Haiti : 3 years later … broken promises, missing funds

On Tuesday, January 12, 2010, a catastrophic earthquake struck near Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  Citing UN statistics, 400,000 are still homeless three years after the Haiti earthquake and for-profit companies having found their way into the game have reportedly built temporary housing leaving out internal walls while one emergency after another is forcing those genuinely committed to helping to provide temporary solutions, only a tourniquet for long term problems

Yes, Haiti experienced the worst earthquake to hit the area in more than 200 years. Entire communities, torn apart and as many as 3 million or more people directly affected, including tens of thousands of American citizens who are in Haiti.

We all know that when disaster strikes Shelter box, travels to places like Japan, Bolivia, Africa, the Middle East, Peru and Chile just to name a few and  can help, whether it is Floods, Tsunami or Earthquakes, Shelter box USA provides emergency Shelter and help to Victims of Disaster

In an article in the Miami Herald written on 1/13

“The country is becoming more and more difficult to live in,” said Simin, sitting outside a friend’s one-room home, where she sleeps on the floor with her two children. “We haven’t seen change. People have problems with food, problems with schools, and problems with housing. Once you have a problem with finding a place to sleep, you just might as well just die. There’s no living.”

In April of 2013, hurricane Sandy left a trail of destruction in Haiti and until the issue of housing is resolved, Shelter Box has been there providing shelter. Shelter Box not only was there when Tropical Storm Isaac struck just a couple of months before but Haiti was, and still is, recovering from the 2010 earthquake that left over two million homeless and led to a widespread outbreak of cholera and food shortages. This complex environment made it challenging for the Shelter Box Response Team (SRT) that assessed the need following Sandy.

Haitian aspirations are to have a better life not to live in tents, money being pulled back, broken promises and Haiti’s still unreformed property laws prevent the sale and transfer of government land three years later

The fact is the people of Haiti are migrating to other Caribbean Islands and those who created this mess, made promises, built sub marginal housing need to step up and fulfill their obligations.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/02/04/3216925_p2/haiti-tackles-housing-crisis.html#storylink=cpy Haitians are determined to

I am asking you for $$ for Shelter Box to continue their work!

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/08/3173715/three-years-after-haiti-earthquake.html#storylink=cpy

For more information about Shelter box, please click on the link below

http://www.shelterboxusa.org/

Thank you for visiting my old fundraising page …  I have a new one under construction now

Donating through this website is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to support my fundraising efforts for Shelter Box USA

Many thanks for your support.

Carmen

P.S.

I have faith and determination that my page will raise money to help Shelter box USA. Join me in helping Shelter box provide Shelter for those in need.  Donate!   If you have already donated to Shelter Box USA, thank you.  If you have been meaning to, please take this opportunity to help Shelter Box USA provide shelter and help to victims of Disaster

Jaden Smith’s Earth Day message

With Earth Day only one week away, actor and musician Jaden Smith is supporting Earth Day  Network’s Canopy Project!  Jaden wants  you to join  him to help plant 10 million trees over the next five years in the places  that need them most.  Check out the video:

It’s another way that you can do your part for the planet  this Earth Day.

The Canopy Project plants trees that directly benefit communities, especially the world’s  impoverished communities.

Why trees? Trees reverse the impacts of land degradation and provide  food, energy and income, helping communities to achieve long-term economic and  environmental sustainability. Trees also filter the air, help stave off the  effects of climate change, and more.

“The Canopy Project is trying to plant 10 million trees over the next 5 years… That’s major. We need to get to work.”        – Jaden Smith

Over the past three years, The Canopy Project has planted nearly two  million trees in 18 countries. In Uganda, we planted 350,000 trees in three of  the country’s most poverty-stricken districts. In Haiti, a region devastated by  earthquakes, The Canopy Project planted 500,000 trees. In the United States,  projects to restore urban canopies have been completed in New York, San  Francisco, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Atlanta, Baltimore, Cleveland, Flint, and  Chicago.

Now, we’ve made a commitment to The Global Poverty project to plant 10  million trees around the world over the next five years.

