YMCA at forefront of Haiti earthquake aid
 2010: YMCAs in Haiti and the Dominican Republic are at the forefront of efforts to provide vital aid to the 1.5 million people left homeless following the earthquake on January 12.
The earthquake caused extensive damage in and around the capital, Port-au-Prince - a city already beleaguered with staggering poverty - and killed an estimated 200,000 people.
YMCA’s international relief and development agency, Y-Care International, launched an emergency appeal on January 14 to raise money for its partner organisations to provide vital supplies to those who need its help.
Staff at Haiti YMCA are addressing the immediate needs of the community, despite having lost their building in the earthquake. A second YMCA centre is being used to house the displaced and homeless.
Additional support is being provided via the Dominican Republic YMCA, who have travelled to Port-au-Prince in a convoy with vital supplies of food and blankets. Their convoy also included volunteers and trained relief workers, including doctors.
Funds raised by the appeal are also supporting partner, Action by Churches Together International, who are distributing food, tents, blankets, hygiene kits and medical equipment.
They are supplying healthcare kits to keep 10,000 people going for three months, and water purification kits, which are vital in reducing the risk of outbreaks of cholera and other water-borne diseases. In addition, ACT is providing psycho-social support to those who have been left traumatised by this disaster.
Y-Care president, Terry Waite, said: “The suffering caused by the earthquake in Haiti is truly terrible. What can one say in the face of such a catastrophe? The only immediate response is to do what we can to help the people of that poor country. Please join us in helping deal with this desperate emergency.”
You can donate by clicking here
Or you can contact the Fundraising Team on 020 7549 3175.
Donations can also be made over the counter at the following Building Societies:
Cambridge Building Society
Coventry Building Society
Cumberland Building Society
Kent Reliance Building Society
Norwich & Peterborough Building Society
Nationwide Building Society
Northern Rock Building Society
Progressive Building Society
Skipton Building Society
Stroud & Swindon Building Society
Yorkshire Building Society.
YMCA Norfolk staff and clients can also donate by contacting Nick Nundy
Pictured above is Port-au-Prince after the earthquake. Picture by P A Photos.
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