Brighter Way Choir Project: Why We’re Calling You to Sing and Sponsor

I think it is crucial to remember why it is that we’re actually spending these days raising awareness about this choir initiative. It could become easy to get lost in the tweets, facebook posts and links. Today was a really encouraging day for this effort and I’ll share more about that tomorrow- my 24th birthday. But for today, I want to bring us back to the reason. Your voices, your dollars, and your efforts to spread the word are for the people who CARE is helping…and here’s how they’re doing it.

The following is a re-post from the CARE website, used with their permission.

CARE Distributes Food, Water and Supplies to Haiti’s Hardest Hit
Humanitarian Group Partners with Communities to Ensure Safe Delivery of Aid

PORT-AU-PRINCE (January 20, 2010) – CARE continued delivering aid to Haiti’s hardest hit earthquake survivors Wednesday, despite security challenges, broken infrastructure, logistical roadblocks and a severe aftershock that rocked Port-au-Prince in the early morning hours.

Over the last several days, CARE has brought clean water and water purification powder to some 14,000 people, and those efforts are scheduled to ramp up in the days to come. CARE also has distributed high-protein biscuits; 1,500 collapsible water containers; and 1,200 hygiene kits, targeting women left particularly vulnerable. And the organization has procured 5,000 mattresses that will be handed out in the coming days.

Shipments of PUR water purification powder, tents, first aid kits, hygiene kits and blankets are scheduled to arrive in Port-au-Prince today, with generators and more blankets scheduled to arrive later this week. The flow of aid will continue to increase over the coming days and weeks.

To ensure safe and efficient delivery, CARE works with community leaders to prepare and facilitate distributions. At its hub in Leogane, for example, CARE met with the town’s leadership and logistics committees to finalize the distribution plan.

“The community wanted to be involved, and they came to the table with a plan,” recounts Patrick Solomon, senior vice president of CARE’s global support services, who participated in CARE’s efforts in Leogane. “It was inspiring to see the community – and even local Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts – come together with CARE to distribute aid to their neighbors impacted by the earthquake.”

In Leogane, aid distribution took place in the driveway of a telecommunications building, which is temporally occupied by the municipal authorities whose building was destroyed in the quake. The community leaders gave out chits to individuals in need, and when called upon, individuals were escorted by Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts to collect their items before being guided to the exit. Distributions are calm and orderly.

“The distribution in Leogane is an excellent example of how CARE works within communities to safely and successfully distribute much-needed supplies to those who need it most.”

The humanitarian supply chain is getting stronger by the day, and distribution hubs have been established in the neighboring Dominican Republic and Panama, where supplies can be transferred over land or by plane. That has allowed for faster delivery of an increasing supply of aid, and despite its limited capacity the airport has handled more than 600 aircraft in the last week. CARE has sent three logisticians to ensure CARE shipments of aid arrive safely in Port-au-Prince and are quickly loaded onto trucks for swift distribution.

CARE recognizes the following partners for their generous donations and in-kind support of our emergency relief efforts:  Abbott, Baxter, Cargill, CARFAX, Cox Enterprises, Inc., Delta Air Lines, General Mills, Goldman Sachs, Hanesbrands Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group, JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, Pfizer, Potash, Procter & Gamble, Quiznos, Sealift, Symantec Corporation, Teavana, 3M, Troutman Sanders and UPS.

———————————————————-

Please consider donating to CARE on behalf of our project in support of the choirs who have joined us and those who will join with us soon. You can donate easily on our Citizen Effect Project Page.

Until tomorrow

~Amy

Russian rescuers carry Senvilo Ovri, 11, a survivor of the earthquake, out of the remains of a house in Port-au-Prince January 16, 2010. (REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva)