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Earthquake in Haiti: Update #36
In just the first week of the Haiti response effort, the American Red Cross already has spent or committed $34 million (approximately 25 percent of what has been pledged or received) as of Thursday, January 21. * The infrastructure of Haiti is severely damaged-airports are clogged, roads are treacherous, and there is no large seaport available. This is causing bottlenecks and making it very difficult to get aid into the hands of survivors. Despite those problems, aid is starting to slowly make its way to those who need help. * We want aid to move faster, too. But it’s going to take government and relief agencies working together quickly to establish security and expand and repair, airports, roads and seaports to get the relief supplies moving. * We know this relief effort will take place in two phases: The short term relief effort is underway now and will continue for many weeks. We are starting to plan for a long term recovery effort that will continue for months, if not years. * In just the first week of the short term relief operation we’ve committed and spent funds in three basic areas: food and water, relief supplies and logistical and support services. * 50 percent of what has been committed or spent is being used to bring food and water to earthquake survivors. The American Red Cross is providing more 3 million pre-packaged meals, more than 1 million water purification packets and thousands of jerry cans so people can collect and transport clean drinking water. * 30 percent of what has been committed or spent so far is purchasing and distributing relief supplies. This includes items such as blanket, tarps, soap, hygiene supplies, kitchen sets and first aid supplies. * 20 percent of what has been committed or spent is providing the logistical support and other items needed to keep the relief effort running. This includes the purchase of vehicles to deliver relief supplies, warehouse space, gasoline, transportation costs and the deployment of our relief specialists. This category also includes the costs associated with the training and deployment of nearly 70 Creole speaking volunteers to the USNS Comfort. * The American Red Cross is one part of the international relief operation in Haiti. While many of these items are being distributed by our own workers on the ground, we are also providing supplies, food and logistical items to other Red Cross societies and groups, such as the World Food Program to assist in their efforts. * This is only the beginning of the American Red Cross relief and recovery effort for Haiti. Over the next several days and weeks, as the international relief effort will grow so will the monetary commitment of the American Red Cross. Right now, it’s important to get relief there as quickly as possible, but also be thoughtful and responsible in how we spend the funds the American people have entrusted to us. * We want to ensure that we manage our money wisely so we can ensure that long term relief is available as well. We are already looking at how the American Red Cross can help meet longer term needs such as providing reliable shelter, water and sanitation systems.
21 January 2010
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Earthquake in Haiti: Babies
Two babies were born yesterday at a Red Cross field hospital in Port-au-Prince. The babies – a boy and a girl – and their mothers are reported to be doing well. They were born within 90 minutes of the 6.1-magnitude aftershock that struck early in the morning. “A patient suddenly arrived on whom we had to do a caesarean, and another who we thought we would have to do a caesarean,” explained Arthur Halvorsen, a Norwegian Red Cross anaesthesiologist. “We took the first mother in to the operating theatre and managed to deliver the baby in a caesarean. This kid is now doing very well. The other mother who was brought in actually ended up giving birth naturally while we were doing the first caesarean.” A baby girl, the first child born at a Red Cross field hospital in Port-au-Prince, is attended to by midwife Aline Gagnon. Randolph Chorleus joined the other newborns at the Red Cross field hospital in Haiti's capital. Photo copyrights: Olav Saltbones / Norwegian Red Cross. For more information, http://ifrc.org/Haiti.
21 January 2010
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Earthquake in Haiti: Gail McGovern Remarks
Good morning. I was in Haiti on Tuesday and I can tell you that this is a devastating disaster with widespread extensive damage. Many buildings are pancaked flat, the streets are filled with rubble and people. The infrastructure of the country is in severely damaged – airports, ports and roads – making it very difficult to get aid in. It was one of the most frustrating things I’ve ever seen in my life. But there are glimmers of progress. Despite all of these logjams and bottlenecks, things are getting through. But it’s slow. The pipeline of getting materials into Haiti was a straw only a few days ago, and now it’s a garden hose, but we need it to become a fire hose. Even with the challenges, we are truly making a difference. I saw American Red Cross staff, armed with first aid kits, going out to treat people. They have a truck and a door that they were using as a stretcher, and they were taking injured to a field hospital run by Red Cross. Every time a Red Cross truck would go through the streets, the people would clear the way to let it pass. The American Red Cross is in Haiti as part of the broader and coordinated Red Cross and Red Crescent network. We all have our roles; we all have our expertise, and we’re all working together. That is a very powerful engine for relief. But what struck me most were the people of Haiti. In the area we visited, several hundred families were living under makeshift tents of sheets, blankets, plastic – anything they could drape over something for a little shelter They were patient, not pushing for water or food. But they need our help. I feel like I left a piece of my heart in Haiti, and please know that the Red Cross is going to do whatever we can to help the people of Haiti, both in the short term but also as part of what we know will be a vast and long-term recovery for this nation and its people.
