Earthquake in Haiti - American Red Cross - Hawaii State Chapter Post Updated Response - Kaimuki

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Earthquake in Haiti - American Red Cross - Hawaii State Chapter Post Updated Response
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Updated American Red Cross Hawaii State Chapter Response in Haiti

SEND MONEY FOR HAITI RELIEF
Via Internet:
Visit redcross.org
By Phone:
1-800-REDCROSS
Local: 733-2767
By mail:
American Red Cross
P.O. Box 37243
Washington, DC 20013
or
American Red Cross
Hawaii State Chapter
4155 Diamond Head Road
Honolulu, HI 96816
By Text:
You can also text "HAITI" to
"90999" to make an automatic
$10 donation

American Red Cross Hawaii State Chapter - January 2010 Health Calendar
We offer first aid/CPR courses and more!

Honolulu, HI (January 25, 2010) - Relief supplies are arriving more frequently and in larger quantities, and, although some bottlenecks still remain, aid is reaching the survivors in the capital city and outlying
areas.

So far, more than 38 flights carrying Red Cross aid have arrived in Haiti. Additional planes, ships and trucks carrying Red Cross humanitarian assistance are expected every day. Shelter remains an urgent need on the ground. Together with relief partners like the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Red Cross is helping meet temporary shelter needs, whether in camps or in spontaneous settlements, and is working to provide support for host families sheltering the displaced. This immediate relief includes providing family-sized tents and kits with tarps, ropes and tools to construct shelter. At the same time, we are developing a strategy to meet long-term housing reconstruction needs. The American Red Cross and its partners are distributing other relief items - such as hygiene kits, blankets and water containers - for up to 1,000 families (6,000 people) each day. Approximately 3 million pre-packaged meals from the American Red Cross have left Miami via ship and will arrive later this week in Haiti, where we will partner with the UN's World Food Programme to distribute them. On Friday, nearly 70 American Red Cross Creole-speaking volunteers joined the USNS Comfort offshore in Haiti. While aboard, they are serving as interpreters for patients receiving medical care from the U.S. military.

The American Red Cross is in Haiti as a part of the broader and coordinated Red Cross and Red Crescent network. More than 430 Red Cross and Red Crescent workers from around the world are in Haiti supporting thousands of local volunteers. Of that, more than 100 are representing the American Red Cross (Includes the Creole interpreters on the USNS Comfort). Each Red Cross team has its own roles and expertise, and we're all working together. That is a very powerful engine for relief. For example, Red Cross responders from eight countries are treating approximately 500 people each day at medical facilities throughout the capital city. An additional 100-bed Red Cross field hospital arrived this weekend and has been set up in the Carrefour soccer stadium. Others are focused on purifying the water supply available in country and are delivering clean drinking water to 400,000 people each day. So far, more than 2 million liters of water has been distributed. Local Haitian Red Cross volunteers are providing first aid support as well as emotional support for traumatized survivors. A special area has been established at each medical center where volunteers are comforting children, many of who are too young to even understand what happened.

Because of the generosity of donors, people in Haiti will receive more than immediate relief - they will receive resources, support and training from the Red Cross that will help them thrive for years to come. The American Red Cross is applying experience gained following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. For the past five years, we have been constructing water and sanitation systems, providing emotional support and healthcare, building shelters, restoring livelihoods, and preparing communities for the next disaster. We plan to offer a similar level of support in close collaboration with Red Cross partners and other international and local aid organizations in Haiti.

The Red Cross is helping reconnect families that have been separated by the earthquake. The ICRC family links Web site (www.icrc.org/familylinks), designed to help reconnect separated families, has received 24,000 registrations since the earthquake. Approximately 500 names have been removed from the site after families were successfully reconnected. The Red Cross has set up posts, helping 900 people make international phone calls to their families to say they are safe.

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.

Countless requests have come from people wanting to help. The best way to do that is to make a donation to the American Red Cross International Response Fund at redcross.org or by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS. Mobile donors can text Haiti to 90999 to make a $10 contribution. First Lady Michelle Obama released a Public Service Announcement asking people to join her in supporting Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti through the text messaging campaign http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP-GuVuYC38.

Here in Hawaii, donors can also call in donations to the Hawaii Red Cross at 739- 8109, go on-line at www.hawaiiredcross.org or mail donations to American Red Cross, Hawaii State Chapter, 4155 Diamond Head Road, Honolulu, HI 96816. If you would like to donate specifically to the Haiti relief effort, please indicate so on your check or when you call, and your donor intent will be honored.

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Earthquake in Haiti - American Red Cross - Hawaii State Chapter Post Updated Response

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