USAID Responds to Haiti Earthquake
Helping Haiti Recover and Rebuild: The First Six MonthsUSAID was charged by U.S. President Obama to lead the United States government's response to the crisis. Within hours, we mobilized to help the suffering people of Haiti. Six months have passed since the quake, and we continue to help Haiti recover and rebuild. Click here to learn about USAID's programs in Haiti, read on-the-ground accounts, and view a slideshow.
Press Release: U.S. Government Funds Haiti's First Seismic Surveillance StationNovember 19, 2010 PORT-AU-PRINCE/WASHINGTON - The U.S. Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, strengthened the Government of Haiti's ability to detect earthquake activity by funding five new seismometers. The surveillance network transmits timely information through the internet on seismic activities in Port-au-Prince and regions to the North. Read the full press release...
USAID Elections Suport
The 2010-11 presidential and parliamentary elections present an opportunity for Haitian citizens to make choices about who will govern the country during the reconstruction phase. To do so, however, the elections must be transparent, competitive and reflect the will of the people. USAID is contributing to a credible and inclusive electoral process through a $14 million election support program.
Read about USAID’s Support for Haitian Elections.
IMPACTblog: Building Business Opportunities in HaitiSubmitted by Paul Weisenfeld As the U.S. Government works closely with the Government and people of Haiti to rebuild their country, we're seeing encouraging signs of progress that reflect the resilience of the Haitian people. For example, together with the Haitian Government and the international community, we've removed over 881,000 cubic meters of rubble through programs including cash-for-work and vaccinated over 1 million people against highly contagious diseases like polio. But we remain realistic about the magnitude of the challenges facing the earthquake-ravaged country – over 1.6 million displaced Haitians and millions of cubic meters of rubble remain. The U.S. Government is committed to staying with the Haitian people to face these challenges together and build back better. Read the full IMPACTblog post...
Disaster Assistance Update November 19, 2010- As of November 16, Shelter Cluster members had completed more than 19,000 transitional shelters (t-shelters),sufficient to house nearly 96,000 individuals. USAID/OFDA grantees had completed 9,274 t-shelters, more than48 percent of the total.
- Teams of engineers from the habitability assessment project funded by USAID/OFDA and the World Bankcontinue to assess buildings throughout earthquake-affected areas. As of October 29, teams from the Governmentof Haiti (GoH) Ministry of Public Works, Transport, and Communication (MTPTC), the U.N. Office for ProjectServices (UNOPS), and the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF), with assistance from MiyamotoInternational, had assessed 330,819 buildings out of an estimated total of 350,000 to 400,000 buildings that requirehabitability assessments.
Haiti Earthquake Fact Sheet #6 (FY 2011) (pdf, 485kb)
Press Release: Digicel Foundation and U.S. Government Partner to Provide New Schools in Earthquake-Affected Communities in HaitiAugust 25, 2010 PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI (August 25, 2010) - The first school built under an innovative public-private partnership was opened today by the Digicel Foundation and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). École Louis de Borno in Léogâne, the town which was epicenter of the earthquake, now stands ready to welcome 600 primary students when the new school year begins on October 4th. The school is the first of 50 planned by the Digicel Foundation, providing permanent and transitional schools for up to 30,000 children, at two school shifts per day. Under the USAID partnership, some of these schools will be constructed with US military shipping containers which are being converted into school campuses to replace those destroyed in the earthquake. Read the full press release... How You Can Help Donate Money
USAID Adminstrator Dr. Rajiv Shah speaking with President Rene Garcia Preval, along with AMB Lewis Lucke, Special Coordinator for Relief and Reconstruction in Haiti, at the funeral of Archbishop of Port-au-Prince, Monsignor Joseph Serge Miot which was held outside of the National Cathedral in Port-au-Prince.
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Clinton Bush Haiti Fund: Contribute online through ClintonBushHaitiFund.org or text QUAKE to 20222 to charge a $10 donation to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund (the donation will be added to your cell phone bill) Donate $10 to the American Red Cross – charged to your cell phone bill – by texting "HAITI" to "90999."Contribute online to the Red Cross Read about the advantages of monetary donations… Donate GoodsWhile monetary donations are preferred to commodity contributions, there may be rare instances when a commodity contribution would be of value to relief operations. See a list of conditions which are necessary to ensure that a commodity contribution is appropriate… Read about handling appropriate commodity contributions… If a commodity collection has already been made, but there are problems identifying a need in the affected region for the commodities or an organization to accept them, read about some alternate ideas… Volunteer Volunteer opportunities in disaster settings are extremely rare, and are usually limited to people with prior disaster experience and technical skills (such as health, engineering, etc). For opportunities to volunteer overseas in non-disaster settings, visit Serve.gov. Or read about Volunteers for Prosperity, a volunteer program managed by USAID.
HOW TO SUPPORT RELIEF EFFORTS We are all deeply affected by the devastation in Haiti. Our common humanity demands that we act, as does America's leadership and deep ties with Haiti. At the request of President Obama, former Presidents Bush and Clinton are coordinating private assistance and urging Americans to help at www.clintonbushhaitifund.org - You can contribute online through ClintonBushHaitiFund.org.
- Text “QUAKE” to 20222 to charge a $10 donation to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund (the donation will be added to your cell phone bill).
Get Information about Friends or Family - The State Department has set up a web page that will serve as a clearinghouse for information on Haiti: state.gov/haitiquake, including a new tool, the “Person Finder,” to allow people to find and share information on missing loved ones in Haiti.
- The State Department Operations Center has set up the following phone number for Americans seeking information about family members in Haiti: 1-888-407-4747 (due to heavy volume, some callers may receive a recording). You can also send an email to the State Department. Please be aware that communications within Haiti are very difficult at this time.
- The State Department has also partnered with the tech community to launch a free SMS relief information service to help people in Haiti. The text message program allows people with service from Digetel and Voila to text their location and needs to a free short code: "4636." Since the initiative was launched on January 18, NGO partners have received over 2,000 messages, including on food distribution, missing persons, water.
- Whitehouse.gov — The White House website continues to serve as a focal point for information for about the relief effort, including accounting for family and friends in Haiti and contributing to the relief effort.
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