Following the recent earthquake that hit Haiti on 12 January 2010 at 16:53 local time, the Singapore Red Cross (SRC) will assist to channel any unsolicited donations to the International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) for their immediate relief efforts.
Current Situation
The earthquake which measured at a Richter scale of 7.3, caused major damage to Port-au-Prince, Carrefour and Jacmel, all located in the West Province area which has an estimated population of 2.2 million. Several aftershocks followed and it is estimated that over 3 million people have been affected.
Emergency Relief Assistance
The IFRC has deployed a Field Assessment and Coordination Team (FACT) to assess emergency and early recovery needs, including the restoration of livelihoods and permanent shelter. The team is composed of experts in logistics, emergency health, shelter, telecommunications, reporting and communication.
Emergency Response Units (ERU) specialized in relief coordination, water and sanitation, shelter, telecommunications and health is also expected in the next few days to provide much-needed support for the emergency operation, including the deployment of a field hospital with a capacity of attending to 50 patients at a time.
Red Cross volunteers in Haiti are currently assisting the injured and supporting hospitals which does not have enough capacity to deal with this emergency.
The most urgent needs at this time are search and rescue, field hospitals, emergency health, water purification, emergency shelter, logistics and telecommunications.
The IFRC has pre-positioned relief supplies for 3,000 families in Haiti. In Port-au-Prince there are enough pre-positioned supplies for 500 families. These emergency supplies consist of kitchen kits, personal hygiene kits, blankets and containers for storing drinking water.
How you can help?
The IFRC has launched a global emergency appeal fund to help survivors of the earthquake in Haiti. The IFRC seeks to raise at least 10 million swiss franc (USD10 million/6.8 euros), part of which will be used provide initial aid to 20,000 families affected by disaster. The IFRC have already released 500,000 Swiss Francs in the emergency fund to support its relief operations.
“The funds from this appeal will support vital relief operations and will focus on temporary shelter, restoring water and sanitation facilities and providing medical care as well as psychological support to the affected population”, said Mauricio Bustamante, IFRC Operations Coordinator in Panama.
The SRC will not be launching a public appeal in Singapore. This is due to the consideration that several appeals have been made to Singaporeans to help survivors of disasters in our region and as such, does not want to cause donor fatigue. However, should donors wish to make a donation to the IFRC’s emergency appeal fund for Earthquake Haiti, the SRC will assist to channel the monies to IFRC directly. For logistical considerations, the SRC will not be accepting any donations-in-kind, e.g. clothes, food, etc.
Donations can be made through the following:
1) Cheque donations
Donations via cheque can be sent to the Singapore Red Cross @ 15 Penang Lane, Singapore 238486. Please include name, contact details and “Earthquake Haiti” at the back of the cheque.
2) Walk-in donations
Donors may make their cash/cheque donations at the Singapore Red Cross @ 15 Penang Lane (near Dhoby Gaut MRT Station) during its office hours, Mondays to Fridays from 9am to 5.30pm.
For more information on the IFRC relief operation on Earthquake Haiti, please visit www.ifrc.org or the SRC at www.redcross.org.sg
Current Situation
The earthquake which measured at a Richter scale of 7.3, caused major damage to Port-au-Prince, Carrefour and Jacmel, all located in the West Province area which has an estimated population of 2.2 million. Several aftershocks followed and it is estimated that over 3 million people have been affected.
Emergency Relief Assistance
The IFRC has deployed a Field Assessment and Coordination Team (FACT) to assess emergency and early recovery needs, including the restoration of livelihoods and permanent shelter. The team is composed of experts in logistics, emergency health, shelter, telecommunications, reporting and communication.
Emergency Response Units (ERU) specialized in relief coordination, water and sanitation, shelter, telecommunications and health is also expected in the next few days to provide much-needed support for the emergency operation, including the deployment of a field hospital with a capacity of attending to 50 patients at a time.
Red Cross volunteers in Haiti are currently assisting the injured and supporting hospitals which does not have enough capacity to deal with this emergency.
The most urgent needs at this time are search and rescue, field hospitals, emergency health, water purification, emergency shelter, logistics and telecommunications.
The IFRC has pre-positioned relief supplies for 3,000 families in Haiti. In Port-au-Prince there are enough pre-positioned supplies for 500 families. These emergency supplies consist of kitchen kits, personal hygiene kits, blankets and containers for storing drinking water.
How you can help?
The IFRC has launched a global emergency appeal fund to help survivors of the earthquake in Haiti. The IFRC seeks to raise at least 10 million swiss franc (USD10 million/6.8 euros), part of which will be used provide initial aid to 20,000 families affected by disaster. The IFRC have already released 500,000 Swiss Francs in the emergency fund to support its relief operations.
“The funds from this appeal will support vital relief operations and will focus on temporary shelter, restoring water and sanitation facilities and providing medical care as well as psychological support to the affected population”, said Mauricio Bustamante, IFRC Operations Coordinator in Panama.
The SRC will not be launching a public appeal in Singapore. This is due to the consideration that several appeals have been made to Singaporeans to help survivors of disasters in our region and as such, does not want to cause donor fatigue. However, should donors wish to make a donation to the IFRC’s emergency appeal fund for Earthquake Haiti, the SRC will assist to channel the monies to IFRC directly. For logistical considerations, the SRC will not be accepting any donations-in-kind, e.g. clothes, food, etc.
Donations can be made through the following:
1) Cheque donations
Donations via cheque can be sent to the Singapore Red Cross @ 15 Penang Lane, Singapore 238486. Please include name, contact details and “Earthquake Haiti” at the back of the cheque.
2) Walk-in donations
Donors may make their cash/cheque donations at the Singapore Red Cross @ 15 Penang Lane (near Dhoby Gaut MRT Station) during its office hours, Mondays to Fridays from 9am to 5.30pm.
For more information on the IFRC relief operation on Earthquake Haiti, please visit www.ifrc.org or the SRC at www.redcross.org.sg
