The Betty Black Blog

An Overview

Everyone in Jamaica, the Caribbean and indeed the entire world desperately wants to help the people of Haiti, the outpouring of aid is amazing. But before you donate there are three very important things to bear in mind.

1) There are ALWAYS evil people wanting to take advantage of our sympathy and generosity; be very, very careful before you start donating. Go to the well established charities or special funds started by well known corporate entities. Above all, do not respond to random emails purporting to come from individuals in need. Be careful also when doing an online search for information, you may well click on what looks like a site with information and end up downloading spyware! Seek your information from the websites of  established media houses.

2) We see Haitians on Facebook, Twitter, etc. and watch regular news updates so we get a false sense that there is communication. Under normal conditions only a third of the people have cell phones/land lines and only 10% are on the Internet. It appears that most of the telephone service is down, one service appears to be functioning and two or three others (including Digicel) have partial service. We hear that one of nine Internet providers is functioning and four of sixty seven radio stations are broadcasting. The majority of people have no way of communicating and no way of knowing whether friends and family in other parts of the city or the country are alive.

3) The Port Facility at Port au Prince is completely destroyed, ships cannot dock. There are at least ten or twelve aid ships anchored with no way to get the supplies to shore. The airport is in total chaos. Many, many planes went in with relief supplies before any air traffic control was in place. These planes now fill the one-runway airport and tons and tons of supplies sit on the tarmac. The streets, difficult to navigate at the best of times, are blocked with rubble. In other words, there is a great deal of aid already there but the situation is so overwhelming that very little is getting to the people. The anticipated arrival of aircraft carriers with helicopters sometime today will greatly help with distribution of the supplies already on the ground.

That being said it makes sense for us to continue to collect donations but to hold off sending them until we hear through the media that things on the ground are getting more organised. Remember, in most disasters, either the government of the affected area or the UN will normally organise relief. In this case, the government appears to be as much in shock as the rest of the population and the UN representatives have themselves suffered damage and deaths.

This should not cause us to hesitate; for our neighbours, destitute to start with, will need a lot of help for a very long time.

How to Help

Communications

If you are aware of any Jamaicans in Haiti please pass along the information to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at (876) 926-4220. There is hope that two Air Jamaica planes will be able to land at Port au Prince today, depending on the general situation at that airport. These planes are carrying supplies and will bring back any Jamaican nationals who can be located.

Other countries have similar services in place.

The International Red Cross have a website FamilyLinks.ICRC.org where people can try to contact relatives and friends
CNN also has a similar facility at IReport.com

Collecting/Sending Aid

Many, many individuals and organisations are trying to help but there needs to be co-ordination. Our Government has asked that all supplies go through ODPEM,   2-4 Haining Road, Kingston 5 or (876) 906-9674-5, 754-9077-8 or toll free 1-888-991-4262. Donations made to the Jamaica Red Cross, etc. will also be channelled through ODPEM.

Remember what is urgently needed is water, food and medical supplies. The temperature is over 90°F there so blankets can wait!

It is also good to give cash as the relief organisations can direct it towards whatever is most urgent.

Money Donations

Digicel: Text “Help” to 162 to donate J$25. Other Caribbean countries: check your local Digicel office for the number in your country. Text donations take time to get there as they are not collected until you pay your bill then the phone company has to tabulate them and send on the money but it is a very easy way to donate.

NCB:
ODPEM                  a/c #2123873
Food for the Poor a/c #471043885
United Way          a/c #061048596

Scotiabank:
Scotia special fund: Cross Roads a/c #822317
Jamaica Red Cross: Cross Roads a/c #24499

VMBS:  Duke Street a/c #22772867

JNBS:   Duke Street a/c #10937814

International

American Red Cross: text “Haiti” to 90999 to donate US$10

Yele Relief Fund: Text “Yele” to 501501 to donate US$5 to Wyclef Jean’s charity

Food for the Poor

Food for the Poor Canada

Doctors without Borders

American Red Cross

Oxfam UK

International Red Cross

UNICEF

A friend with the Rotary Club has just sent me this link.

Whatever country you are in, contact your local established charities to find out how to help. Not every spontaneous charity is a scam, there are thousands of well intentioned people collecting for Haiti but they quite possibly have reacted, like all of us, to that “heart jerk” and will then have to work out how to get the supplies/money they have collected to Haiti. The established charities already have that system in place. Check out your charity at Charity Navigator.

An imaginable horror has overwhelmed our neighbours, just 250 miles north east of us. Let us hope that the outpouring of love and assistance directed towards Haiti will help to rebuild that country to such an extent that it will no longer be described as the “Poorest Country on the Western Hemisphere.”