How to Help Haiti

October 4, 2016

The people of Haiti have already been through so much, and still haven’t fully recovered from the 2010 earthquake that leveled so much of their country, making the impact of Hurricane Matthew especially devastating.

Many philanthropic New Jerseyans are asking how they can help the people of Haiti during this especially trying time. We are pleased to suggest the work of the following organizations:

  • Partners in Health – Partners In Health supports 12 health centers in the country’s central region, and its staff members expect to see an influx of patients over the coming days and weeks. “Having lived through—as have all of our colleagues in Haiti—a number of devastating storms including Hannah, Fay, Gustav, and Ike, I want to alert Partners In Health supporters to the gravity of what is likely to follow,” said Dr. Paul Farmer, a co-founder and chief strategist of PIH. “This will not only be acute illness and injury, but also—because of deforestation—there will be flash floods and loss of infrastructure.” DONATE NOW
  • Save the Children – Save the Children is deploying an emergency response team to work with staff and partners on the ground to help the children and families affected by the storm. The organization pre-positioned a stockpile of non-food items, including hygiene kits, baby items, household kits, mosquito nets and jerry cans, which will be used in coming days. Additional necessities will be supplied after the response team conducts an initial evaluation. Save the Children supports 131 schools in Haiti, including 27 in the area of south Grand’Anse and 39 in Port-au Prince. The organization also provides technical assistance in water, sanitation and hygiene and newborn health to the Ministry of Health. DONATE NOW
  • Mercy Corps – Mercy Corps has 32 team members in Haiti and the team has been bracing for the storm and preparing to respond, including organizing assessment teams to deploy to hard-hit areas after the storm passes. Mercy Corps has been reaching out to farmers associations and community groups it works with to spread the word and encourage people to seek shelter. “Based on our experience we anticipate the most pressing needs to be clean drinking water and shelter,” says Jessica Pearl, Haiti Country Director for Mercy Corps. “Haiti is not well-prepared for a major hurricane, and we are particularly concerned about people living in rural areas who are unlikely to be receiving preparedness or evacuation information.” DONATE NOW

We will continue to monitor this situation and provide updates on effective giving opportunities.