WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 17, 2010) -- The American public has reached out to help and their support is getting to Haitian earthquake survivors.
The American Red Cross is performing first aid, delivering water, addressing urgent needs and mobilizing a massive response operation in Haiti.
First aid posts have been set up in the streets, where Red Cross workers and volunteers from Haiti and other countries are working side-by-side to clean and stitch up wounds amidst the rubble.
More than 100 Red Cross staff from two dozen nations are supporting several thousand local volunteers, and more Red Cross teams from around the world are en route.
Red Cross workers from around the world will be providing a wide range of help and support, including food, water, field hospitals, emotional support, telecommunications, sanitation facilities and helping restore links between families.
Relief materials are being delivered, and more help is on the way by air, land and sea.
Today (Sunday), the Red Cross is setting up a field hospital in Jacmel which will be able to treat approximately 200 people per day.
The Red Cross has already supplied medical kits to treat 2,000 patients, and hundreds of blankets and plastic sheets have also been distributed.
A Red Cross water trucking program is now providing clean water for about 1,000 people living in a makeshift camp in the Delmas neighborhood. Latrines have also been built in the same area to help address sanitation issues.
Over the weekend, three planes carrying Red Cross humanitarian assistance were expected in the region, delivering a field hospital and needed materials such as tarps, blankets, hygiene items, buckets, shelter supplies and kitchen sets. Another 20,000 relief items should arrive Monday on a cargo plane provided in partnership with FedEx.
In the days ahead, the Red Cross will begin to provide temporary shelters in Haiti. Kits, containing tarps, rope and tools, as well as tents and blankets, will be made available for an initial 20,000 families.
American Red Cross President and CEO Gail McGovern is going to Haiti on Monday with Red Cross leadership from around the world and will visit relief operations.
The Red Cross is training 40-100 Creole-speaking volunteers who will work as translators on the USS Comfort when Haitians will be brought aboard for medical care.
The damage is extensive, and we know that this is going to be a massive and costly long-term recovery operation.
We know that we are going to spend much more than that to help the people of Haiti. The Red Cross has already released $10 million for Haiti relief efforts, and will be adding more. Future allocations will be made once we know more about the situation on the ground in Haiti and the greatest needs for both the short and long term.
§ Terrible times like these bring out the best in people, and we are grateful for the support being given to the American Red Cross.
§ People can donate in support of the relief effort in Haiti at www.redcross.org or by calling 1-800-REDCROSS. Mobile donors can text “Haiti” to 90999 to make a $10 contribution.
The Red Cross is helping reconnect families that have been separated by the earthquake.
As of Sunday morning, more than 21,600 people had registered with a special Red Cross Web site to help people search for their loved ones. The Web site of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) enables people in Haiti and abroad to search for and register the names of relatives missing since the earthquake. The web address is: www.icrc.org/familylinks. People in Haiti are registering to let their loved ones know they are safe and well.