Photo by Eduardo Munoz, REUTERS
The pictures at the Boston Globe are bone-chilling (Picture #37 gives you a really good grasp of the scope of this disaster)
The people of Haiti are perhaps the poorest in the Western Hemisphere. An Earthquake registering 7.0 on the Richter Scale. You’ll recall, the San Francisco earthquake of 1989 was also 7.0, and it pancaked portions of a bridge. Haiti has not got California’s stringent building codes, and they certainly do not build to survive quakes. This event has resulted in numerous building collapses, including hospitals. Haiti in now under Tsunami watch, and things sound very bad:
One witness says buildings have collapsed in Port-Au-Prince and people can be heard screaming. The witness says dead and injured are under the rubble. Ambassador Raymond Alcide Joseph told CNN he was heartbroken as he had just spoken by telephone with a senior presidential aide who described scenes of chaos and devastation.
“He had to stop his car just about half an hour ago, and take to the streets, start walking, but he said houses were crumbling on the right side of the street and the left side of the street,” Mr Joseph said.
Some initial pictures of the devastation, here and here
Via Hot Air:
Another video via Chuck Simmins who is really the go-to guy on the web:
The Pope’s Representative to Haiti: gives a first hand account of the destruction:
Auza reported that many government buildings had been razed. All of the Ministry buildings but one were on the ground, as were the Presidential Palace and the schools.
“Parliament with the Senators, the schools with the children, the supermarkets were reduced to nothing,” the nuncio stated.
The nuncio had made his way across the city to see the Haitian President and “express his condolences and solidarity” and found that, because they had been outdoors, he and his family had been saved although their home had crumbled.
People who live in front of the collapsed U.N. headquarters had reported to Auza that the head of that mission, Hedi Annabi, was trapped inside with hundreds of others.
The nuncio said that he had returned to his residence later in the morning to find “Priests and Sisters in the street, no longer with homes. The Rector of the seminary saved himself, as did the Dean of studies, but the seminarians are under the rubble. You hear yells everywhere from underneath the rubble.”
Spokesperson for Catholic Relief Services expects deaths to number in the thousands
The Pope has activated worldwide Catholic relief for Haiti.
I will be donating to Food For the Poor, an terrific organization serving those in desperate need in the Caribbean and Latin America. I have written before about the excellent work they do, and the people they serve. And they really do serve. In 2008, over 97% of their donations went directly their programs in aid to the poor.
A donation to their General Fund “goes to where the greatest need is at the moment.” That would be Haiti, right now and they’ve created a dedicated contribution page. Food for the Poor is helping to get information out:
“Everything started shaking, people were screaming, houses started collapsing … it’s total chaos,” Reuters reporter Joseph Guyler Delva said. “I saw people under the rubble, and people killed,” he added.
A local employee for the U.S. charity Food for the Poor reported seeing a five-storey building collapse in Port-au-Prince, a spokeswoman for the group, Kathy Skipper, told Reuters.
Another Food for the Poor employee said there were more houses destroyed than standing in Delmas Road, a major thoroughfare in the city.
Panic-stricken residents filled the streets desperately trying to dig people from rubble or seeking missing relatives as dark fell shortly after the quake. “People were screaming ‘Jesus, Jesus’ and running in all directions,” Delva said.
Donate securely here.
Follow their news updates on Twitter
Other ways to help:
Catholic Relief Services
United Methodist Committee on Relief
The Red Cross
Salvation Army
Providence in Haiti
American Jewish World Service
Lutheran World Relief
Cross International
World Vision
International Orthodox Christian Charities
Beyond Borders
Mercy Corps
Partners in Development
Reports of bodies being piled in the streets
America Magazine has an update from Catholic Relief Services:
Karel Zelenka, CRS’s country representative for Haiti told CRS spokesperson John Rivera the devastation is unlike anything he’s ever seen. “I’ve been in earthquakes before,” Zelenka told Rivera. “This was a major earthquake and a direct hit [on the capital]. There must be thousands dead.”
“It is a disaster of the century,” he reported in a blog post. “We should be prepared for thousands and thousands of dead and injured.”
Rivera described conditions in Port-au-Prince as “total chaos.”
NYC: Mayor Michael Bloomberg says his Mayor’s Fund will be assisting Haiti.
Chuck Simmins has lots more news updates and more places to donate
I will post more organizations (and their updates) as I find them. This WSJ piece is horrifying.
Doctors Without Borders: they’ve lost all three of their facilities in Haiti. The Hospitals in Haiti are in chaos.
Reader DeLynn sends along updated posts from a missionary friend in Haiti who is posting on Facebook:
6:30 a.m.–We are still alive at this point. We spent the night under the stars up in the hills. Didn’t sleep too well. The streets are completely packed with people wandering around. It’s 6:30 AM. The damage here is Petit Goave is massive. Our house is still standing for the moment but another one two houses up from us collapsed.
6:30a.m.–The main stresser right now is the continual tremors. They continued all night and right up until 4 seconds ago. It’s like things have not settled yet. Even if we live to tell about this, Haiti is in the middle of a major catastrohe. I’m not trying to sound dramatic, but I want folks to keep praying. This isn’t over yet.
