AJWS Responds to the Haiti Emergency

In response to the earthquake on January 12th in Haiti, AJWS has created the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund to send immediate emergency aid to communities affected by this disaster. Particular focus is being placed on aiding populations in the crisis zone that have not already been targeted for large-scale relief, such as poor and rural areas outside Port-au-Prince. AJWS's long-standing partnerships in the region have enabled us to send funding directly to our grantees in hard-hit areas on the ground who have the knowledge and capacity to spend the money effectively where it is most immediately needed.

In the wake of the earthquake, AJWS continues to respond to immediate needs by providing food, shelter and emergency health services.

AJWS is committed to funding long-term recovery efforts as our Haitian grantees rebuild their infrastructure and livelihoods after the immediate crisis has passed. AJWS is supporting the reconstruction of roads, community centers, clinics and schools and will also support the replanting of crops and farms to replenish the local food supply to generate income. Learn more about our grantees' efforts.

President Obama Praises AJWS's Work in Haiti

In his speech at the national prayer breakfast on February 4, President Obama commended AJWS as an example of the "compassion and decency of the American people" following the earthquake in Haiti. The president's remarks about AJWS can be heard at 3:20 into the video.

How you can help

Create your own personal fundraising page for reaching out to friends and family to enlist their support for Haiti or make a contribution to AJWS's Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund.

Images in the Aftermath of Disaster

Photojournalist Evan Abramson accompanied AJWS grantee MUDHA on an aid transfer operation to Haiti from the Dominican Republic this week. View images documenting the relief efforts in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas as the country struggles to recover.

An Update on Haiti: Ruth Messinger

Leonie Hermantin, deputy director of The Lambi Fund of Haiti, joined AJWS president Ruth Messinger on a conference call on January 27. Listen to the recording and learn how AJWS grantees will be responding to the disaster immediately and in the long term.

On the Ground: AJWS's Dominican Grantee Responds to Haiti Crisis

Movimiento de Mujeres Dominico Haitiana (MUDHA)—an AJWS grantee working on risk reduction and emergency response efforts in Haiti and the Dominican Republic for over 10 years—has been organizing the Haitian and Dominican populations to respond to the immediate needs of communities affected by the earthquake. -Read more »

On the Ground: Joe Duplan, KONPAY

Destruction and Neglect Beyond Port-au-Prince

"What's mind boggling is that here we are, five days after the earthquake, and rescue workers have not been able to enter Jacmel to pull people from the wreckage," Duplan reports. "We have also not received relief supplies. Roads are destroyed and seaports and airports are not being used even though the Haitian government is willing and ready with open arms to receive aid." –Read more »

Grantees on the Ground

Donations to AJWS's Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund are currently supporting the efforts of 10 extraordinary grassroots organizations, which are serving the needs of some of the most neglected earthquake victims. These organizations are among AJWS's longstanding grantees in Haiti. They are working around the clock in hard-hit poor and rural areas on the margins of Port-au-Prince that are not being reached by large-scale relief efforts.

AJWS grantees are already working to help communities rebuild their infrastructure and livelihoods. Long-term recovery efforts will enable communities to transition from disaster to development.

Donations to AJWS for Haiti relief are currently supporting the following efforts:

Community-based Organizations
KONPAY is gathering and distributing food from regional farmers and coordinating volunteers to provide shelter, medical assistance, food and water in Jacmel, a region south of Port-au-Prince.	The Lambi Fund of Haiti is supporting peasant groups to obtain food and essential provisions. With AJWS's support, Lambi will respond to communities' immediate needs and conduct reconstruction initiatives such as repairing rainwater cisterns, rebuilding grain mills and sugar cane mills, and helping farmers obtain agricultural materials.
Mouvman Peyizan Rankit (MPR) is coordinating emergency relief efforts and assisting with emergency replanting to prevent famine following the disaster.	Mouvman Peyzan Bayone 2eme Section Communale des Gonaives is coordinating relief efforts and providing emergency health services including education about hygiene and disease prevention.
Oganizasyon Gwoupman Peyizan pou Devlopman 8eme Seksyon Kominal Akaye is coordinating relief efforts and providing emergency health services including education about hygiene and disease prevention.	Red de Encuentro Dominico Haitiano Jacques Viau (REDH-JV) is organizing the Haitian and Haitian-Dominican population in the Dominican Republic to provide humanitarian emergency aid in the communities of Jacmel, Puerto Príncipe, Croix-des-Bouquets and Petionville. The organization will provide medicine, food, material goods and will organize local meetings to coordinate relief efforts.
Movimiento Social-Cultural de los Trabajadores Haitianos (MOSCTHA) a grassroots organization based in the Dominican Republic, has reached Port-au-Prince and the nearby city Jacmel by traveling across the Haitian-Dominican border by truck caravan and boats. It is establishing mobile field hospitals, distributing food, medicine and temporary shelters, and providing disease prevention education and psychosocial support.	Movimiento de Mujeres Dominico Haitiana (MUDHA) has arrived with aid from the neighboring Haitian-Dominican community in the Dominican Republic, focusing primarily on the needs of women that are not normally met by humanitarian aid: feminine hygiene products, undergarments and diapers. MUDHA is also conducting a needs assessment analysis of affected communities and is organizing community workshops to plan for reconstruction efforts.
Strategic Partners
Partners in Health/Zanmi Lasante has mobilized the more than 120 doctors and nearly 500 nurses who work at Zanmi Lasante's sites. It has set up field hospitals in Port-au-Prince and has readied its facilities in the Central Plateau to receive the flow of patients from the disaster zone.	Fonkoze will provide immediate general relief by establishing an emergency operations center, re-opening community banks and providing new loans to borrowers devastated by the earthquake.

Jewish Responses to Disaster

Volunteer Inquiries

AJWS is not seeking volunteers at this time. Individuals have been asked not to fly to Haiti, in order to enable the airport to be used for search and rescue efforts and aid. However, highly skilled volunteers may contact the following organizations to inquire whether their services are needed:

For those interested in how to help in emergency situations, please consult www.interaction.org/how-help