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The tragedy in Haiti and suggestions from Haitians on who we should and shouldn't help. From large organizations to the very small.

The news couldn't be bleaker. January 12th, 2010, Haiti is hit with a 7.0 earthquake near Port-Au-Prince, the capital. For a country that has already suffered so much with political conflict and poverty, this is yet another devastating blow.  It is believed that one third of the country has been affected and that tens of thousands, and maybe hundreds of thousands could be dead.

It is time we join forces to support our brothers and sisters in Haiti. Because it is hard to know who to support during these times, we've been trying to get a lot of information from the ground and from our friends and advisors here.

From our friends from Haiti and from our Haiti advisor, it was suggested we support the following groups: 

Yele Haiti - There is a lot of trust from the Haitian communities who have seen the work done by Yele Haiti and their understanding of the country and how to help effectively.

Text the word “Yele” to 501501 to donate $5 on behalf of the Yéle Foundation, the leading contributor to rebuilding Haiti founded by Wyclef Jean, or visit http://www.yele.org/ 

We have also made Yele Haiti one of the charities our store supports.

Zanmi Laykay has historically working on the ground with children, to support the communities and has been pro-active at getting people help.

http://www.zanmilakay.org/

UNICEF 
www.unicefusa.org/haitiquake or call 1-800-4UNICEF  

https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org.  

Embracing the World - Organization run by Amma Amritanadamayi with and incredible history of significant long term involvement in disaster relief. 
http://www.amma.org/

Cine Institute - A small group who teaches film to teens and young adults in Jacmel and who are helping collect donations and help re-build in that particular city.
http://www.cineinstitute.com/news/ 

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Other groups that  can also help though we didn't get as much direct feedback about them on the ground:

Via text message: 

Text the word “Haiti” to 85944 to donate $5 on behalf of the Rescue Union Mission and MedCorp International.

Text the word “Haiti” to 25383 to donate $5 On behalf of the Internal Rescue Committee.

Text the word “Haiti” to 90999 to donate $10 On behalf of the Red Cross in the U.S.
You may also make a donation at www.redcross.org or by calling 1-800-REDCROSS (1-800-733-2767)

Text the word “Haiti” to 45678 (in Canada only) on behalf of the Salvation Army in Canada. 

For other ways to help:

Mercy Corps established a Haiti Earthquake Fund
www.mercycorps.org or call 1-888-256-1900 

Islamic Relief USA
3655 Wheeler Ave.
Alexandria, Va. 22304
(888) 479-4968

It was suggested that we beware of organizations that have ulterior motives for being in the country, and that even the Haiti embassy should be avoided. There seems to be a lot of distrust that the money will reach those who need it the most quickly.

Connected to: Haiti- the Pearl of the Antilles (Short History of Haiti)  

Connected to: Video updates from Haiti done by Haitian film students