GlobalGiving Highlight of the Week: Haiti

GLOBALGIVING HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK: HAITI

Since the massive earthquake in 2010, Haiti has struggled to recover. They are still in desperate need of aid in several areas including basic sanitation, clean water, proper housing, medical supplies, and support for thousands of orphaned children.  GlobalGiving is currently featuring 66 projects in Haiti- these are just a few of my favorites:

Increase Job Opportunities in Port au Prince

Provide medical care to Haitian orphans

Vehicle to Transport Disabled Kids in Haiti

Equip the new Mirebalais Hospital in Haiti

A donation as small as $15 will make a huge difference to any one of these projects. You can also set up a monthly or yearly donation if you'd like! I know that every little bit counts, especially to some of these projects that are SO CLOSE to meeting their goal!

Turkey Earthquake Relief Fund

Go to GlobalGiving.org and help the victims of the earthquake in Turkey by donating to the Turkey Earthquake Relief Fund.

A devastating 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Turkey on Sunday, Oct 23, 2011, causing many casualties and several buildings to collapse. At least 240 people were killed and more than 1,000 were injured. The mayor in the region has put out an urgent request for aid to help with disaster relief and recovery efforts.

This fund will support disaster recovery and relief efforts for victims of the 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Turkey on October 23, 2011. The fund will support groups like AKUT and Kizilay through the Turkish Philanthropy Funds, in addition to other groups working on the relief effort.

This project will disburse funds to both international and local organizations in Turkey providing relief and emergency services to victims. We have been in touch with partners working on the ground in Turkey and have confirmed their need for assistance. As we did with our Japan Earthquake fund, we are committed to ensuring that your donation goes to help local relief efforts and will post more details as we have them.

So far:

Total Funding Received to Date: $63,737

Remaining Goal to be Funded: $35,263

Total Funding Goal: $99,000

DONATE HERE

Flooding in Pakistan

5 Million Without Homes After Pakistan Floods Return


With more than 5 million people displaced by this year's floods, government estimates put the number of families in urgent need of emergency shelter at more than 200,000. Many of those suffering now after heavy monsoon rains had only begun to recover from last year's devastating floods.

UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) teams are ramping up their distribution of tents and other emergency aid supplies to families displaced by severe flooding in Pakistan. UNHCR has committed to supplying 70,000 tents and 70,000 emergency aid kits containing household items as well as other relief items to flood victims.

UNHCR is calling on the international community for assistance to rush aid to families in Pakistan who have lost their homes two years in a row.
 
> Donate Now to Help Displaced Families
 

Tell Congress to act- a letter from RI

Dear Supporter,

Today, Somalia is facing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Nearly 25 percent of Somalia’s population has been displaced by ongoing conflict and a food crisis that has affected some 12 million people throughout the entire Horn of Africa. The drought has decimated crops and livestock, forcing millions of refugees to seek help in camps in neighboring Ethiopia and Kenya. Every day the situation worsens throughout the entire region.

Right now, Congress needs to act. Representative Donald Payne has sponsored a Resolution that promotes the U.S. Administration’s current efforts to respond to the crisis and calls on the U.S. government to continue to provide humanitarian assistance to those in need. It also highlights the importance of sustainable agricultural assistance that will prevent this type of tragedy in the future.

We need your help! Please urge your Representative to co-sponsor this resolution.

More than 50 members of Congress have already supported the resolution, but we need your help to call on every Representative to speak out for the victims of this crisis. And if your member has already offered their support, please thank them for their efforts.

Tell Congress to take this important step to end this humanitarian disaster.

Thank you for your support.


Sincerely,

Ariela Blätter
Director of Policy and Advocacy
Refugees International

Sending aid to the South

After the worst tornado storm in decades, this news is coming in from Alabama and surrounding states:

The recovery of more bodies pushed the death toll in Wednesday night's twisters to 318, making the outbreak the deadliest in the U.S. since 1932. The news came shortly after President Barack Obama toured some of the destroyed neighborhoods and met with devastated residents.


"I've never seen devastation like this," Obama said after touring the Tuscaloosa area. "It is heartbreaking."

The powerful tornadoes — more than 160 reported in total — combined with storms to cut a swath of destruction heading west to east. It was the worst U.S. natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which killed up to 1,800 people.

Want to help? Donate to the American Red Cross here

Our thoughs and prayers are with all those affected and their families.

Update on Japan

For us in DC, life is back to normal. Spring is here, and although I couldn't quite make myself go to view the cherry blossoms this year-associated as they are in my Japanese mind with celebration-it's hard not to feel all revved up at the prospect of warmer weather, longer days, and days off. And this year, I feel keenly that it's a luxury to feel this way.