Join  us,  as Jaden Smith has, to make this goal a reality.

- The Earth Day Network Team

CONGRESS: Republican led House adjourned after 3mins of work :::::: the Senate led by Democrats is in session

March 2013

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The Senate stands in adjournment until 2:00pm on Monday, March 11, 2013.

• Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 5:00pm with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.
• Following morning business, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider the following:
  • Executive Calendar #9 Richard Gary Taranto, of Maryland, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Federal Circuit and
  • Executive Calendar #17 Andrew Patrick Gordon, of Nevada, to be United States District Judge for the District of Nevada.
• There will be up to 30 minutes of debate equally divided and controlled between Senators Leahy and Grassley or their designees on the nominations. Upon the use or yielding back of time (at approximately 5:30pm), there will be up to 2 roll call votes on confirmation of the Taranto and Gordon nominations.  It is possible the Gordon nomination is confirmed by voice vote.
• We also hope to begin consideration of H.R.933, the continuing appropriations bill received from the House.

5:30pm The Senate began a roll call vote on confirmation of Executive Calendar #9 Richard Gary Taranto, of Maryland, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Federal Circuit

Confirmed: 91-0

WRAP UP

ROLL CALL VOTE

1)      Confirmation of Executive Calendar #9 Richard Gary Taranto, of Maryland, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Federal Circuit; Confirmed: 91-0

 

LEGISLATIVE ITEMS

Discharged the Environment and Public Works Committee and Passed S.166, A bill to designate the new Interstate Route 70 bridge over the Mississippi River connecting St. Louis, Missouri and southwestern Illinois as the “Stan Musial Memorial Bridge.”

Adopted H.Con.Res.14, permitting the use of the Rotunda of the Capitol for a ceremony as part of the commemoration of the days of remembrance of victims of the Holocaust.

Adopted H.Con.Res.20, permitting the use of the Rotunda of the Capitol for a ceremony to award the Congressional  Gold Medal to Professor Muhammad Yunus.

Adopted S.Res.12, A resolution recognizing the third anniversary of the tragic earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010, honoring those who lost their lives in that earthquake, and expressing continued solidarity with the people of Haiti with a committee-reported amendment to the resolution and a committee-reported amendment to the preamble.

Adopted S.Res.74, Supporting the goals of International Women’s Day.

Completed the Rule 14 process of S.505, to prohibit the use of drones to kill citizens of the United States within the United States. (Cruz)

 

EXECUTIVE ITEMS

Confirmed Executive Calendar #17 Andrew Patrick Gordon, of Nevada, to be United States District Judge for the District of Nevada by voice vote.

 

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Last Floor Action: 3/11/13
10:03:30 A.M. – The Speaker announced
that the House do now adjourn pursuant to a previous special order. The next
meeting is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on March 12, 2013.

Watch Most Recent House Floor Activity

10:00:00 A.M.		The House convened, starting a new legislative day.
10:00:49 A.M.		The Speaker designated the Honorable Frank R. Wolf to act as Speaker pro tempore for today.
10:00:58 A.M.		Today’s prayer was offered by Reverend Michael Wilker, Church of the Reformation, Washington, DC.
10:02:30 A.M.		The Speaker announced approval of the Journal. Pursuant to clause 1, rule I, the Journal stands approved.
10:02:36 A.M.		PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG – The Chair led the House in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
10:03:00 A.M.		The House received a message from the Clerk. Pursuant to the permission granted in Clause 2(h) of Rule II of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Clerk notified the House that she received the following message from the Secretary of the Senate on March 7, 2013 at 5:24 p.m.: Appointments to the Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities.
10:03:20 A.M.		The House received a message from the Clerk. Pursuant to the permission granted in Clause 2(h) of Rule II of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Clerk notified the House that she had received the following message from the Secretary of the Senate on March 7, 2013 at 2:28 p.m.: that Ms. Roberta Johnson of Iowa, and Mr. Norm Bedford of Nevada were appointed to the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance.
10:03:30 A.M.		The Speaker announced that the House do now adjourn pursuant to a previous special order. The next meeting is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on March 12, 2013.

