Dear Friends,
The Haitian relief effort has been historic— a moving example of nations coming together to help a neighbor in need. As Americans, we should carry immense pride in our hearts of how our country, and particularly how the men and women of the U.S. Military, have answered the call to help Haiti rise from the rubble.
As things stand today, the U.S. military presence is being phased out significantly for a number of political and strategic reasons. The medical and food aid that was responsive to the after-effects of the earthquake has transitioned into preparation for the inevitable rainy season that could start at any moment and ultimately the threat of hurricanes come June. This is an emergency that is just beginning. Flooding and outbreak of communicable diseases are certain if shelter and relocation are not achieved. That has become the job of the NGOs. There are some warehouses stocked with food. There are some medical supplies, and there are some tents.
But as we saw after Katrina, governments alone are not enough to respond to a disaster of such magnitude. And governments alone will not save Haiti. It's going to take countless contributions - no matter how small - from individuals who are either willing to write a check, get their hands dirty, or both.
That is why we created the J/P Haitian Relief Organization. We are drawing on an enormous network of emergency response contacts in government and non-government organizations, as well as support from friends internationally, to deliver immediate results to the people of Haiti. We are working closely with the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne, officials in the Dominican Republic, as well as many local mayors, religious and community leaders, and hospital officials to determine the most immediate needs and service those needs as quickly and effectively as possible.
In less than 6 weeks on the ground, we've been effective as follows:
- Our hospital is currently regularly delivers on average 4 births a day and treats on average 150-200 patients a day.
- Our Haitian Participation clinics (ran by Haitians, supplied by us) sees well over 300 patients a day.
- We treat all medical issues sending out only critical patients or those in need of surgery.
- Our Strike team (mobile medical services) sees over 300 people a day treating on average 200. We treat any thing from IV fluid and medication, major wound debreedment, to removal of casts and stitches. We often treat people who had care with in the first couple of weeks after the quake who have never followed up on any medical care.
- We are feeding several smaller camps and orphanages ranging from 300 to 4000. We have distriubted well over 40,000 lbs of rice and other food items thus far.
- Our camp currently houses 5 clinics (including ours), we are supplying 3 with medical supplies and equipment and
feeding all staff. - We now have several child friendly spaces in addition to our school.
- Our doctors have treated more than 40,000 patients on everything from major trauma and communicative diseases to births
- We’ve delivered more than 100,000 pounds of medical supplies
- We currently serve approximately 2,000 meals a day to earthquake victims
- We’ve brought in and distributed approximately 4,000 water filters
- We’ve given local hospitals much needed equipment like an X-ray machine, ventilators, and ultrasound machines
- We’ve cut through bureaucracy and red tape to bring in large shipments of medicine, antibiotics and anesthetics, which are in short (but much needed) supply
- We built a temporary school and emotional trauma center for approximately 300 children and growing
- We’ve arranged for numerous critically ill children to be transported and receive treatment in the U.S.
- We’ve improved communications and are helping to conduct a census in the Club de Pétionville (Petionville Club) golf course area that has been converted into a tent city and now houses about 50,000 Haitian citizens
- We’ve been entirely self-sustainable
For all of our efforts, true recovery seems insurmountable, as the fast-approaching rainy season threatens to un-do all of our efforts and magnify this tragedy tenfold. But we keep calling on a mantra from CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who emailed the following while we were en-route to Haiti after we asked him what life was like on the ground: “Awful. Indelible. Fixable.” The good doctor said. With that, our extraordinary team soldiers on.
Please join our cause. You have our personal pledge and commitment that any and all money donated will be put to good use, swiftly and effectively. You can donate directly here. If you are a doctor, medical student, have experience with disaster relief or want to volunteer, please contact us at help@jphro.org. If you are a corporate sponsor, and would like to talk to us about getting involved, please contact, John Koch at: jkoch@id-pr.com.
Please join our cause. You have our personal pledge and commitment that any and all money donated will be put to good use, swiftly and effectively. You can donate directly here. If you are a doctor, medical student, have experience with disaster relief or want to volunteer, please contact us at help@jphro.org. If you are a corporate sponsor, and would like to talk to us about getting involved, please contact, John Koch at: jkoch@id-pr.com.
Gracias,
J/P HRO
Sean Penn, Director and CEO
J/P HRO
Sean Penn, Director and CEO
