In the days since January 12 IRN has received many calls from members and clients: “What can we do?”
IRN is fortunate to have shipped 1,695 tons of relief supplies to Haiti over the past five years—so our staff have a good sense of what can work and what is not realistic. Since the tragedy hit last week we’ve been working directly with several of our nonprofit partners to develop an appropriate plan of action.
After a tragedy like the Haiti earthquake, the relief response unrolls in three broad phases:
Lifesaving and Survival Supplies: Food, water, medicine, urgent-care medical supplies, tents, tarps, generators;
Stabilization Supplies: Medical equipment, clothing, linens, mattresses, living necessities (e.g., stoves, cooking supplies);
Materials for Reconstruction: Building materials, furniture, beds, medical furnishings, school furnishings.
IRN’s place in this hierarchy is primarily in the second and third phases: Stabilization and Reconstruction. So for IRN, our members and clients, here’s what we can do:
Phase 1 – Survival. Send money. All of our charitable partners tell us the same thing: To buy food and medicine and survival supplies, pay for transportation, put staff in the field, clear wreckage and rebuild infrastructure, the personnel on the ground in Haiti are best positioned to determine what is needed. Money is the most flexible and useful contribution. Links to several of our partner organizations are available on the right side of this page.
Phase 2 – Stabilization. Of most value from IRN’s members and clients are medical supplies and equipment. We will be reaching out directly and through partner organizations to channel these supplies to Haiti from IRN members and clients. Additionally, we can assist organizations to collect and ship materials like clothing, linens, kitchen supplies, and other nondurables. Please reach us through our request page to request more information.
Phase 3 – Reconstruction. Durable assets like furniture and building materials will begin to flow to Haiti starting two to three months. With hundreds of thousands of homes and schools and clinics and businesses destroyed by the earthquake, the need for these materials in large quantities will continue for years. IRN is starting to plan now for spring/summer projects that will provide durable relief assets not only to Haiti, but to other areas affected by poverty and natural disaster. It’s important to begin planning now so that materials can flow smoothly and as needed. So please let IRN know if you have spring/summer projects that can provide furnishings and equipment for Haiti relief – or storage areas, warehouses, wherever you have excess assets that can be used to rebuild damaged lives and communities.
Please, call IRN 866-229-1962 or email Mark Berry or Laura Ireland or reach us through our request page to discuss how we can work together to provide relief to Haitians, and others, who are so desperately in need.