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Slideshow: Villa Olimpica church in Santiago, Chile after the earthquake
Blog: Winchester couple helping quake victims sends dispatch
Times Free Press journalist returns from Haiti, speaks with Channel 3
Slide Show: The Faces of Haiti
Slide Show: Haiti - January 22
Slide Show: Haiti - January 20
Slide Show: Haiti - January 20
Slide Show: Haiti - January 19
Slide Show: Haiti Refugees
Haiti Earthquake page
PDF: Email Account
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Article: UT doctor treating Haitian quake victims
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Slideshow: Haiti Refugees
Flash presentation: Recent high-resolution satellite image of Port-au-Prince
Article: U.S. official: Violence in Haiti hindering aid work
Article: Chattanoogans recount horror tales from Haiti
Article: Quake ignores class divisions of a poor land
Article: Haitians search desperately for missing relatives
Article: Haitian doctor takes 100 patients into his home
Article: As aid pours in, haiti struggles to distribute it
Article: Haitians hold out hope for relatives
Article: Haitians in country illegally can stay for a while
Article: U.S. could take larger security role in Haiti
Article: Enormous Haiti quake toll
Editorial Cartoon: Haiti
Article: George W. Bush, Bill Clinton asked for Haiti help
Article:Chattanooga: Haiti needs worldwide effort, ambassador says
ABOUT HAITI
* Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
* About 54 percent of its more than 9 million residents live in abject poverty.
* Haiti is slightly smaller than Maryland and shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic.
* The population is 95 percent black and 80 percent Roman Catholic.
* French and Creole are the official languages.
* About half the population practices voodoo.
* The nation has four airports with paved runways and is favored by Columbian drug dealers for routing cocaine shipments, in part because of widespread corruption.
Source: CIA World Factbook
GET INVOLVED
Several local organizations are accepting donations or asking for volunteers to help with the relief effort:
*New Salem Baptist Church in Soddy Daisy, Tenn. is accepting donations of medical supplies through Saturday to be sent to a medical clinic operated by Global Outreach Haiti in the village of TiTanyen, 15 miles north of Port-au-Prince. The list of items needed include: bandages and surgical tape of all types; antibiotic creams; Sulfadene or Silvadene burn cremes; supplies to assist open reduction of broken bones; surgical instruments of any type; slings; ace bandages; IV fluids; IV supplies (needles, tubing, etc); non-absorbent and absorbent sutures 3/0 and 4/0; gloves (sterile and non-sterile); splints; casting materials; portable x-ray machine (digital if possible); surgical lights, headlights, etc.; linens, blankets; disposable sheets, pads, etc. For more information, please contact Rev. Alan Rogers at New Salem Baptist Church, 423-842-3078.
* Signal Mountain Bible Church, 4872 Shackleford Ridge Road, Signal Mountain will hold a 1-mile walk and 5k run at 9 a.m. Saturday to raise money for Haiti. Race materials and late registration will be from 7:30 - 8:30 a.m. at the front of the church. Entry forms are available at www.smbible.com or at the church. Entry must be postmarked no later than Sunday for pre-registration. Entry fee is $15.
*On Feb. 12, there will be a container at the SCORE office on Ringgold Rd to collect donations of canned goods, clothing, medicines, and other items to ship to Haiti. It will be sent directly to Haiti by Fed Ex. Anyone wishing to collect items to send to Haiti please take them to SCORE international, 5512 Ringgold Road, East Ridge, TN 37412 on Feb. 12. Items needed: Canned food, clothes (summer clothes for children), medicines and medical supplies, water, generators, personal hygiene items and school supplies.
* Haiti Gospel Mission, a faith-based organization that does education and medical missionary work in Haiti, www.haitigospelmission.org.
* The Greater Chattanooga Area Chapter of the American Red Cross is accepting contributions to the organization’s Disaster Relief Fund that will go to Haiti relief efforts. Donate online at www.chattanoogaredcross.org/donate or send them to the local Red Cross chapter office at 801 McCallie Ave., Chattanooga, TN 37403.