MercyCorps

 

February 2013 Newsletter

Central African Republic: One LRA survivor’s story Last year, a teenage girl arrived at one of Mercy Corps‘ counseling centers. She had been kidnapped by the terrifying Lord’s Resistance Army, raped and forcefully married to a soldier. She finally escaped with her baby two years later, but how could she begin again? Read her story ▸

Top stories

Syrian refugees: A new home full of warmth and laughter Meet one family who finally has protection from freezing temperatures thanks to Mercy Corps’ winterization project in northern Jordan.

Mali: Fighting cuts off food and humanitarian access Vendors have fled and markets have almost entirely shut down in northern Mali. Our teams warn that families already struggling through a hunger crisis will run out of food unless access is restored to the embattled region.

Indonesia: Reaching families displaced by massive floods Our teams distributed emergency supplies as flooding washed through Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, last month and submerged thousands of homes.

Haiti: What does resilience look like? At last month’s annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, leaders focused on how to better prepare for and minimize disasters of the future. In Haiti, we’ve been investing in communities to do just that.

Support Our Work We work in the world’s toughest places to turn crises into opportunity. Your gift helps us deliver food, job training and aid to those who need it most. Donate now ▸

Share her voice. Tell your friends you care about women’s rights in the Central African Republic and share the story of the courageous woman who survived the LRA. Spread the word on Facebook ▸

From the Field Kosovo: New homes after more than a decade of displacement Syrian refugees in Lebanon: Warm coats are a simple source of hope Kenya: Betting on peace as high-stakes elections approach

Video: See how your support changes lives Spend a minute with the people your generosity has touched around the world. Because of you, we are changing these lives — and so many more. Thank you.

Latest Photos DR Congo: Lives spent on the run Timor-Leste: Fighting hunger in a neglected nation Lebanon: New coats for Syrian refugee kids Yemen: A boy’s thank you

Plant trees to fight poverty

 

Last month, Earth Day Network made a major commitment through the Global Poverty Project: We’re going to plant 10 million trees in impoverished areas around the world in five years.  And we need your help to make it happen. For every dollar you donate, we’ll plant one tree. Why trees? Trees reverse the impacts of land degradation and provide food, energy and income, helping communities to achieve long-term economic and environmental sustainability. Trees also filter the air and help stave off the effects of climate change.   With the reality of increasingly unpredictable weather patterns and more frequent and violent storms and floods, tree cover to prevent devastating soil erosion has never been more important. Donate today to plant trees where they’re needed most. It’s the world’s poor whose health and livelihoods suffer the most from the effects of environmental degradation. But while those in poverty bear the brunt of these environmental problems, they contribute very little to the problems’ causes. That’s unjust, and we have to do something about it. You can do something about it through your generous donation to plant trees in the areas of the world where they’ll do the most good for the most vulnerable populations. The planet is losing nearly 15,000,000 hectares of forest each year. Through our Canopy Project, Earth Day Network has been working tirelessly to reverse this devastating deforestation by planting millions of trees in places like Uganda, Brazil, Haiti, Mexico and more. These trees are not only healing the planet, they’re mending local economies and improving the quality of life for those living in extreme poverty. But we have to do more. Please consider contributing to this critical effort today. Thanks for all your support, Kathleen Rogers President, Earth Day Networ