7:30a.m.–I keep hoping to wake up and find this was all a very bad dream, but it’s beginning to seem like it’s real. Phone lines are mostly down still so we are unable to communicate even within Haiti. And with no electricity the radio stations here are all out in our area.
7:30a.m.–To show you how bad it is, for those who have stayed at the hotel here across from the big Catholic church. The Catholic church is completely reduced to rubble. The whole area looks like a war zone.
Gateway Pundit: Archbishops Serge Miot of Port Au Prince Killed in Quake
Michelle Malkin: chronicles how America is helping
Doctor Zero: Our Duty to Mankind:
In a nation with 22% real unemployment, people who haven’t worked in months are digging deep to make Red Cross donations. . . . the governments and people of other nations make admirable efforts, but none has the combination of strength and compassion that makes Americans the first to lift debris from broken bodies, or raise emergency medical tents where hospitals once stood. The selfish and brutal tyrannies jockeying for dominance of the post-American world do not have the heart, and the good people fearfully watching their shadows lengthen don’t have the wealth.
Which brings to mind this 2003 essay by Thomas Sowell.
CNN is announcing that about 9,000 UN Peacekeepers are unaccounted for. France fears that the entire UN contingent are dead.
After the 2004 Tsunami, President Bush sent the navy to help. It seems President Obama will do the same in this situation. That’s good. CNN announces that the USNS Comfort has been deployed as she was during Katrina.
Ed Morrissey notes that the death toll in Haiti may exceed the horrifying numbers of that event.
Animals always know
Prayer: Commenter Ellen notes that asking Ven. Pierre Toussaint, a former slave, born in Haiti, to pray for Haiti is a good idea. I agree. Over at Happy Catholic, one of Julie’s commenters, noting the psalms eerie ability to speak to the day writes:
just take a look at the second Psalm from today’s Office of Readings:
“The earth moved and shook,
at the coming of his anger the roots of the mountains rocked
and were shaken…
…but the Lord was my support.
He led me to the open spaces,
he was my deliverance, for he held me in favour.”
Some will say “where is God in all of this?” The answer, of course, is that God is in the response.
Also blogging:
Belmont Club
Fausta, also linking to relief efforts.
NY Times Blog
Maxed Out Mama
Baldilocks
Confederate Yankee
Fr. Steve’s Blog
Gay Patriot
Just One Minute
Noisy Room
NeoNeocon
Catholic Vote Action
Moderate Voice
Kathryn Jean Lopez
Rand Simberg
Insty links and has more. Thanks!
Sweetness and Light
Bookworm Room
New Advent
Inside Catholic
Midwest Conservative Journal
Hollywood Unites for Haiti
Frugal Cafe
And Sometimes Tea
Lutheran World Relief will be there too!
Give us a prayer from upstairs Rev. Uncle Frank.
And there is nothing wrong with Lutheran World Relief.
I would dearly love to see a new venture between Lutherans & Catholics, that doesn’t require ditching the El Papa.
Anglicans are coming over, for a big new united church that can fight Sharia.
Thank you for the link. I’m trying to follow this disaster as I did the Indonesian tsunami. I’m waiting to hear from several DoD contacts on what our military will be doing.
We’re talking about the absolute poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. There are no safeguards for them over there, and even the UN building there was pancaked down. Nothing but chaos and a full mass emigration to GITMO and the FL coast will follow.
This is horrible, all out and out horrible!
Thanks for the link to Food For The Poor. I looked up their page about the projects they already had in Haiti, and it was very impressive!
We might also ask for the prayers of the Venerable Pierre Toussaint. He was born in slavery in Haiti and came to New York where he became wealthy. He was a noted philanthropist and a man of deep faith.
[Have written about Toussaint several times. Good that you remembered him; I'd forgotten! admin]
Partners in Development, Inc. is a small non-profit development organization that works in Port-au-Prince. We run the following programs in Haiti: medical clinic/services, microcredit loans for small businesses, child sponsorships, adult literacy programs, home building, and clean water and sanitation. We are looking for donations towards our emergency relief fund for victims of the earthquake. We are also assembling a team of medical professionals and experienced travelers to assist in the aftermath of the earthquake – please contact lisa@pidonline.org for more information about this opportunity.
To donate, follow this link: LINK
I would ask that you consider adding a link to Friends of the Orphans. The group runs an orphanage and a pediatric hospital in Haiti. Here is a link to their Haiti page: link
International Orthodox Christian Charities is also assisting: Link .
Food for the Poor is an excellent organization. The ministry that I’ve worked with in Haiti (Haiti Outreach Ministries) works with them. HOM is much, much smaller, but helps to maintain four church compounds in and around Port-au-Prince. One is the largest church in Cite Soleil. There is a lot of damage at the compounds. Some of you might consider sending some money their way as well. They are all volunteer so 100% of donations go to the Haitians. Thanks for this article, Anchoress.
Add World Vision to the list of charities.