* Children’s Nutrition Program of Haiti, call 495-1122 or visit http://cnphaiti.org
* Score International, call 423-894-7111 or visit https://scoreinternational.org/give. Specify Help Haitians Rapid Response.
* American Haitian Foundation, checks can be mailed to: 3602 Anderson Pike, Signal Mountain, TN 37377 or visit www.americanhaitianfoundation.org.
* The Salvation Army is accepting monetary donations via www.salvationarmyusa.org, 1-800-SAL-ARMY and postal mail at: The Salvation Army World Service Office, International Disaster Relief Fund, P.O. Box 630728, Baltimore, MD 21263-0728; or donors can text the word “HAITI” to 52000 to automatically give $10 to the Salvation Army’s relief efforts. Note that the money will go directly to the Salvation Army's World Service Office.
*The Center for Rural Development of Milot Foundation (CRUDEM) is accepting support for the Hospital Sacre Coeur, a hospital in the north of Haiti. The foundation, based in Ludlow, Maine, was set up in 1968. For more information or to donate, go to www.crudem.org.
* The Samaritan Center will host a matching gift campaign for the disaster relief efforts in Haiti. Since Hurricane Katrina, that account has grown to $8,000, and the Samaritan Center is going to use that money to match any gifts that come in for Haitian disaster relief. Visit www.thesamaritancenter.net or call 423-238-7777.
* Habitat for Humanity International is gathering funds for rebuilding efforts. Area residents can give through www.habitat.org or send donations to: HFH of Greater Chattanooga, 1201 E. Main St., Chattanooga, TN 37408. Please note that the donations are for Haiti.
* Bright School students will decorate wooden bells which will be sold for $5, proceeds going to the Children’s Nutrition Program in Haiti.
* Vision Ministries of Chattanooga, a local church with a multicultural congregation, including Haitians, is accepting donations to coordinate with other organizations. To donate, visit www.visionministries.webs.com or call 423-475-5563.
* Bi-Lo Charities launched a donation program where shoppers can donate to the American Red Cross to assist those in Haiti and, in turn, they will match customer donations up to $25,000. The in-store donation program continues through Feb. 9 at stores in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
* AMG International, visit www.amginternational.org
* The Jean Cadet Restavek Foundation provides direct relief and education opportunities for children in restavek (children who work as household servants because their parents can’t afford to support them). It also funds advocates for these children throughout Haiti and raises global awareness of the system, which takes advantage of the poorest of the poor. Donations can be made at www.restavekfreedom.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donate.start&destination=G or individuals can help raise relief funds by forming a group and inviting friends and family to help: www.restavekfreedom.org/event/restavek.
* Rotary International has set up a fund that anyone can donate to. The fund will be directed by Rotarians who will work with local Rotary Clubs and districts, as well as emergency relief agencies, to meet the most pressing needs of people in affected areas. Anyone can make a $5 donation by texting ROTARY to 90999. Or visit www.Rotary.org to make larger donations.
* Local artist Larry Swetman will donate all the proceeds from his art sales to the relief effort in Haiti. Visit his Web site at www.larryswetman.com.
VOLUNTEERS
Volunteers may travel to Haiti with Score International for $1,200, which includes airfare, meals, lodging, supplies and ground transportation overseas.
Dates include: Jan. 30-Feb. 4 and every Saturday through Thursday for the following six weeks.
For more information, contact Trey Bailey at trey@scoreinternational.org or call 423-894-7111.
TIPS FOR CHARITABLE GIVING:
* Research charities before you contribute. Use sources such as the Better Business Bureau (www.give.org) and GuideStar (www.guidestar.org).
* Be wary of telephone solicitors asking for contributions.
* Never give your credit card, debit card or bank account information to a telephone solicitor.
* If a tax deduction is important to you, make sure the organization has a tax deductible 501(c)3 status with the IRS.
