Haiti: Three Months Later

In response to the devastation following the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that ravaged Haiti on January 12, 2010, Partners In Health (PIH) and its sister organization, Zanmi Lasante (ZL), with 4,403 local staff and a large network of public hospitals and health centers, immediately began delivering treatment and care to earthquake survivors in Port-au-Prince and across the Central and Artibonite Departments.

The long-term ramifications of this disaster will be significant and far-reaching. To address them, PIH/ZL has taken on relief, recovery, and rebuilding activities in three core areas: clinical services, social and economic support services, and health systems strengthening.

Click here to read the PIH 3-month report.

"What I Learned About Haiti Today"

Go to the USCCB blog for a brief, informative post about the work of CRS in Haiti.

From Partners in Health: Haiti

From the Partners in Health newsletter: As reports of devastation in the field pour in, we continue to be amazed and encouraged by the generosity and support of people who have become our partners over the last week--including Cliff Landis.Cliff Landis is a librarian in Valdosta, Georgia who, until last week, was planning on a post-holiday replenishment of his savings account. However, upon hearing about the suffering the earthquake has wrought, he decided to further deplete his own savings in favor of contributing to PIH's relief efforts in Haiti. But Cliff didn't stop there. He also encouraged friends, family, and readers of his blog to give, promising them he would match every gift up to $10,000. Watch a video of what happened next. Wow! (Worth the time: less than 3 minutes!)

How much is too much?

In a recent blog post on the America website, James Martin, SJ asks, "Did CNN Go Too Far?" While the media gets accolades for making the plight of Haitian earthquake victims known to the world, Martin asks, "When does coverage become exploitation?" A question worth considering! Click here to read the post.

Temporary Protected Status

Thanks to all of you who attempted to sign the petition to urge President Obama to grant Temporary Protected Status to Haitians living in the U.S. By the time the message reached your Inbox on Friday, the President had already enacted the status.

We're continuing to recommend donation to Catholic Relief Services (CRS). If anyone has questions as to why, direct them to the CRS accountability page:
http://www.crs.org/accountability/
There, they'll find information about how efficiently and effectively their donations are used by CRS. The main CRS web page has become the CRS Haiti Emergency Page. Continue to check there for updates.

For Your Consideration

A message from Catholics United, for your consideration:

For the past few days, we have watched in horror as the people of Haiti suffer a great deal. The fact that Haiti was already the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere makes this week's earthquake all the more painful. Tens of millions of dollars are pouring into worthy charities. Governments appear to be mobilizing. Hopefully it is soon enough.

One issue that still needs immediate attention is the status of Haitians in the United States. Already, the White House has "paused" deportations of Haitian refugees. The next step is to grant Haitians the immigration protections offered to victims of war or disaster - what is known as Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

Will you take just one moment to sign our Emergency Petition to President Obama for Haitian Refugees? To sign the petition, click here.

TPS is granted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to refugees who cannot safely return to their home country because of armed conflict, environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions.

This policy change has taken place before - in El Salvador, Honduras, Somalia, and Sudan. And unlike so many other issues, the president can do it himself. President Obama should instruct the Department of Homeland Security to grant Temporary Protected Status to undocumented Haitians in the United States. This will protect them from forcible deportation back to Haiti, allow them to work legally, and start the process of rebuilding and healing.

A fundamental tenet of Catholic Social Teaching is care for the immigrant. That is the lesson of the story of the Good Samaritan and the stranger on the Road to Jericho. Some 80% of Haitians are Catholic. While there is a need for immigration reform on a much larger scale, the urgency of the crisis in Haiti demands immediate action.

Click here to sign the petition.

We're also urging other Catholic groups and the Catholic Church itself to join our call to action. Please sign. We'll keep you up to date on what is going on.

LCWR Update on Haiti

From Marie Lucey, LCWRs Associate Director for Social Mission:

"All of us are very concerned about and saddened by yesterday's major earthquake in Haiti which has devastated Port-au-Prince. Executive Director Jane Burke has contacted LCWR members with sisters in Haiti to ask about their welfare. CRS has issued an Emergency Brief which includes a prayer for our brothers and sisters in Haiti, as well as suggestions about how to help. I'm sure we are all in solidarity with Haiti in this agonizing time."

Please click here to go to the CRS website, which includes the Emergency Brief. (Note: The FBI has issued an alert urging us to be careful about scams with regard to Haitian relief. We know that CRS is a reputable organization and that it has pledged $5 million to the immediate relief effort. Thus, I'm still suggesting that all financial donations flow through CRS at this time.)

Special Collection for Haiti this Weekend

The USCCB is urging parishes across the country to take up a special collection for Haiti this weekend. Click here for details and the letter from Cardinal George and Archbishop Dolan.

More on Haiti

Just after I hit "publish post," I received two e-mails regarding the situation in Haiti. One was from Pax Christi USA saying that it's not yet possible to communicate with Pax Christi Haiti, but to funnel donations through CRS (see previous post). The second e-mail was from our friends at Partners in Health, who have been asked to join the UN's efforts to aid the sick and injured. Here's that message:

In an urgent email from Port-au-Prince, Louise Ivers, our clinical director in Haiti, appealed for assistance from her colleagues in the Central Plateau: "Port-au-Prince is devastated, lot of deaths. SOS. SOS... Temporary field hospital by us at UNDP needs supplies, pain meds, bandages. Please help us."
Donate now to support our earthquake relief efforts.
The earthquake has destroyed much of the already fragile and overburdened infrastructure in the most densely populated part of the country. A massive and immediate international response is needed to provide food, water, shelter, and medical supplies for tens of thousands of people.

With our hospitals and our highly trained medical staff in place in Haiti, Partners In Health is already mobilizing resources and preparing plans to bring medical assistance and supplies to areas that have been hardest hit.

Both our teams in Boston and Haiti are already mobilizing to deliver resources as quickly as possible to the places where they are needed most.

Earthquake in Haiti: What Can We Do?

Every time a disaster occurs (such as this high-magnitude earthquake in Haiti), we wonder how we can help. The first place I turn is to Catholic Relief Services. Click here to make a donation toward the CRS effort to help in Haiti. Please let me know if you hear of any other efforts, and I'll be sure to post them. I'm sure we'll be hearing from religious communities with members in Haiti. I'll let you know those requests when they come in. In the meantime, don't forget to pray for those affected by this devastating earthquake.

Partners In Health: Stand With Haiti

Partners in Health (PIH) is providing "real time" updates from Haiti, as its medical professionals strive to provide health care to those injured by the earthquake. Click here to go to the PIH "Stand with Haiti" website.