The American Red Cross reports that it has received an outpouring of support for its relief efforts in Haiti, with more than $100 million pledged or received by noon yesterday. $17 million came from $10 text donations alone. Americans have responded generously to this crisis and can be assured that in the face of logistical nightmares, their support is getting to Haiti.
More than 400 Red Cross workers from around the world as well as several thousand local volunteers are addressing urgent needs and mobilizing a massive response operation in Haiti. The Red Cross is providing a wide range of help and support in the form of food, water, relief supplies, field hospitals, emotional support, sanitation facilities and family linking services for the Haiti earthquake survivors.
Special Red Cross teams trained in search and rescue were able to save 40 people from a collapsed supermarket, including a small child, after 26 hours continuous efforts.
The Red Cross spent the weekend delivering more than 300,000 liters of clean drinking water to survivors gathering in three different communities Latrines have also been built in the same areas to help address sanitation issues.
On Sunday the Red Cross set up two medical centers to triage and treat, approximately 200 people per day. Three others will arrive today.
First aid posts have been set up in the streets, where Red Cross workers and volunteers from Haiti and other countries are working side-by-side to clean and stitch up wounds amidst the rubble.
Over the weekend, three planes carrying Red Cross humanitarian assistance were expected in the region, delivering a field hospital and needed materials such as tarps, blankets, hygiene items, buckets, shelter supplies and kitchen sets. Another shipment of supplies for 20,000 families should arrive today on a cargo plane provided in partnership with FedEx.
The Red Cross, UN and other relief agencies on the ground are coordinating response plans. To date, the Red Cross network has pledged to cover the following areas: Saint Louis de Gonzague (Delmas 33), Cité Militaire, Aéroport Nacional, Bicentenaire, Carrefour Aviation and Cité Soleil.
In the days ahead, the Red Cross will begin to provide temporary shelters in Haiti. Kits, containing tarps, rope and tools, as well as tents and blankets, will be made available for an initial 20,000 families.
The Red Cross expects this operation to cost far more than the $100 million raised to date, and urgently needs funds to support its relief and recovery efforts in Haiti. Donations can be made online at www.redcross.org, by texting the message “Haiti” to 90999 or by phone to 1-800-REDCROSS. Donors can also call the local Red Cross here in Rhode Island and make a donation by phone at 401-831-7700, or send a check to our office at 105 Gano Street, Providence RI 02906. Please indicate “Haiti” on the check.
