Written by Administrator Thursday, 14 January 2010 16:17

News

The Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI) encourages Americans to respond appropriately and responsibly to the earthquake in Haiti. Those who wish to best help the victims in Haiti are asked to donate cash as an alternative to in-kind donations such as clothing and canned goods. Cash donations are widely recognized as the most efficient and effective means of relief, a policy supported by CIDI's funding partner, the United States Agency for International Development's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, and those in the established international disaster response community.

UNA-USA encourages donations to:  

World Food Programme.   This link takes you to the donation site of Friends of the World Food Program which enables Americans to make tax-deductible contributions.  As of January 14, WFP was already feeding 3,000 people in the city of Jacmel, southwest of Port-au-Prince, and gearing up to feed up to 2 million.

UNICEF . This link takes you to the donation site of UNICEF USA which similarly enables Americans to make tax-deductible contributions.

If you wish to volunteer:

If anyone wishes to volunteer, the CIDI website provides information about the types of volunteers who are needed and accepted by most agencies: usually people with relevant language skills, at least ten years' experience in disaster relief, with specific skills in medicine, health, communications and logistics, and willing to spend at least three months.  Full details available on the website.  There is a place to register your availability; relief agencies review the database and independently contact potential volunteers.  See http://www.cidi.org