Because for people in Japan, life is full of reminders that it's not back to normal. Aftershocks continue, as you can see here in a map covering just the last week, and my mother tells me you just can't get bottled water in Tokyo ever since the radiation scare that started 22 days ago. And people in the Tohoku area are mourning the 25,000+ people who were killed or are still missing, more likely than not at an evacuation center - for there are still more than 170,000 registered at the official centers. Then there are still others, official numbers unknown, who are squatting in buildings they were able to reach and take shelter in.

It's required extraordinary efforts to keep a semblance of normalcy together in Japan. One of our project leaders has been just buying fuel, shipping it into Japan, and distributing it to people to power their kerosene stoves to stay warm. It's not a long-term solution by any means, but it's badly needed. To help with these efforts, and thanks to more than 30,000 donors and dozens of companies, GlobalGiving and GlobalGiving UK have disbursed more than $3 million to 14 organizations: Architecture for Humanity, Association of Medical Doctors of Asia (AMDA), Association for Aid and Relief (AAR), Civic Force, International Medical Corps, Japan Platform, Japanese Emergency NGOs (JEN), Lifeline Energy, Mercy Corps, Peace Winds, Save the Children, Shelter Box, Shine Humanity, and Telecom for Basic Human Needs (BHN).

But we're also looking at the medium-term transition and a partial return to normal:

-Civic Force has partnered with local carpenters to build bathhouses, making it possible for individuals who have gone weeks without bathing to wash;

-JEN staff and volunteers are removing sludge from public buildings and homes;

-Peace Winds and Mercy Corps have teamed up to train caregivers to help children through the trauma of disaster;

-AMDA has organized movies and sports events and provided exercise equipment to alleviate boredom and restlessness in evacuation centers; and

-The International Medical Corps has partnered with local organizations to provide telephone counseling and training in psychological first aid.

Others have begun to develop long-term plans for recovery. Architecture for Humanity is committed to the physical rebuilding of communities, while Telecom for Basic Human Needs has developed a plan for reestablishing radio infrastructure in collaboration with Japan Platform. You can see - and support - these specific projects on GlobalGiving.org and GlobalGiving.co.uk.

Over the next month or two, we'll be channeling the funds that are still coming in from corporate matching campaigns, cause-marketing promotions, and individual donors. On our blog you can read more about how GlobalGiving's corporate partners are contributing. And in the UK, GlobalGiving UK's partnership with JustGiving continues to provide an easy way for individuals and corporations to fundraise for disaster relief projects. Ocado, the home delivery company, used JustGiving's platform to raise £200,000 from staff and customers for Mercy Corps' work via GlobalGiving UK.

For more real-time updates on our work, you can follow us on Twitter (@GlobalGiving) or "like" our Facebook Page. And updates from the field are all on our "Updates from Japan" page.

Thank you for your support,

Mari Kuraishi and the GlobalGiving Team

GlobalGiving Service in Japan- update

GlobalGiving has almost reached their goal of raising $4,000,000 to help Japan! Thanks so much to all the 34, 686 people who have donated so far. Less than a million dollars left to raise, spread the word!

"This tremor was unlike any I’ve experienced previously, and I’ve lived here for eight years. It was a sustained rolling that made it impossible to stand, almost like vertigo."

- Matt Alt, an American writer and translator living in Japan

Funding Information

Total Funding Received to Date: $3,087,975

Remaining Goal to be Funded: $912,025

Total Funding Goal: $4,000,000 

Japan's tiniest miracle

Amid the silent corpses a baby cried out - and Japan met its tiniest miracle.

On March 14 soldiers from the Japanese Defense Force were going door-to-door, pulling bodies from homes flattened by the earthquake and tsunami in Ishinomaki City, a coastal town northeast of Senda. More accustomed to the crunching of rubble and the sloshing of mud than to the sound of life, they dismissed the baby's cry as a mistake. Until they heard it again.
They made their way to the pile of debris, and carefully removed fragments of wood and slate, shattered glass and rock. And then they saw her: a four-month old baby girl in a pink woolen bear suit.

Go here to read the rest of the article

Japan

To be honest, I have put this post off for several days. Not because I don't care, or don't want to help, but because I have been watching the news and the live footage in Japan has badly hurt my heart. I have seen few things as terrible as the destructin there... and I just haven't had the emotional strength to dwell on a it long enough to write a decent post. But today I decided that avoiding it was helping nobody and the last thing I want to do is not help.