Urgent Appeal for Syrian refugees in Iraq

Urgent Appeal for Syrian refugees in Iraq October 25, 2012 Conflict and natural disasters are displacing families all around the world and ShelterBox needs your help. As a result of Syria’s growing violence, sectarian tensions and economic hardship, a high influx of people have crossed the border into the Kurdistan region. Many displaced families have made their way to the Domiz refugee camp near Duhuk, about 60 kilometers from the Syria/Iraq border. Approximately 15,000 people are living at the camp, with an average of 200 new refugees arriving each day. A ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) is in northern Iraq now, working with the Kurdish organization, Barzani Charity Foundation, to provide aid for the most vulnerable families.  The team is currently distributing ShelterBoxes, including tents with thermal lining and sets of hats and gloves. With winter quickly approaching, the need for “winterized” shelter is more important than ever. Reporting back from the camp, SRT member, Becs Novell talks about the need for winterized shelter. Watch the video now. Because of our generous donors who help us prepare aid in advance of disasters, we were able to respond to this need quickly, and our response team members are actively distributing ShelterBoxes to Syrian families now. But as winter approaches and temperatures drop, there will be a need for more winterized shelter. It’s critical that we secure funding now so we can continue to help these families, as well as families who will be displaced by the next inevitable disasters. In addition to this humanitarian crisis, our teams are responding to disasters in Niger, helping survivors affected by flooding and Malian families who were forced to flee their homes due to ongoing conflict in their country. We also continue to monitor the need of families affected by an earthquake in Iran, flooding in Nigeria and Senegal, and conflict in Jordan; and in the past several months, we’ve deployed teams and equipment to numerous other disaster zones around the world, including Haiti, the Philippines, the US, Italy, Peru, and Russia. We must have equipment packed and ready to go before the next disasters strike. Tents must be ordered in advance. ShelterBoxes must be positioned in strategic locations. Response team members must be trained for the harsh situations they encounter. We must prepare today. We don’t know exactly when disasters will strike. We don’t know exactly where. But we need your help now. When you donate to ShelterBox, you’re helping families rebuild their lives in the wake of disaster—after they’ve lost everything. Please consider making a gift TODAY. Thank you for your continued support. Emily S. Sperling President, ShelterBox USA

EMERGENCY: Winter approachin​g Syrian refugees

DEADLINE TOMORROW. Help us raise $61,824 before tomorrow at midnight. Our deadline is tomorrow and we’re still short: we need to raise $61,824 to reach our $100,000 goal. When you donate to CARE, you’re saying something profound about yourself. You’re seeing someone who is struggling in fear and misery – someone whose life in Syria or elsewhere in the world has been shattered by violence and war, someone who is barely getting by as a refugee in a land that isn’t theirs – and saying, “Yes, I’ll help.” As winter approaches and refugees continue to pour into Jordan, conditions will only get worse: cold, biting winds and freezing nights. Winter could take this brewing crisis and multiply the human misery exponentially. I hope together, we’ll be able to respond to growing needs, and growing suffering, in Jordan – while fighting poverty and suffering by keeping our programs at full strength all over the world. Help families in poverty and crisis in Jordan and around the world right now, just by simply making your tax-deductible gift now. Our team in Jordan is begging us to expand our support for the ever-growing refugee population, but we can’t provide that assistance and continue helping desperate families in places like Sierra Leone, Haiti, and Pakistan without you. Right now support to refugees takes two forms. Cash assistance helps families with their basic needs like food and medicine. Psychosocial support helps refugees – especially children – deal with the agonizing memories of the blood, the violence, and the horrors of war. In August, one of our staff members met a family with four children, a mother, and a grandmother. Nobody knew where the father was – until a fellow refugee with a smart phone saw the father’s body in a video on a TV news show. Now, one of the children has stopped speaking and the hair on one side of her head has fallen out. She is only three or four years old. We simply cannot abandon these children and families. I hope you’ll help us deal with this crisis while also addressing ongoing poverty, hunger, and sickness elsewhere around the world. Our deadline is tomorrow, and we need you to help women, children, and families in crisis in Jordan and around the world. $61,824 to go until we meet our $100,000 goal! Thank you so much for your time, attention, and compassion. Sincerely,   Helene D. Gayle, MD, MPH President and CEO, CARE

