Me too Cyclone, thanks for posting that, it was really interesting.
Hopefully as you stated, the mobilization of help will be quick. I read the U.S. is sending in a lot of troops (5000 +). I hope the charitable donations go to the proper agencies as well so the help gets where it needs to go.
Yikes what a video! Sure makes you realize how good we have it here.
Also I was not saying GLA was a bunk charity I was just warning people there will be tons of scams like the past and to be careful who they give money too.
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Originally Posted by henriksedin33
Not at all, as I've said, I would rather start with LA over any of the other WC playoff teams. Bunch of underachievers who look good on paper but don't even deserve to be in the playoffs.
Yikes what a video! Sure makes you realize how good we have it here.
Also I was not saying GLA was a bunk charity I was just warning people there will be tons of scams like the past and to be careful who they give money too.
I sure hugged my little 21 month old today. Just looking at him and thinking about all the injured children really hits home. I hope everyone can find it in themselves to do something. It need not be monetary.
Thanks Cyclone for sharing. I can say those are two pretty awesome children you have from Haiti. Makes me proud to know you.
I sure hugged my little 21 month old today. Just looking at him and thinking about all the injured children really hits home.
I could only imagine! I have been watching a lot of clips on the internet, pictures and CNN, it really just blows your mind how people can live like that. How can the President of a country not have a place to stay after an earthquake? It all seems so surreal even thought you see/hear about it everyday.
I'm glad there are people using their time and money to help these people who can't help themselves. I wish I could do more but I would be useless even if I flew down there. I would be too busy crying in a corner watching this stuff live.
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Originally Posted by henriksedin33
Not at all, as I've said, I would rather start with LA over any of the other WC playoff teams. Bunch of underachievers who look good on paper but don't even deserve to be in the playoffs.
Hey, You Need a Thnead, do you know if those two you mentioned are still operable? Still getting questions from people and I'll add them to the list, but it won't do anyone any good if they are buried under a pile of rubble.
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"...but I'm feeling MUCH better now." -John Astin, Night Court
Hey, You Need a Thnead, do you know if those two you mentioned are still operable? Still getting questions from people and I'll add them to the list, but it won't do anyone any good if they are buried under a pile of rubble.
I don't know exactly what condition everything is in, but both organizations have sent out earthquake updates of some kind:
I'd also recommend Mennonite Central Commitee. They do lots of disaster relief, and nearly 100% of the dollars donated actually go to relief, instead of large chunks going to administration (as many other organizations are set up).
I know many people that have gone with MCC to provide disaster relief in Louisiana and Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina (including some that are there right now). MCC will be working in Haiti after this for years to come.
U.S., China, Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Brazil, Canada, Spain, Cuba, France, Iceland, Argentina, Chile, Taiwan, Israel, and Panama already sending aid or have people on the ground already. Saw that, in addition to those previously mentioned, Samaritan's Purse is providing aid and support.
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"...but I'm feeling MUCH better now." -John Astin, Night Court
Major League Baseball says it is donating $1 million to help victims of the earthquake in Haiti.
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Originally Posted by henriksedin33
Not at all, as I've said, I would rather start with LA over any of the other WC playoff teams. Bunch of underachievers who look good on paper but don't even deserve to be in the playoffs.
My sister adopted two Haitian girls too, and she will vouch that God's Littlest Angels is a legitimate orphanage.
When my mom died, we put GLA in the Obituary as one of the charities people could donate to in memory of my mom.
Other smaller organizations that were working in Haiti already and are legitimate are Haiti Arise, and Haiti Partners.
Thanks all for the responses, I just wanted to make sure that there was some confirmation, there will no doubt be several emails circulating urging people to donate and unfortunately some will be fake.
GLA is a legit orphanage. I am the one who gave Aeneas the email he posted earlier.
I adopted twins from Haiti and we stayed at GLA while there. Any donations to GLA are used for care of the children and support of their medical and adoption services. Years ago, Dixie and John were in Haiti helping out another agency when a local brought their sick premee baby to Dixie because she was a nurse and they could not get any medical help elsewhere. John built an incubator from scratch on the spot and they tried to nurse this child to health. Sadly it passed away, but it was then that they knew where they are needed. They went back to the States, quit their jobs and secured funding, then moved permanently to Petionville.