I think this article by GlobalGiving co-founder and Japanese National, Mari Kuraishi sums up March 11th perfectly:

Friday March 11th passed in something of a blur. I woke up, heard about the largest earthquake ever to hit Japan, and started speed dialing my family and friends. Earthquakes happen frequently in Japan, so every couple of years I end up calling, "Just to make sure." But this time, I'd gotten an email in the middle of my night, immediately after the earthquake struck in Japan mid-afternoon, from a friend saying, "This might be it. If anything happens to me, please look out for my daughter." But all circuits were busy. OK, try again later. From the quick snippets of news I saw, neither my family nor friends were anywhere near the epicenter. "Later" eventually got to be too late for me to be hassling people who may have been through a big scare and may have just gotten to sleep. So wait until the end of the day here, when it would be morning in Japan. Distract myself with work.

But working at GlobalGiving requires us to be on top of disasters, and much of the day we were scrambling like crazy to figure out what the scale of the damage was, where our project partners in Japan were, and how we could make sure to channel the outpouring of generosity that was already hitting our servers starting first thing in the morning. So I became glued to livestreamed TV from Japan. I couldn't get away from it. Knowing all I do about how difficult it is for laypeople to help directly, it was difficult to resist the feeling that I needed to get on a plane back home. Maybe I could get through to my friends and family that way.

It's inevitable when disasters happen that commentators point out that philanthropists might want to wait until after the immediate relief phase is over. But as I kept up my stream of emails into Japan, checking on existing organizations we work with, and looking for the right new organizations, I've been struck by how everyone I have been communicating with is so heartened to hear that someone wants to help, that someone out there cares enough from thousands of miles away to reach out.

GlobalGiving is working hard to identify the best local partners on the ground to receive these funds. Already, our immediate disaster response partners are having an impact.

In the coming days we'll continue to identify additional Japanese organizations providing relief following the earthquake and tsunami and will keep you updated by email about how the funds are used and the impact your donation is making.

I was glued to the livestream most of Sunday too. It was Monday morning in Japan and TV reporters were positioned at train stations to cover how people were getting back to work. But many stations unexpectedly were closed and people ended up waiting for taxis instead. Then, the litany of train lines that were not running came on-for close to 5 minutes. That spoke volumes. It only made me realize that I had an unspoken hope that life would start returning to normal-and it wasn't going to. At least for now. The city of Tokyo is at a virtual standstill. Friends in the suburbs are wandering around looking for ATMs with cash and stores with food. Rolling blackouts are finally being implemented. Everyone-including people who weren't directly affected-is going around in a daze.

And yes, I got through to everybody Friday evening. Everyone I know is safe. But to have thousands of people willing to help means more than I can say.

WANT TO HELP???? Here are a few safe options:

text JAPAN to 50555 to give $10

These 3 GlobalGiving projects are focused solely on helping the earthquake and tsunami victims:
1. Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund

2. Emergency Aid to Tsunami & Earthquake Survivors

3. Response to Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

Also, the LDS Church Humanitarian Fund uses donations to provide food, clean water, and shelter to Japan. Go HERE TO DONATE

Haiti: A Year and A Day

Read this awesome article from the New Yorker about the situation in Haiti- a year and a day after the devastating earthquake.

Haiti: the Progress We've Made

by GlobalGiving

Rebuilding Haiti-
One Year After the Earthquake

One year ago today, Haiti was devastated by a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake that killed over 230,000 people and left over a million people homeless. There was a huge outpouring of aid to Haiti, and while many have been helped, at least 1.3 million people are still living in temporary shelters and makeshift camps around Port-au-Prince.

Aid has slowed in recent months and the recent outbreak of Cholera has complicated recovery efforts, highlighting the necessity of helping Haiti rebuild their infrastructure for the long-term, rather than just providing short-term relief.

As we reflect on the progress made and the challenges that remain, we wanted to share projects that are addressing the root cause of problems and will create lasting solutions for the Haitians they benefit.


$25 provides shoes and clothing for an orphan
$30 employs one woman for a week, helping her to send her children to school
$50 provides 2 Rocket stoves plus hands-on training to 2 Haitian women
$100 to supply equipment to a clinic in south west Haiti


All too often, foreign disasters create a mass appeal for aid and provide little evidence or accountability for your donations. GlobalGiving is working to change this. Our earthquake relief projects have been posting incredibly detailed reports on the impact made by donors like you.

In addition, GlobalGiving has two staff members visiting projects in Haiti this week to review their progress. They will be reporting back in the days and weeks to come.

Together, we can help the people of Haiti get the resources that they need to rebuild and lift themselves up.


Best Wishes,
Mari Kuraishi and the GlobalGiving Team

Refugees International says THANKS

To highlight just a few of our successes this year, which all of you have contributed to:


1. After the devastating earthquake in Haiti, our efforts have helped to expand and improve the humanitarian response in Haiti and more than doubled the number of policemen protecting women from gender-based violence. We also are successfully shaping the global debate over effective leadership of aid programs after natural disasters.