21 January 2010
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Earthquake in Haiti: Reconnecting Families
Bernadette Perez, a woman of Haitian heritage on vacation from the United States, lost her in-laws following last week’s earthquake in Haiti. In this picture, she attends to her 11-year-old niece Emanuella, who was crushed when her school collapsed. Red Cross teams visiting with the rows of patients in the outdoor wards at the University Hospital in Port-au-Prince loaned her a satellite phone so she could tell her family in America about Emanuella’s condition. This activity part of an important Red Cross service – reconnecting separated families after international emergencies. People eager to re-establish contact with their loved ones in Haiti and overseas started to arrive at the new tracing office, outside the American Red Cross office in the Croix-de-Prez neighborhood, as soon as it opened. A jingle encouraging the public to use the tracing service is now playing on local radios. Trucks mounted with loudspeakers also drive around town, especially near the largest camps, to let people know that they can get in touch with relatives through the Red Cross. On Wednesday, the Red Cross enabled 343 people in Port-au-Prince to make phone calls to relatives living abroad. They also registered the names of 178 individuals eager to let their loved ones know that they were alive and well on the Red Cross family links Web site (www.icrc.org/familylinks). So far, more than 23,900 names have been registered on this site; nearly 1,800 of these are people posted that they are safe and alive.
21 January 2010
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Photos: Earthquake in Haiti
Please click through for caption and courtesy information. View all American Red Cross photos from Haiti.
21 January 2010
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21 January 2010
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Podcast: Aftershock in Haiti
Moments after a 6.1 aftershock, volunteer Winnie Romeril speaks with us from Haiti about the humanitarian relief effort. >> Listen Now >> Episodes 1-18 of Cross the Globe You can subscribe to this podcast in iTunes by going to your iTunes Store and searching for “Cross the Globe.”
20 January 2010
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Photos: Earthquake in Haiti
Please click through for courtesy and caption information. All American Red Cross photos from Haiti.
20 January 2010
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Earthquake in Haiti: Update #35
The American Red Cross is supporting the repatriation of Americans and Haitian Americans who were in Haiti and are being evacuated back to this country. We have a long standing agreement with the federal government to support these efforts when Americans need to be evacuated out of foreign countries because of conflict, natural disaster or other emergencies. The last time we participated in repatriation efforts was in 2006 when fighting broke out in Lebanon. We meet the flights when they arrive at the airport and provide passengers with food, blankets, toiletries and mental health support. We’re basically there to welcome them home and be a shoulder to lean on because many times these people have seen traumatic things, been through very difficult experiences and may have only left with the clothes on their backs. We do all of this in support of our federal partners, who lead the repatriation efforts. There have been rumors and some inaccurate media stories that the Red Cross is bringing Haitian refugees to this country. The Red Cross doesn’t transport anyone in the country. Any and all decisions about immigration issues are handled by the federal government. We don’t have any information about regarding the movement of Haitian refugees.
20 January 2010
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Earthquake in Haiti: Update #34
This is an enormous relief operation now, but we also know it will be a massive long-term recovery effort and the Red Cross will be there throughout. This is already the largest single-country personnel deployment in global Red Cross history. The number of emergency response teams in or en route to Haiti equals those that responded to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami – an emergency that spanned 14 countries. It is clear that what took minutes to destroy will take many years and the collective support from governments and relief agencies across the world to help mend. The American Red Cross is working in close coordination with other responding organizations and will undoubtedly collaborate on joint, long-term recovery projects. Terrible times like these bring out the best in people, and we are grateful for the support being given to the American Red Cross. This generosity will help thousands of survivors cope with and recover from their losses.
20 January 2010
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Earthquake in Haiti: Update #33
Aid is still getting into Haiti despite a new aftershock this morning and enormous logistical challenges. The Red Cross has now been able to reach survivors outside the capital city, providing first aid in camps and prioritizing the need for food, water and other basic supplies. Red Cross responders from seven countries are also treating injuries and performing surgery at hospitals and medical centers throughout the capital city. More than 70 American Red Cross Creole-speaking volunteers have been trained and will soon join the USNS Comfort offshore in Haiti to translate for patients receiving medical care from the U.S. military. Red Cross teams are focused on purifying the water supply available in the country and expect to deliver clean drinking water to 200,000 to 400,000 people each day by truck. The American Red Cross is providing approximately 3 million pre-packaged meals in partnership with the World Food Program in Haiti. More than 100 truckloads of meals will leave Miami by air in the next few days and are expected to arrive in Haiti this weekend. In the days ahead, the Red Cross will provide tents and shelter supplies for an initial 20,000 families in Haiti. So far, 100 tons of Red Cross aid has arrived in Haiti. Planes and trucks carrying Red Cross humanitarian assistance are arriving in the region every day. The ICRC family links Web site, designed to help reconnect separated families, has received 23,000 registrations since the earthquake. We know 360 families have successfully reconnected using the site. Yesterday (1/19/10), the Red Cross helped an additional 117 people in Haiti make international phone calls to their families – mainly in the United States – to say they are safe and well.
20 January 2010