* Watch out for organizations that use questionable techniques such as sending unordered merchandise or invoices after you have turned them down for a donation.
* Citizens can file a complaint against a charitable organization at www.sos.ga.gov/securities.
* For more information, call Georgia Secretary of State’s Securities and Business Regulation Division at 404-656-3920.
Source: Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp
DOCUMENT OFFERS
* The Department of Homeland Security set up a system to document all offers of aid for Haiti from local and state governments so they can be properly utilized as the disaster response effort progresses.
* Civic groups, businesses and individuals are being asked to submit their offers of donations to the Center for International Disaster Information at www.cidi.org.
Contributed Photo
Georges Charles sits next to his brother Jean-Marie Charles in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Mr. Charles didn't hear anything from his brother for about a month after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti in January. He recently returned from a mission trip with the local SCORE International where he reunited with his family.
GET INVOLVED
* If you would like to donate tents, send an e-mail to Georges Charles at gcharles@tva.gov.
THE STORY SO FAR
* On Jan. 12, a 7.0-magnitude hit Haiti, leaving more than 200,000 people dead and one million homeless.
* An estimated 1.2 million Haitians need emergency shelter.
* About 60 percent of those that need shelter have been provided with tents or tarpaulins, and the aim is to have reached everyone with emergency shelter by April 1.
Source: United Nations News Centre
Just when Georges Charles had given up hope of ever seeing his brother again, believing he was lost in the Haitian earthquake, Mr. Charles received a call from a cousin in New York.
His brother was alive.
"It's the most stressful time I've ever been through. Every day I was glued to the TV, hoping I would see him," said the 31-year-old Tennessee Valley Authority engineer.
But by the fourth week, Mr. Charles had lost hope.
"I had basically given up all hope of finding him alive, but friends and family kept saying to me, 'Hang in there, no news is good news,'" he said.
Mr. Charles saw his brother last week during a one-week trip to Haiti with the local organization SCORE International, the first time he'd seen his brother and other Haitian relatives in 24 years, said Mr. Charles, who left the country when he was 7.
"I cried when I first talked to him, I was so happy, but part of me couldn't believe it," he said. "When you hear the number of people who died ... it was ecstatic that it was really him."
More than 200,000 people died as a result of the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck near the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince two months ago. More than 1 million remain homeless and are in need of emergency shelter, according to the United Nations.
"The only thing he asked for when I told him I was coming was a tent," Mr. Charles said. "Tents are a commodity right now. (Even those donated) are being sold on the street for anything between $300 to $3,000."
His brother was in his home in Carrefour, a poor neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, when the earthquake hit, said Mr. Charles, but he managed to escape before the building collapsed behind him.
"He said he couldn't call sooner because everything was chaotic, they were trying to find each other first and survive," he said.
Georges' wife, Patricia, said she was very concerned when her husband said he wanted to go on the mission trip.
"You mainly only hear bad things of Haiti," said Mrs. Charles, who left Haiti when she was 13 years old. "People are hungry, there are no jobs and there's hardly any police."
Mr. Charles arrived in Port-au-Prince on March 5 with a group of about 15 Chattanoogans.
"What hit me (when I arrived) was seeing the needs of the people, how they were hurting, everyone is looking at you with eyes that scream for help" he said. "I felt sad but at the same time I felt there's still hope, this is not a country to give up on."
During the trip, he distributed rice, removed rubble, served as an interpreter and worked in an orphanage where he bonded with the youth whom he now calls "brothers."
"Despite everything, they were still full of joy and appreciated the fact that one of their own was helping them," said Mr. Charles, taking out a letter and a couple of photos the young men gave him before he left.
He said his brother and other relatives survive by doing odd jobs but, like most Haitians affected by the earthquake, they primarily rely on outside help.
His father, who lives in Florida, is planning a trip to Haiti in a couple of months to try to bring Jean-Marie back to the United States, he said.
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