsunami. But in the last six months as I’ve got more into living presently and increased my spirituality and started experimenting with meditative practices, I’ve been much more emotional aware of world issues. Haiti, in particular, has quite affected me.
Right now, I don’t have much to give. But I’ll find a way to give something. I urge anybody else reading to give back to help out. I’m very fortunate where I live, but these people will need help if they want to live a decent life.
I donated to Doctors Without Borders
I work for a very philanthropic company, and they match any donations over $25 to certain charities (Red Cross included). I am truly happy to see my company being proactive when it comes to unfortunate events like what happened in Haiti. There are a few things like this that make me feel proud to be part of the corporate world.
The distaster in Haiti has really affected me. From what I know, people in poorer countries tend to be happier than people in the developed world. It is tragic to see what has happened to the people of Haiti.
I donated money to Compassion International.
https://www.compassion.com/contribution/giving/haitiearthquake.htm
My college roommate has three children that are adopted from Haiti. Miraculously, all of the children from their three buildings have survived. They are trying to get those that have already been legally adopted out of the country as soon as possible. My roommate just got this information to me last night and I intend to send another donation to their orphanage as soon as I can discuss it with my husband.
I second Jessica the hedgehog’s comment about Partners In Health. I just donated to them knowing what I did after reading the book chronicling Paul Farmer’s work in Haiti in ‘Mountains Beyond Mountains’. I didn’t finish the book in its entirety (time issues) but I am driven to pick it up again. I can’t imagine the devastation that’s occurring over there now and though we are surrounded by around the clock media coverage of it I can’t help but limit my exposure to the news. I find that it’s a bit more palatable to me via the internet. My heart goes out to all affected. Thanks for the post, Baker.
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An excellent list of resources, and good encouragement to keep the donations coming. I try to run any potential charity through the Better Business Bureau charity registry (http://www.bbb.org/us/charity/) in order to determine their legitimacy. I’ll have to check on some of the charities recommended here; goodness knows more help is needed…
I am donating $1 to each comment on one of my posts!
I donated to Doctors without Borders. I just advise everyone to research before making their charitable donations.
Mindy