Prayers and other aid for Haiti — West Volusians want to help

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PHOTO
In search of relief — Tech. Sgt. Dennis J. Henry Jr. of the U.S. Air Force took this photograph Jan. 19 of Haitian people trekking on a rural road. Reports from the country are that people are fleeing Port-au-Prince into the countryside, as hope of finding loved ones among the survivors fades in the capital city. A U.S. Department of Defense contingent is part of a larger national and international relief effort led by the U.S. Agency for International Development in response to the 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti Jan. 12.

U.S. NAVY PHOTO/MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 3RD CLASS ERIN OBERHOLTZER
Help takes many forms — Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a CNN medical correspondent and practicing neurosurgeon, examines an injured Haitian girl Jan. 18 in the medical facility aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson off the coast of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Gupta was brought to the ship to assist in performing brain surgery on a 12-year-old Haitian girl. The ship is there as part of Operation Unified Relief, after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti Jan. 12.

By Pat Hatfield
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Jan 21, 2010 - 9:03:47am

As if the horror of Jan. 12 wasn’t enough, another earthquake — a 6.1 magnitude aftershock — hit stricken Haiti at 6:03 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 20.

Reports from the island described terrified people fleeing into the streets just eight days after the first quake virtually destroyed Port-au-Prince.

The first wave of devastation came when a quake of 7.0 magnitude hit, destroying most of the country’s infrastructure, including hospitals and roadways.

Images flooded the Internet, newspapers and airwaves, of children with broken bones, doctors stitching lacerations without the benefit of anesthetics, piles of dead bodies, mourners holding the dead and crying over them.

Then came more images: rescue workers pulling an infant from beneath rubble to safety, relief workers treating and feeding survivors.

The death toll is expected to reach 200,000. Relief workers are working as rapidly as possible to set up emergency hospitals and provide food, water and medical help to homeless, hungry, injured and desperate people. It’s a race to save lives.

Many West Volusians want to help. Many are donating through their churches, as well as to national and international relief organizations.

Amy Killgallon of DeLand, regional director of Florida Church World Service, said more than 3 million Haitians have been affected.

“Scenes of devastation and grief shown on our television screens can’t begin to convey the destruction from the recent earthquake near Port-au-Prince, Haiti,” she wrote to The Beacon.

Church World Service is providing immediate and essential supplies to survivors, including temporary shelter, food and health assistance. The agency will also help with rebuilding. Send checks to Church World Service at P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN 46515. Write Haiti Earthquake in the memo line. Or, go online to www.churchworldservice.org/haiti.

Pastor Jesse Roland of Abundant Life Fellowship in Barberville is keeping track of efforts to cope with the disaster in Haiti at Sherry’s Journal online at http://loveachild.com/blogs/journal.

The blogger Sherry Burnette, a missionary at a Haitian orphanage, is telling the story of what’s happening at the orphanage and to its neighbors, using sometimes-graphic photographs and descriptions. Burnette, with her husband, Bobby, runs the Love a Child Orphanage in Haiti.

On Jan. 18, Roland sent more information by e-mail to The Beacon.

“I did talk to Bobby in Haiti yesterday,” Roland said. “He reports terrifying aftershocks (estimates around 50 so far). The orphans will not sleep indoors. Working 24/7 to help. Safety a major concern. He has huge warehouse for feeding programs and there is fear of looting and riots. Will be out of fuel tomorrow for compound generators.”

Now, the terrified orphans are dealing with this morning’s major aftershock.

Tabernacle of Praise Church in Pierson is collecting medical supplies for Haiti. Visit the Web site at www.praiseatthetop.com.

A trash-and-treasures sale is planned 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 5-6, at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of DeLand. The sale will benefit relief efforts, as well as help with church summer-camp scholarships.

Most major church denominations are helping Haiti. Check with your local church; many are accepting donations for aid to Haiti.

Satori Yoga Shala in downtown Sanford will host a fundraiser for Haiti disaster relief at 10 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 24, when yoga teacher Debra Corso will lead an Ashtanga-style class. All donations will go to Yele Haiti, a nonprofit organization providing relief. Donations can be made online at www.yele.org.

The Deltona Arts & Historical Society will present “Deltona’s Haiti Relief Concert” 2-5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30, at the new Deltona Library Amphitheater at 2150 Eustace Ave. The concert will feature a number of popular performers, including the Hispanic dance group HAYGD. All donations will go to the American Red Cross.

Volusia County Schools is asking everyone who can — students, parents and staff members — to contribute $1 each toward the school district’s Haiti Earthquake Relief Effort. Donations will be accepted through Friday, Jan. 29, and will then be presented to the American Red Cross International Response Fund on behalf of the entire school district.

Checks or cash can be sent to school with children, or checks may be mailed to the School District Office, P.O. Box 2118, DeLand, FL 32721-2118. Make checks to Volusia County Schools with a note “for Earthquake Relief” in the memo, or make checks to the American Red Cross. The School District hopes to collect at least $70,000.

Cress Restaurant in Downtown DeLand, in conjunction with The Elusive Grape, will serve a four-course meal featuring local ingredients, complete with wine from The Elusive Grape, at Cress Restaurant Monday, Jan. 25. Seatings will be at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. The cost is $75 per person, and all of the dinner’s gross revenues will be donated to the Red Cross for Haiti relief.

Tickets must be purchased in advance. Call 386-734-3740 or visit online at www.cressrestaurant.com or www.elusivegrape.com. Local dignitaries are expected to help serve the meal.

RELIEF GROUPS:

Other major relief organizations on the ground in Haiti include:

• The American Red Cross — www.redcross.org. More than 400 Red Cross workers from around the world are in Haiti. Outreach teams are helping the injured in camps and at medical centers.

• The Salvation Army — www.salvationarmy.org. More than 700 Salvation Army workers in Haiti are concentrating on getting food, water and shelter to as many people as possible, using Salvation Army supply lines from outside the country.

• Oxfam America — www.OxfamAmerica.org/Haiti. The international group has rushed in teams from around the region, and pledges that every penny will be used to provide clean water, shelter and sanitation.

• Habitat for Humanity — www.habitat.org. The group, which builds low-cost housing as “a matter of conscience and action,” has been at work in Haiti for 26 years, and pledges to continue that work for families in Haiti.

• The Clinton Bush Haiti fund — www.clintonbushhaitifund.org. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush united to provide emergency aid to Haiti at the request of President Barack Obama. A statement on the Web site reads, “Our immediate priority is to save lives. The critical needs in Haiti are great, but they are also simple: food, water, shelter, and first-aid supplies. The best way concerned citizens can help is to donate funds that will go directly to supplying these material needs.”

The U.S. Navy has sent ships, equipped with medical supplies and doctors, to act as floating emergency rooms.

• UNICEF — www.unicefusa.org. UNICEF states 100 percent of donations will be used “to save children’s lives” with safe water, sanitation, food and shelter.

• National Nurses United — National Nurses United already has 10,000 nurses volunteering to go to Haiti. They need to raise money to send them there. The group pledges every dollar raised for Haiti will be used to send nurses there, and provide the resources they need to care for the survivors.

Continue to read The Beacon for information on local relief efforts, as they develop. Report news by sending e-mail to info@beacononlinenews.com.

To avoid donating money to scammers, visit the Florida Division of Agriculture and Consumer Services Web site at www.800helpfla.com and check out the organization at the “Gift Givers Guide.”

— jen@beacononlinenews.com

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