Donating to Haiti? Which charities to give to?

The purpose of this hub is to ask which charities are in Haiti. What are they doing? What do they need and how can you help?

After the immediate emergency searches and crisis teams have finished, there will be alot of work rebuilding - physical buildings, emotional healing and community spirit.

I wish to note here so many people have been effected and the picture I have decided to paint is based on hope. And there is great hope. There is immediate need for medical supplies, food, water and shelter. The basics. There are more than 3 million people effected and this is not just a one off fly in drop some food and clothes off. It is ongoing .. so please remember this and donate what you can.

The Charity Navigator site seems to cover most of the issues I think are relevant to giving support to the people in Haiti. They have a facts section that answers questions you might have and rates different organisations.There are so many organisations listed there, what they do and how they are helping. It really is excellent for people wanting to know the whats and wheres for their charity dollar.

I still want to find out the ones I think are the best and that is what I am working on now.

I dont know about you, but I sometimes find that I tune out a little, not because I dont care, but because I feel overwhelmed and unless I can do something to help, I wish love and healing and send kind thoughts, yet tend not to want to read too much about disaster. Yet I alway do read and listen, .. so maybe it is just that sense of wanting to fix things for others when you are so distant from something - so all you can do is send your thoughts and wishes and leave it up to aid workers and trust that they are doing the best for people.

The photo above is a positive one. It shows the UNDP has already stepped up to the mark and is making a constructive move to actively clean up the damage and helping those who are living in the country itself.

There are some very graphic images available that show the real human impact of Haiti. I didnt even wait for the pictures to become clear before I changed the page I was on. They did though have an impact on me that is now indelably marked on my brain. I am glad that I understand the enormity of the disaster. I am sad that I saw such images.

What I consider a very valid point is made on the good intentions are not enough website, that "adoptions of Haitian children must be stopped until all efforts of reuniting them with their family have been exhausted."

I just wanted to add it here so people can refer back to the page above and discuss, observe and uphold the human rights of the children of Haiti. There is an excellent hub on this ....

If you cannot give cash...

If you cannot give cash and charities are asking for cash donations for a number of reasons, you might find that donating via the hunger site is an excellent option. You can click to give and sponsors donate food to many. There are also links to Haiti specific giving that you might be able to afford.

There is a great explaination why charitable organisations find it difficult to use donated clothes, medicines and tents by a blog on the UK Red Cross site. It may take 4 volunteers time to explain how to set up tents. If you have 500 different tents to set up, how can you show people how to set them up. If medicines are out of date, it costs to destroy them and perishable items may be spoilt. Charities also pay costs for transportation of emergency goods, which are the first priority to get on the ground. Thus, cash donations are prefered. Many have charity shops that you can give goods to and some, like the Red Cross do have Haiti specific items.

That doesnt mean that you or a community group cannot help people directly later. There are always ways you can assist people in ways that they want and need. Be conscious though of the do no harm principle.

A brief thankyou for to all the aid workers. These people do an amazing job and help people through some extremely traumatic experiences and are there when the world media has left. They often carry with them for years the experiences that they work in for many years and many of us dont even think about.