Haiti Earthquake Disaster Relief

Most of you have probably heard about the massive earthquakes that hit Haiti this week. Because my wife and I have some history of medical relief work there, people are asking me where to make donations that will serve Haitians best. Here are some recommendations:

Medical Teams International. This is a terrific organization with a large presence in Haiti. We've traveled under their umbrella to Haiti several times, and often work alongside their people. And we have friends who work at their Portland offices who are now tagging medical supply donations for Haiti.

Haiti Foundation of Hope. This is the organization Sarah and I volunteer with. We serve once a year alongside teams of doctors and nurses in a Haitian-built clinic in the north country. They are incredible people, and one of the best bits of news we received is that the Haitian team lead, Delamy Bizilme, and his family, are safe. The American team leads, Joe and Linda Markee, are arriving on a chartered plane in Port au Prince today, to start medical relief there.

Clean Water for Haiti. Our Portland community partners with them to provide clean water to Haitians via bio-sand filters. They help thousands to better health by introducing their simple filtration systems across the country. Clean water was hard to come by in Haiti before the quakes. As it stands now, water is scarce to completely unavailable in the most effected areas.

Partners in Health. Paul Farmer, the man behind this organization, has been involved with Haiti for years and understands the country's needs as well as anyone. He and his work are the subjects of Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Tracy Kidder's book, 'Mountains Beyond Mountains'.

If you're able, please consider giving to one of these organizations, and spread the word in your communities about the practical ways we can help Haiti. Thanks!