So, the Food for the Poor scandal from a few years back never bothered you at all? Just wondering why you mentioned them and never discussed this previous problem. If you vetted them on a previous blog, then go in peace.
link
I’m a longtime Catholic Relief Services donor myself. At times, they have local office issues but by and large, they have kept up the fight.
[I will "go in peace" and support both agencies, thanks. A scandal a few years back is not representative of this excellent organization, today. -admin]
We have made contact with our orphanages in Haiti. St. Joseph’s Home for Boys completely destroyed. Wings of Hope – heavily damaged but now hosting boys from St. Joseph’s. Trinity House in Jackmel seems to be ok but roads are not passable. Most of our mission work is in the area of Belle Fontaine – 24 villages. No word from there yet. Simply no words for this, only prayers.
How very saddening and heartbreaking. My thoughts and prayers go with all the individuals and families in Haiti. I have also compiled a list, albeit small, of charitable organizations you can donate to to assist the relief efforts.
Thanks for sharing the link to the Food For the Poor donation page.
The CEO of Food for the Poor makes $350,000 a year. Check Charity Navigators
Great coverage.
I d notice something though.
In all the relief groups whee is the “Religion of Peace”?
Link
The above link from Lifesitenews shares that Cross International and Haiti Mission are two organizations to which money can be donated without compromising morals. Links to their websites can be found via the article.
Anchoress or anyone,
I would like to specifically give money to the Archdiocese of Port Au Prince. They have lost their archbishop. They have lost their archdiocesan offices. They have probably lost much more.
Does anyone know how to do this? I know our church collection will give money to the church for Haiti, but how could I designate money for the archdiocese? It’s not as if I mail a check that it will be in any way delivered or received right now.
[Allison, I agree with you - I think right now there is no way to even get those specific funds there. If you could, I don't know who is even there to receive them. Apparently many priests were killed, the seminaries are gone, the sisters and priest residences are gone, the Cathedral is gone. Perhaps set aside the particular gift you want to make for that purpose until there is actually a "there" there? In the meantime I am very glad to see that Dolan and George are calling for nationwide "second collection" for Haiti, that will help many who are unsure how to donate. -admin]
I just spoke to a friend named Ray Seabeck who runs a lay missionary organization I work with – the Missionary Servants of John Paul I. They work directly with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in Haiti.
I have had a hard time contacting him, since his phone has been ringing off the hook constantly. But I did finally talk to him, and he said they have heard very little from inside Haiti. But they have learned that two of the convents of Mother Teresa’s sisters have been destroyed, and a third had to be evacuated because it was threatening to collapse. Nothing seems to be known about the six other convents, or how many sisters have been injured or killed. They are certainly desperately in need of help.
If you want to directly help Mother Teresa’s sisters with relief as well as caring for their own, you can send a check made out to the Missionaries of Charity at their Miami headquarters, so they can have to funds to provide what is most needed.
And why do the lefties always politicize tragedy? So they can use it for policital gain. I don’t blame Obama for anything and certainly not an earthquake. I also don’t blame Bush for Katrina. To people who think that responses are as tightly scripted as an episode of House, you’re sorely mistaken. Quit politicizing this and that goes for Mr. Fineman too.
Prioritize utilization of national assets for national needs. We have hungry, naked and hurt citizens right here. This requires no special knowledge of any foreign country. (That means put your own house in order before building someone else’s. Private resources are up to the private entity to do with as they see fit. Specifically, you do what you want with your non-profits funds, but tax dollars should be spent at their source
That pie graph is meaningless. What does “97% went directly to programs mean”? If any of those programs involve paid staff, then they are just shifting numbers around to conceal the administration costs. Which I’d bet anything that is EXACTLY what they are doing.
I don’t trust people who are that desperate to produce “good” PR. But that doesn’t mean you should try to make a wise decision and help out.
First Things,
As a small organization that works in Haiti we appreciate you listing Providence Ministries on your “ways to help”.
Thank you for all you’re doing to help Haiti in this time of great need.
Blessings,
marcia erickson
providenceinhaiti.org
Beneath the Rubble – Deuteronomy 33:27
Where’s my Hope… beneath the rubble?
Where do I find Strength in this complete destruction?
How can Courage exist when death surrounds me?
How can I see God, in the faces of despair?
“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms”
In the fallen buildings, I am in the dust
In the eyes of orphans, I am the innocent reflection
In the fresh laid tombs, I am still eternal Life
In the souls of the lost, I am the Grace to press on
“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms”
I am the hands that dig and rescue
I am the head that’s bowed in prayer
I am the cries of those who suffer
I am the doctor giving desperate care
Look into the darkness, I am still redeeming Light
In the harrowing brokenness, I am still the Great Physician
For my lost and lonely children, I am still the air they breathe
I remain your everlasting arms of Love… beneath the rubble
our family would love to possibly adopt children who have been left alone without having a family to love them. please contact us if this is at all possible’ we have adopted children before you can reach us at 352-410-2025
Elizabeth,
Thank you for including Food For The Poor in this post about great ways to help Haiti relief efforts — I’m only sorry that I didn’t find it sooner and thank you earlier! We really appreciate your support.
Take care,
Megan@FFP
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