Today, July 12th, at 4:53pm marks 6 months since the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Through your generosity and collaboration, we have raised $106,266.10 thus far and $100,000 have already been invested in the relief and rebuilding efforts through our partners, World Concern and Partners in Health.
As we mark the 6 month mark since the quake, we thought we'd share a few updates from our partner organizations working on the ground.
Please note that our Haiti Relief and Rebuild Fund is still open, as we seek to partner with and fund long-term reconstruction and rebuilding efforts which will be continuing for years to come. You can donate your one day's wages, another amount, or do what several have already chosen to do: Donate their birthdays or Idea for a Cause to the rebuilding efforts in Haiti.
Photographer Esther Havens, who has graciously supported ODW through the use of her photographs throughout our website, shares her 6 month update through images, here.
From our partners:
World Concern –
As of July 7, World Concern has expanded our efforts into the Fort
National neighborhood, after spending months repairing homes and
helping business owners restart their businesses in the Delmas region.
We now employ 2,100 people in this effort.In
the last several months, World Concern has repaired more than 500 homes
and delivered the same number of kit homes, which will replace homes
too damaged to repair. We've given out 720 cash grants to merchants to
restart their businesses, and provided 580 livelihood grants to replace
damaged or lost equipment.Neighborhood committees choose who receives new homes or home
repairs first. World Concern guides the process, providing oversight,
supplies and expertise. We’re maintaining our focus on those most
vulnerable.World Concern continues to
support children and families who were involved in our programs in
Haiti before the earthquake, including providing emergency supplies,
medications for people living with AIDS, and children being able to
return to school. We are committed to providing continued support to
the people of Haiti through the entire recovery and rebuilding process
as the country continues to heal from this devastating disaster. [WC's website]
Partners in Health –
On July 3, Partners In Health (PIH) and our Haitian sister
organization, Zanmi Lasante (ZL), broke ground in Mirebalais, Haiti,
for a world-class teaching hospital. Mirebalais will be a national
referral facility, the flagship of our efforts to help rebuild Haiti’s
health sector. By the first anniversary of the earthquake—January 12,
2011—the seven buildings of the main hospital campus, comprising
180,000 square feet, will be standing, with work on the interiors
begun. Plans call for the hospital to be accepting patients by the end
of 2011.The new hospital will have 320 beds—equivalent in capacity to all 12 of
the sites in which PIH currently works in Haiti, combined—and will
offer clinical facilities not available at any public site in the
country, including an intensive care unit and an operating theatre
complex with six operating rooms equipped for thoracic surgery. The
original plans for a 108-bed referral hospital for the lower plateau,
offering comprehensive, community-based primary and prenatal care as
well as treatment for TB, HIV, malaria, and malnutrition were expanded
at the request of the Ministry of Health following the January 12
earthquake.
Dr. Alex Larsen, Minister of Health, said “What Haiti needs now are
true partners to help us build back better by strengthening our
country's public infrastructure. The new teaching hospital at
Mirebalais will be a model for our national health system, offering
high-quality medical services, a place for our clinicians to study and
train, and hope and dignity to all who will seek—and offer—care there.
We look forward to building upon our long-standing partnership with
Partners In Health/Zanmi Lasante with this desperately-needed facility.” [PiH's website]
