Haiti Donations Pour in to Chattanooga Red Cross

Thanks to caring citizens, the Chattanooga area Red Cross expects to send at least $72,000 to the international relief effort taking place in Haiti.

To date the Chattanooga area red Cross has received donations from individuals, churches, schools, businesses and community groups in the amount of $46,571. Another $26,000 has been pledged for a total of $72,571.

A spokesperson said this does not include ongoing collection of donations at area businesses, upcoming events and church fund drives.

“We are overwhelmed by the generosity of the community,” said Barbara Alexander, executive director of the Greater Chattanooga Area American Red Cross. “When it comes to times of need people count on the Red Cross to be there, but we can’t carry out our mission without the support of the American people. With so much to be done we are stunned by the outpouring of support for Haiti and encourage people to do what they can do support the efforts of the relief workers.”

Donations will be sent out immediately to support the efforts outlined below. In just the first week of the Haiti response effort, the American Red Cross has spent or committed $34 million (approximately 25 percent of what has been pledged or received) as of Thursday, January 21.

The infrastructure of Haiti is severely damaged -- airports are clogged, roads are treacherous, and there is no large seaport available. This is causing bottlenecks and making it very difficult to get aid into the hands of survivors. Despite those problems, aid is starting to slowly make its way to those who need help.

We want aid to move faster, too. But it’s going to take government and relief agencies working together quickly to establish security and expand and repair, airports, roads and seaports to get the relief supplies moving.

We know this relief effort will take place in two phases: The short term relief effort is underway now and will continue for many weeks. We are starting to plan for a long term recovery effort that will continue for months, if not years.

In just the first week of the short term relief operation we’ve committed and spent funds in three basic areas: food and water, relief supplies and logistical and support services.

50 percent of what has been committed or spent is being used to bring food and water to earthquake survivors. The American Red Cross is providing more 3 million pre-packaged meals, more than 1 million water purification packets and thousands of jerry cans so people can collect and transport clean drinking water.

30 percent of what has been committed or spent so far is purchasing and distributing relief supplies. This includes items such as blanket, tarps, soap, hygiene supplies, kitchen sets and first aid supplies.

20 percent of what has been committed or spent is providing the logistical support and other items needed to keep the relief effort running. This includes the purchase of vehicles to deliver relief supplies, warehouse space, gasoline, transportation costs and the deployment of our relief specialists. This category also includes the costs associated with the training and deployment of nearly 70 Creole speaking volunteers to the USNS Comfort.

The American Red Cross is one part of the international relief operation in Haiti. While many of these items are being distributed by our own workers on the ground, we are also providing supplies, food and logistical items to other Red Cross societies and groups, such as the World Food Program to assist in their efforts.

This is only the beginning of the American Red Cross relief and recovery effort for Haiti. Over the next several days and weeks, as the international relief effort will grow so will the monetary commitment of the American Red Cross. Right now, it’s important to get relief there as quickly as possible, but also be thoughtful and responsible in how we spend the funds the American people have entrusted to us.

We want to ensure that we manage our money wisely so we can ensure that long term relief is available as well. We are already looking at how the American Red Cross can help meet longer term needs such as providing reliable shelter, water and sanitation systems.

People in Haiti are still in need of basic items like food, water and medical care. It is frustrating for humanitarian organizations, like the American Red Cross, that also wish aid would arrive faster.

It is still difficult to get planes caring humanitarian aid into the Port-au-Prince airport. The roads are heavily congested, and travel by road from the Dominican Republic has increased to an 18-hour journey.

We are working with the U.S. government to discuss how these issues can be alleviated, and we applaud the U.S. Armed Forces, which are on the ground and doing a great job.

Despite all of the logjams and bottlenecks, supplies are slowly getting through. The pipeline to get resources into Haiti was reduced to a straw following the earthquake; we have graduated to a garden hose, but really need it to become a fire hose.

So far, more than 100 tons of Red Cross aid has arrived in Haiti. Planes and trucks carrying Red Cross humanitarian assistance are arriving in the region every day.

Wednesday the American Red Cross and our partners on the ground were able to provide 2,700 people with basic supplies like tarps, hygiene kits, water purification tablets and blankets.

As the pipeline to get to the people in Haiti widens, the American Red Cross will provide large tents for an initial 14,500 people and is working around the clock to find and send more.

The American Red Cross is also sending approximately 3 million pre-packaged meals to Haiti, and will partner with the World Food Program to distribute them to survivors over the weekend.

Thursday, nearly 70 American Red Cross Creole-speaking volunteers have left Miami to join the USNS Comfort offshore in Haiti tomorrow. They will serve as interpreters for patients receiving medical care from the U.S. military.

The American Red Cross is also coordinating shipments of blood and blood products to Haiti at the request of the Pan American Health Organization

The American Red Cross is in Haiti as a part of the broader and coordinated Red Cross and Red Crescent network.

We all have our roles; we all have our expertise, and we’re all working together. That is a very powerful engine for relief.

For example, Red Cross responders from seven countries are treating injuries and performing surgery at hospitals and medical centers throughout the capital city.

Red Cross teams from Latin America and Asia, trained in urban search and rescue, are supporting local authorities.

Others are focused on purifying the water supply available in the country and expect to deliver clean drinking water to 200,000 people (17 settlements) each day by truck.

Local Haitian Red Cross volunteers are providing emotional support for traumatized survivors and providing first aid support.

The ICRC family links Web site (www.icrc.org/familylinks), designed to help reconnect separated families, has received 23,900 registrations since the earthquake. Yesterday (Wednesday), the Red Cross helped more than 340 people in Haiti make international phone calls to their families to say they are safe and well as well as register an additional 178 on the site.