Date: 2010/1/16

"HELP HAITI WITH LOVE!"   Global Tzu Chi volunteers mobilize to fundraise for the suffering people in Haiti.  Tzu Chi establishes an emergency communication center in its Dominican Republic office.  Tzu Chi's relief team and large quantities of relief goods and medical supplies are on standby ◎ Tzu Chi USA

(San Dimas, CA)  Tzu Chi Emergency Coordination Center has received words from volunteers on-site in Haiti who previously helped with Tzu Chi’s 2009 relief efforts there.  All the volunteers are safe, according to one of the volunteers.  Exactly one year ago, Tzu Chi volunteers from the US, Dominican Republic and St. Martin traveled to Haiti and met up with local volunteers to provide relief distribution in Port-au-Prince and Cité Soleil after the country suffered from numerous hurricanes.   

According to the volunteer in Haiti, his house is partially damaged but it is still livable, and there is water and occasional electricity in his area.  The volunteer has been traveling to the city center every day, where the situation is chaotic. There is a general need for water purification tablets, gas, cooking oil, salt, IV fluids, antibiotics, and other medical supplies.  Even though his house is partially damaged and he is still searching for his uncle, he will be doing all he can to ensure Tzu Chi’s relief goods will arrive directly to the hands of the survivors.

As of January 15, Tzu Chi has established an emergency communication center at its Dominican Republic office.  According to the volunteers from the Dominican Republic, the seaport at Port-au-Prince is not functional, and the roads from the airport to the city center have not yet been cleared.  Therefore, large amounts of relief aids from around the world are trapped at the airport, and cannot reach the survivors. 

The Coordination Center focuses on three areas for its immediate relief work in Haiti: 1) Relief aid distribution; 2) Medical assistance; 3) Global fundraising efforts.  Tzu Chi’s relief team, including volunteers and doctors from the US and the Dominican Republic, are on standby along with large quantities of relief goods and medical supplies.  The relief team, relief goods and medical supplies are ready to go as soon as an appropriate transportation route is established, so the relief goods and medical supplies can be distributed directly to the survivors.  This is in adherence to Tzu Chi’s principles of international relief work: directness, priority, practicality, respect, timeliness and gratitude. 

Nationwide volunteers and Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA) doctors are being mobilized to provide relief when possible.  Volunteers are needed around the US for fundraisers that will be held on January 16, 17, 23 and 24, and volunteers are also needed to assist with the packing of medical kits in the Los Angeles area.  Fundraisers will also be held around the world as part of Tzu Chi’s global fundraising campaign.  For more information, please contact your local Tzu Chi office. 

The founder of Tzu Chi Foundation, Dharma Master Cheng Yen, continues to urge the public to pray for the suffering people in Haiti and to inspire love from everyone.  The founder said that besides immediate relief, major efforts will be needed for the mid to long term relief work, so let us unite our efforts and continue to pave a path for the future relief work. 

Please continue to send kind thoughts or pray for the people in Haiti, and invite your families and friends to do the same.  Tzu Chi will help to deliver your love directly to the hands of the survivors in Haiti.  Your donation of any amount will go a long way to help the suffering people in Haiti; every cent of donation goes directly to the survivors in Haiti. Together, let us help Haiti with love!

To make a donation, please visit www.us.tzuchi.org , or call 1-888-989-8244 ,  or send your check to 1100 S. Valley Center Ave., San Dimas, CA 91773.  (Your donation is tax deductible in the USA!)

For more information, please visit www.us.tzuchi.org or send an email to info@us.tzuchi.org