Here is an email our saftey officer, Karen Pardini, just sent out to the team. Karen has a medical background and has served in various capacities at Katrina,in Africa and Haiti.
Text 501501 to donate $5 for earthquake relief . You can also donate directly at www.yele.orgHi Team,
I’ve been working straight out with Yele Haiti since I heard from (our) Kate that there was this huge earthquake! Yele is the group I worked with in Haiti and NYC in the past years.
This morning with a ten-minute warning I ended up on a conference call with the NYC Mayor’s office, FEDEX and the Yele team. This relief mission is unfolding and changing with the speed of light. OPS and LOGS take on a whole new meaning!
We have FEDEX donating two planes and 3 FEDEX collection sites (NYC, Brooklyn and “Little Haiti “in Miami m)on this Saturday. The Coast Guard is flying our medical supplies on Saturday, then a FEDEX plane leaving early next week and another later in the week, both will be loaded with the basic need supplies.
As of now the needs are simple, sheets for shrouds, blankets for the nights, utility candles, energy bars and wind-up/solar flashlights and radios (no batteries).
FEDEX has been generous; Cliff Bars donated 100,000 bars, Timberland one of our sponsors working on donating.
I’m organizing the NYC sight for drop off in the form of “trouble shooting” the site in the moment. I have 100 birth kits arriving plus disposable sheets. Also looking for medical supplies for women’s healthcare. Midwifery teams are poised to go but finding seats on a plane just impossible, private planes are the only way at this point. Wyclef, who started Yele Haiti, rented a plane as soon as the quake hit from the Dominican Republic then left NY after the CNN interview with Anderson Cooper. It took him all day to get into the arena.
The air arrival list for supply planes is becoming longer every hour, hence the days for getting the supplies in are lengthening. FEDEX has been great and as you can imagine so organized. I’m working with Airline Ambassadors, a group of volunteers who I’ve worked with in the past, and they are ready for any work, totally professional.
There are only daylight landings in Port au Prince and the tower is not very functional, Someone waves from the ground to the tower and those in the tower radio to have the pilot look for the person on the ground…crazy!
Yele raised 1 million dollars as of late today through our text donation of $5. To 501501. If nothing else please check out yele.org. we’re working so hard for the people of Haiti,
If I were to have my preference (as if I had a choice) I’d work in Jacmel on the other side of the island. I know the area better… it’s a smaller sea town. The word from people I know is that Jacmel also pan-caked and is on the ground. On a good day the 25 mile road takes about 6 hours or more. Now a rhino can’t even pass. The Jacmel landing field is for only small planes and helicopters, not even sure it’s functional.
Stay in touch,
Karen
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