More than a decade later, they have helped hundreds of children that would have otherwise died, and hundreds of children find homes and a better life. My twins came from there, my friend's daughter came from there, our other friend's have adopted three times from there. The people of Petionville (one of the hardest hit areas) know Dixie has medical knowledge and can get supplies. Given the current situation, I would not be surprised if they began getting a flood of people bringing children to them in the aftermath. You can certainly support Canadian Red Cross or Doctor's Without Borders and your money will be put to good use. If you want to help an orphanage, this is one I can personally vouch for.
I had a few people asking me about Haiti and why this earthquake could potentially be so deadly there when a similar magnitude earthquake in other nations might kill 100 people, maybe 1000. Here is what I know: Remember that this is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, with more than 80% living below the poverty line. They were once one of the most resource rich nations in the world, but occupation from the Spaniards and then the French stripped them of everything of value. Haiti's biggest contributor to their gross domestic product? International aid.
When I went to Haiti to adopt my twins, I flew in to Port-Au-Prince. As you approach the airport from the air, you first see what looks like a massive garbage dump. As you descend, you realize that it is a shanty town, cube after cube of homes built with parts from abandoned cars, leftovers from construction sites, pulled down from billboards, etc. Row upon row of 8' by 8' shacks housing a family in each. It is so densely packed that you would likely need to walk for an hour to get to the center of it. Driving through Port-Au-Prince, almost every building is made of concrete. Something like 2 million people live in the city, which is about a tenth the size of Calgary. It was originally designed to be a small town.
Driving up the hill to Petionville, you see that homes are built leaning onto one another because it is easier to build three walls instead of four (so you share a wall with your neighbor). And the area is so mountainous that people build on the side of hills and mountains frequently because that is the only space available. They only had electricity half the time. When fuel for the generators ran out, the electricity went off and you had to wait for them to have enough for the power to come back on. Fortunately the place I stayed had a generator so they always had power.
Streets are not named, houses are not numbered, and typically the only places with phones were businesses. All of your food either came from tiny grocery stores or roadside food stands. And the government barely exists. The country borders on lawlessness at the best of times, hospitals are ill-equipped and undermanned. Police forces are outnumbered by organized crime groups and ill-equipped.
In my opinion, Haiti is the worst place in the world to have an earthquake. Those buildings are built like dominoes, so if one goes down, they all go down. They are built without being structurally sound and with massive amounts of concrete, which will just pancake in an earthquake. Homes in less densely packed places will likely tumble into ravines. Communications go from bad to nonexistent. If the food stores are gone, people have no place to get food. I believe the estimates that 100,000 people may have already died. But the worst is yet to come as lawlessness, disease and starvation begin.
Unless there is a sizable international aid and security mobilization, I would not be surprised to see the number top a million. Imagine if everyone in Calgary came into downtown and we invited everyone in Edmonton to join us. Most of the buildings downtown were damaged or destroyed. Dead bodies decaying in the streets everywhere you go. People needing medical help can only find the occasional EMT or nurse who are dealing with 100+ injuries at a time and had no supplies or medicine. All grocery stores were either destroyed or looted. The most hardened criminals were all on the loose as the prison collapsed...and your government had no one coming to help you.
Fortunately it looks like world leaders are taking it seriously. I just pray they know how serious this one might get. Areas hit by the big tsunami had better infrastructure to deal with the disaster, money, supplies, etc. Haitian people are the most resilient and hardworking people I've ever seen. They take pride in appearing their best while living in terrible conditions. But they can't come out of this one without a massive amount of help.
Same orginization i got involved with after Katrina. Church based group that does wonderful work. Though i am in no way affiliated with any of the churches/religion these guys were born from, the amount of good I have seen them accomplish is remarkable. The donations were flowing in today as well and this is in a fairly depressed area of the country following the financial collapse of 08.
Also this group has an ongoing program in haiti that was heavily affected by this, though the people associated with the program had been accounted for as far as the guys i was with knew. Unfortunately because of my recent accident I couldnt do near as much as I wished I could, but as they say every little bit helps.
I implore everyone, even if you donate 5 bucks, to do what you can as this may end up being the single largest humanitarian catastrophe of our lifetimes.
