World Concern’s Haiti Director: We Need Help Now

Children are vulnerable after the Haiti earthquake. World Concern humanitarians are trying to reconnect them with living family members.
Children are vulnerable after the Haiti earthquake. World Concern humanitarians are trying to reconnect them with living family members.

The director of World Concern’s humanitarian operations in Haiti called this morning, after a mobile phone network was repaired. Christon Domond said they need our support immediately. The city of Port Au Prince is overwhelmed by dead bodies, and the critical needs for survivors include clean water, medicine, blankets, plastic sheeting – and now – food.

World Concern’s Senior Director of Technical Support (the disaster lady) Merry Fitzpatrick, expects she will be able to fly out of Miami today to assist with the logistics. If a hurricane, civil war or earthquake hit your community, she’s the person you’d want with you, guiding you through the process.

Christon has been able to contact most of the staff, but not all. His family survived. We are also hearing about relatives of staff members who were killed in the earthquake. The primary World Concern building in Haiti remains standing and it is likely that the staff and their families who have lost their homes will live there for the foreseeable future.

World Concern employs more than 100 people in Haiti, a staff of people native to the country, who are trained and ready to respond. Though they may have lost their own homes, and even relatives, they have begun their critical, life-saving work. In the past, they have successfully responded to many disasters, including three 2008 hurricanes.

Seattle-based World Concern has worked in Haiti since 1978 and currently provides hope to 125,000 people. Our work with the poor includes microfinance, agriculture, disaster response and small business development. World Concern works with the poor in 24 countries, with the goal of transforming the lives of those we touch, leading them on a path to self-sustainability.

Worldwide, World Concern offers life, opportunity and hope to more than six million people.

Give online: www.worldconcern.org, or call 1-866-530-5433

Average Cost of Disaster Supplies:

Blankets: $50 for a family of five

Plastic Sheeting: $20 per family. Good for shelter, lining latrines, other uses

Water purification: $10 for 100 gallons

Food: $1 per meal