2. As the referendum for independence approaches in Sudan this coming January, we have worked at all levels to sound the alarm about the risk of violence between the north and south, prompting humanitarian agencies to launch more effective plans to respond to vulnerable communities. We were also the first to call attention to potential dangers faced by southern Sudanese living in the north, who could lose all citizenship rights and protections if the south opts for independence. Our call to guarantee their safety has been taken up by the U.S. Administration and other international organizations.

3. In Pakistan, we have successfully pressured the Obama administration to cut off funding, training and equipment to Pakistani army units that have committed gross human rights violations. And in response to the catastrophic floods, we issued a groundbreaking report outlining necessary steps the U.S. and international groups must take to prepare for and respond to climate disasters.

You are a critical part of our work. These are just a few of the significant accomplishments RI has achieved in 2010 for displaced people; and there are still so many opportunities for continued impact in 2011. Please support our efforts before December 31st by visiting www.refugeesinternational.org/donate.
 
THANK YOU!!!

Favorite GlobalGIving Project of the Week: Cholera Crisis in Haiti

GlobalGiving is fighting the cholera crisis in Haiti, and

you can help HERE.

Nearly 300 people have died from a cholera outbreak that is threatening the citizens of Haiti. Over 3,000 cases of the disease have been reported and health officials warn that unless appropriate measures are taken, cholera could become endemic in Haiti, much like malaria and tuberculosis. The projects below already have health and relief workers on the ground actively working to prevent the spread of cholera and to treat those who have contracted it. Your support will help provide much needed relief to the citizens of Haiti. On their behalf, we thank you.

Haiti: Still Trapped in the Emergency Phase

Haiti remains in a state of emergency more than ten months after the January 12 earthquake. The recent cholera scare has only emphasized how vulnerable the Haitian people still are. In a September visit to the country, RI found that the humanitarian response led by the United Nations was paralyzed and failing to protect basic human rights. Nearly 1.3 million people remain homeless, living in 1,300 squalid camps where conditions and threats of violence and eviction are ever-present. In addition, many Haitians remain without food, employment, education, or even ways to communicate with the organizations designed to help them. International agencies must provide greater leadership and resources to protect people from harm.

Read more on the World Bridge Blog

Another Goodwill Ambassador: Angelina Jolie

UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, Angelina Jolie, in Pakistan meeting flood survivors.

Her trip comes at a time when Pakistan is falling from the headlines, even though the situation continues to deteriorate by the day.

‎"This situation is on a scale that we've not really seen the likes of," says an emotional Angelina Jolie.

Favorite GlobalGIving Project of the Week: Flood Affected Families Support in Pakistan

Flood Affected Families Support in Pakistan

Project Needs and Beneficiaries
The flood affected families are drinking direct canal water which is contaminated and affects their health as well water borne diseases rapidly spreading through their families. AHD will provide them with Nadi filter units which will give access to safe and clean drinking water at the household level and poor families will be saved from water borne diseases.

Activities
2,000 Nadi filter water units will be provided to 2,000 families access to safe and clean drinking water at their household level and families saved from the water borne diseases.

Funding Information
Total Funding Received to Date: $485
Remaining Goal to be Funded: $35,515
Total Funding Goal: $36,000

Neutrogena & GlobalGiving

Did you know that your beauty routine could help ensure that Senegalese girls get to spend their days in school or contribute to wildlife clean-up in the Gulf Coast?

Now it can, thanks to an innovative campaign Neutrogena has launched with GlobalGiving.

Through August 23rd, Neutrogena is encouraging people to join the Wave for Change. For every Neutrogena Wave® Sonic or Oil-Free Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit product sold, Neutrogena is giving GlobalGiving $1, up to $200,000, to be directed to these GlobalGiving projects: Educate Girls and Fight Poverty in Senegal; Gulf Marine Mammal Research & Rescue Mission; and, Lambi Fund Emergency and Long-Term Relief.

To learn more about these projects, visit the Neutrogena project page on GlobalGiving.

Additionally, by visiting Neutrogena's Facebook page, guests can take a customized quiz that determines the type of cause they would most likely support and will help determine what percentage of funding will be donated to each cause.

Get clear skin and make a difference- it's a win-win!!

Mercado Global

Guatemala is struggling through Tropical Storm Agatha- get an eye-witness update on relief efforts on Mercado Global Blog: Facing the Effects of Tropical Storm Agatha

What is Mercado Global? Its an amazing non-profit org that sells the handcrafts of women in Guatemala online and returns the profits to these women and their communities. Need to buy someone a present? Shop at Mercado Global! 100% of what you pay for these gorgeous things go to help build better homes, schools and lives in rural Guatemala.

It doesn't get much better than that.

They make some really AWESOME stuff- here are a few of my favorites: