Earthcharter

Helping Haiti's Children - Join our efforts

Wednesday, 03 February 2010 23:54

More than three weeks after the devastating earthquake, the people of Haiti are still struggling. The United Nations food program is still not reaching as many Haitians as hoped, and their cash-for-work program to employ Haitians to clean up the rubble is extremely underfunded, only reaching 12,000 of the 200,000 people they aimed to serve.¹

Furthermore, it will be a long time before conditions return to anything resembling normalcy. This is especially true for children that have lost parents and family members in the disaster. This is why Earth Charter US is partnering with Friends of the Orphans to help provide assistance to Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos/Nos Petit Frères et Soeurs, an organization long-established in Haiti that is serving the neediest.

Right now, Friends of the Orphans needs monetary contributions to assist in providing immediate assistance to those most in need. Can you contribute to help with immediate aid and to assist in the rebuilding process?

https://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6082/t/9073/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=1774

Friends of the Orphans is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) non-profit that supports Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos/Nos Petit Frères et Soeurs (NPH/NPFS, Spanish and French for "Our Little Brothers and Sisters") a network of homes, hospitals and community programs, that has been operating in Haiti for over 25 years. The earthquake damaged some of NPH's facilities, and the community has lost many friends and relatives, however they have been able to purchase several new large trucks and in partnership with the NPH program in the Dominican Republic continue to transport in supplies on a daily basis.

Normally, Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos provides unique services, bringing hope to the homeless and disadvantaged via Hôpital Saint Damien, a pediatric hospital that offers free healthcare to over 30,000 Haitians per year, a public health center that specializes in HIV treatment, a rehabilitation clinic for children with special needs, and a mobile ambulance that provides round the clock medical support. However in these trying times, these services are more essential than ever.

In a recent briefing, a representative from NPH provided this update:

After the earthquake, the immediate response of our NPFS (NPH-Haiti) team was to make sure our children were safe and then focus on the injured. Having achieved this, we have begun focusing on serving the growing population of newly orphaned children.

The UN estimates there are 600 tent cities, with anywhere from 1,000 to tens of thousands of people. There is no sanitation, no food, no water or medical care. Our goal is to reach these communities through continuing our medical brigades, food stations and by implementing a program that gives children accessibility to a clean environment, food, water and activities.

Please give what you can today to help support the most needy in Haiti, both in this terrible aftermath and in the longterm:

https://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6082/t/9073/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=1774

If you would prefer to make in-kind donations, NPH is shipping a 40-foot container of supplies to Haiti weekly and needs help filling it. We have a list of what is needed in Haiti, which you can purchase and can ship to the U.S.-based operation in Miami, which will then be sent to Haiti.

Make an in-kind donation of supplies

Thank you for your support. By giving what we can to those in need we can support the people and the children of Haiti, providing them the opportunity to get back on their feet and to rebuild. A major challenge will be to rebuild in an Earth Charter way - solid, environmentally sound building construction in neighborhoods that are just and peaceful and provide sustainable livelihoods for all.

In solidarity,

Rick Clugston,
Executive Director,
Earth Charter US

Sources:

1. "Haiti Is Again a Canvas for Approaches to Aid," The New York Times, 30 January 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/world/americas/31reconstruct.html)

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