Because of our generous supporters, we were ready for Hurricane Isaac. September 4, 2012 We’ve all seen, once again, here in the U.S., the devastating effects of a natural disaster—Hurricane Isaac and its impact on the Gulf Coast. A disaster such as this can wipe out everything a family has, leaving men, women and children vulnerable and exposed. Soon after this hurricane made landfall, ShelterBox USA was in action, sending an assessment team and emergency equipment to the disaster zone. Our team has been working for the past several days and nights to identify families who are in need of assistance and ensure survivors have adequate shelter. To be effective, we must have equipment packed and ready to go BEFORE hurricanes like Isaac make landfall. That’s the key—readiness. Waiting until a disaster hits to act is simply too late. Tents must be ordered months in advance. ShelterBoxes must be positioned in strategic locations. Response team members must be trained for the harsh situations they will encounter. Effectiveness is a direct result of PREPARATION. When you help fund ShelterBox, you’re providing immediate relief to families in the wake of the unthinkable—losing everything. Within the past several months we’ve deployed teams and equipment to numerous disaster zones around the world, including Haiti, South Sudan, the Philippines, Niger, Lebanon, Italy, Peru, and Russia. We never know exactly when disasters will strike. We never know exactly where. It may be halfway around the world. Or it may be, as it is this week, in our own backyard. Please consider making a gift TODAY. Thank you for your support. Emily S. Sperling President, ShelterBox USA

ShelterBox USA … Who they are and What they do – Please donate

Not only provides ShelterBox USA kits to disaster survivors  worldwide, but we also provide disaster-specific equipment—whether  that’s 10,000 sets of hats, gloves and scarves following the Japan  earthquake and tsunami, 20,000 water purification units provided to  survivors of last year’s disaster in Pakistan, or the thousands of tents  sent to Haiti following the earthquake in January 2010. The ShelterBox USA  Solution ensures that we are able to send the most vital aid wherever,  whenever it is needed.

 Donations to this fund are used to procure and deploy all types of  ShelterBox USA aid—including tents, stoves, tool kits, water purification  units or even classroom kits—for multiple disasters. Box numbers are not  assigned to donations to this fund. 

  We rely on your support to prepare for the next inevitable disasters—to  send aid to disaster survivors around the world. The ShelterBox USA  Solution allows us the flexibility to respond instantly to disasters  around the world.

ShelterBox USA

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I support ShelterBox USA … the Take Action button takes you to my donation page … Please Help Keep ShelterBox USA enabled!

© REUTERS/Swoan Parker, courtesy the Thomson Reuters Foundation – AlertNet In times of crisis, CARE can provide both immediate relief and long-term support to the world’s most vulnerable because of supporters like you. Consider a gift today! I wanted to pass along information on the aftermath of Tropical Storm Isaac’s direct hit to Haiti. Early Saturday morning the storm hit Haiti with heavy rains and severe winds, causing power outages, forcing rivers and streams to overflow, and making shelters and houses collapse, in some cases on top of their residents. On my trip to Haiti last week I had the opportunity to visit Carrefour, near Port-au-Prince. Unfortunately, Carrefour is one of the areas hardest hit by this storm. Our country director in Haiti reports that emergency shelters are now leaking and flooding. Water is rushing through poorly constructed drainage, eroding precarious hillsides and ravines, and overwhelming sanitation systems. CARE’s staff in Haiti is hard at work addressing the immediate issues: shelter, clean water, and sanitation. Yesterday we distributed tarps to 1,000 families in Carrefour, where Isaac blew off rooftops and caused flooding. We’re planning to distribute shelter materials like tarps, ropes, and nails to an additional 3,000 families living inside and outside of camps. As residents of Carrefour began dealing with the rubble and damage from the storm, we also began giving out water purification tablets, soaps, shovels, wheelbarrows, picks, and cleaning supplies. Despite all the damage, the situation could have been much worse had the storm reached full hurricane force when it made landfall. We’re relieved that Haiti avoided that disastrous scenario. As ever, we continue to do whatever is needed to help Haiti keep rebuilding back strong. Sincerely, Tolli Love Vice President, CARE P.S. CARE’s commitment to communities in times of crisis extends well beyond immediate relief like clean water, shelter, water purification tablets, and medical care. In Haiti and around the world our staff help empower entire communities to rebuild and make them less vulnerable to natural disasters in the future.  I hope you’ll consider making a gift to support both our emergency response work and long-term poverty fighting programs all around the world.