Funds for Haiti

Extend a Hand to Haiti

The devastation and death inflicted on the people of Haiti by the recent earthquake has been overwhelming. Humanitarian organizations are doing tremendous work, accompanied by governments, military units and volunteers to try to save those who can be saved: to provide shelter, food, water and emergency medical assistance in circumstances that are dire. Port au Prince was a chaotic, impoverished, sprawling slum before the quake, and now lies in shambles. Aid is getting there, with great difficulty, and resources for the immediate seem to be being made available through governments and a huge outpouring of donations from around the world. The ability of the system to use resources to best advantage is a challenge.

So how can we do something meaningful, something more personal that could make a real difference for Haitians? Interpeace, the organization I work with, does not have an active program in Haiti, but we have been exploring how best to have an impact on peace in the country for some time. Through that process we met and have been working with Guerda Prévilon, who runs IDEJEN (Initiative pour le Développement des Jeunes), an NGO working with youth who on the margin in Port au Prince and elsewhere in the country. I met her in San Salvador when I was there last week for a workshop, and was incredibly impressed by her commitment, intelligence and compassion. She left after the first day to return to Haiti, and so I did not get to know her as well as I would have liked, but I have been in contact with her since (she and her family were spared by the quake, but colleagues and many of the youth engaged with the organization are lost.) While IDEJEN is well resourced generally for its work (including through USAID as well as IOM, the organization with which I worked for 13 years) it is now faced with incredible challenges and demands that far exceed its mandate and capacity.


I have asked Guerda if she received a small, totally unencumbered contribution, she could apply it completely to a compelling need for which there are no other resources, and she replied immediately that “there are so many youths now who are victims of the quake that the are totally vulnerable and at risk” that any donation to help them would be most appreciated and used immediately. So, I am starting a fund and will transfer it 100% to Guerda in early February though the Interpeace office working on Haiti (Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, Martin Arévalo - program officer). She will identify the best use for the contribution, and will report back as to its use in due course.


Such a contribution should not preclude any contribution that you wish to make to the Red Cross, Partners in Health, MSF etc, but if you would like to participate in a more direct and personal contribution to the people of Haiti, please join me. You can send me a check made out to me or to “Haiti Fund”, and I will provide a full accounting.


Thanks for your consideration,
David
182 Ridge Road, Bowdoinham, ME 04008
+1 207 522-4118