Alert: Congress has passed legislation enabling taxpayers to claim an itemized deduction on their 2009 tax returns for donations made by March 1 for relief efforts in Haiti. Your donation to The Resource Foundation’s Haiti Emergency Relief Fund is eligible for this deduction.

On Tuesday January 12, 2010 a powerful earthquake rocked the impoverished nation of Haiti, causing widespread damage and destruction in the densely populated areas in and around Port-au-Prince. It is estimated that there are as many as 200,000 casualties and many survivors have been left injured and internally displaced.  Financial damage to the country is in the billions and the United Nations is proposing a $10-billion, five-year assistance-program to support recovery and reconstruction efforts.

Images on the news reflect only part of the reality facing the Haitian people in the country’s devastated areas. Most aid efforts are focusing on the capital of Port-au-Prince, although many other areas were also heavily affected, including crowded towns along the country’s Southern coast. Large numbers of people remain in the streets or in tent settlements in and around the capital, as a majority of the population is now homeless or unable to return home because their houses are no longer livable.

Large numbers of people are moving to other regions of the country, which they had previously left in search of better opportunities in the city, or towards the Dominican border towns of Elías Piña, Jimaní and Dajabón where many are receiving medical care and shelter. Traditionally, much of the economy of thousands of families depended on the commercialization of goods and commodities in these Dominican border towns so it is not surprising that families are moving to locations along the border seeking to return, as much as possible, to a state of normalcy. This new influx of people to areas which already had inadequate infrastructure and limited opportunities presents a new chapter in the situation affecting victims of this disaster.

In response, The Resource Foundation’s local partners, including Esperanza International, MUDE and Adopem, have formulated plans to help affected families rebuild their lives. Support in the form of cash donations remains critical to enable local organizations to continue providing immediate relief over the next couple of weeks and then implement mid- to long-term relief programs.

Donations are being applied to the following activities:

• Immediate aid including food, shelter and medical supplies
• Training on personal and environmental hygiene
• Individual and group counseling and psychosocial support
• Preventive sessions at shelters regarding violence, child abuse and HIV/AIDS
• Training sessions on water and food consumption and preventive health topics
• Economic development, including vocational and microenterprise training and assistance
• Basic education programs that will enable affected students to return and/or remain in school
• Housing reconstruction that is hurricane and earthquake resistant

Relief efforts will be carried out in border communities along the Haitian and Dominican border, located near Elías Piña, Jimaní and Dajabón, and rural communities along Haiti’s central plateau such as Mirebalais, Lascahobas, Belladere, and Hinche.                

Your support will help  6,000 to 8,000 families, who have left Port-au-Prince looking to resettle with family in rural provinces or to rebuild their lives near the Dominican border.

Support relief efforts in Haiti >>

News Flash: The Resource Foundation's President & CEO provides an update on how donors can safety and effectively provide support for Haiti's earthquake victims on Fox 5's Good Day New York. Watch the video >>

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