Donate Haiti Prayer Resources Haiti Deployment Diary International News Haiti earthquake: First hand account from Disaster co-ordinator

On the 12th January 2010 a catastrophic earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 struck the island of Haiti. Tens of thousands of people died and millions more made homeless in a few minutes of terror. The Salvation Army has been serving the people of Haiti for over 60 years. We have only begun.

26 February 2010
Don't miss tonight's American Idol on ITV2 at 9pm: recent winner Kris Allen shown visiting a Salvation Army relief centre in Haiti

This evening on ITV2 at 9pm TV show American Idol will feature recent winner Kris Allen visiting a Salvation Army relief camp in Haiti

Allen spent a day visiting four different sites across Port-au-Prince as part of an awareness raising campaign by the United Nations Foundation. The Salvation Army camp was chosen for broadcast as a good representation of the challenges and innovative relief work since January's earthquake struck the Caribbean island.

In Friday evening's broadcast eagle-eyed viewers may catch a glimpse of Salvation Army minister Major Cedric Hills, a corps minister based in Portsmouth deployed to Haiti for a month as part of the church and charity's International Emergency Services team.

On meeting Kris Allen, Major Cedric Hills wrote on his blog: ‘It was good to see him - he was very friendly and he made quite an impact on the families. My hope is that his visit will keep the interest in Haiti alive and help promote the on-going work.'

Check out tonight's programme on ITV2 at 9pm.

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10 February 2010: Survivor stories from Haiti 

Major Kelly Pontsler, an American Salvation Army officer serving as the Army's Public Information Officer in Haiti, shares stories of people linked to The Salvation Army's emergency relief effort:


1) Jean Robert Bernadin

What do you do when life as you know it is brought crashing down? The testimony of Jean Robert Bernadin is that you have to keep going. The earthquake that ripped through Port-au-Prince on 12 January took Jean Robert's wife, mother and livelihood but he refused to give up and now he is helping The Salvation Army to provide relief aid to many thousands of fellow-Haitians.

Jean Robert was employed by the United Nations but when the UN facilities in Port-au-Prince were destroyed his job went with them. Not a man to sit on his hands, Jean Robert headed to the airport compound in Port-au-Prince to look for work. It was there that he met the Salvation Army logistics team. Still wearing his UN identification, he was taken on for a day's work, moving goods. His focus and work ethic were evident from the start and one day quickly became two, then three.

Jean Robert describes the change in his circumstances without self-pity or anger. Work, he says, is therapeutic. He doesn't intend to forget the past, he misses his wife and mother immensely, but his focus is on the future. Now the sole provider for two teenagers and an infant, he knows he has a job to do - to raise those children and raise them well. And he will do whatever it takes.

Jean Robert has now joined The Salvation Army's emergency response team as an assistant for logistics. His good nature, skills and leadership ability have made him indispensable on the ground. And the relief work of The Salvation Army is better because of Jean Robert.


2) 'Dora' and 'Boaz'

The resilience of children is remarkable. Judging from the smiles on the faces of two small girls currently living in the Salvation Army compound in the Delmas 2 area of Port-au-Prince, life is fine - and yet, taking a quick glance at their surroundings, it's hard to imagine how they can be so cheerful.

Last Saturday (6 February) was distribution day. A joint effort between The Salvation Army and World Concern delivered hygiene kits and water jugs to the 3,200 registered families living in the camp adjacent to the Army's property. As there was an abundance of helping hands available to distribute the goods, I stepped back to observe the bigger scene.

The day was warm and the Salvation Army compound was dusty, as usual. Human waste and other debris continues to pile higher every day in the trench that cuts through The Salvation Army's property. The stench is overwhelming. The courtyard of the former divisional headquarters compound has become a tent city, housing people forced from their homes by the earthquake. Sanitation is modest - a bucket of water is still a luxury.

In the midst of this live two girls aged six and three years. Last Saturday they wore stickers with cartoon characters on their clothes as they ran and danced and laughed in the bright sun. One had a Dora the Explorer sticker and the other wore a Bratz sticker. We couldn't get them to tell us their names so we used their stickers as inspiration and called them Dora and Boaz, which seem to please them! Oblivious to the smell, unconcerned by the distribution across the way, these girls were full of life. Conversing interchangeably in French and Creole, they had much to say in between bursts of laughter.

I played with 'Dora' and 'Boaz', took photos and enjoyed some girl talk as their families looked on with broad grins of approval. Who knew that such a huge pocket of joy would be found inside a dusty compound that day, bundled up in the form of two little girls?

What the future holds for these children remains to be seen. But for one brief moment on a Saturday afternoon they had no cares in the world. Nor did I.

The Salvation Army responded immediately to the earthquake in Haiti, with local Salvationists quickly joined by international personnel. In addition to providing to date around 1.5 million meals, The Salvation Army has assumed responsibility for the care of 20,000 people living near its compound in Port-au-Prince. A medical clinic continues to treat more than 250 people a day, with several transfers daily to hospital. Salvation Army relief work is also taking place in Petit Goâve, Jacmel, Lafferonny and Balan.

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09 February 2010: Salvation Army workers in Haiti celebrate miracle of man who survived under rubble for 28 days

Salvation Army medical staff in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, have played a part in the miraculous survival of 28-year-old Evan Ocinia, who was pulled from the rubble on Monday 8 February, 28 days after the earthquake brought devastation to the region.

Evan was taken to the Salvation Army clinic at its compound in the Delmas 2 area of Port-au-Prince after being pulled from the rubble in the nearby Lionshead marketplace. Two men were digging through the rubble when Evan called out to them. The men who found Evan knew The Salvation Army had a 'hospital' nearby.

Evan was extremely dehydrated and had skin wounds but he did not appear to have any critical wounds or broken bones. He was able to hold his head up on his own and take sips of water from the doctor who accompanied Salvation Army personnel transporting him to the University of Miami Hospital which is located next to the airport in Port-au-Prince.

The Salvation Army has taken responsibility for the care of 20,000 people living in temporary shelter near its Port-au-Prince compound. Its medical clinic continues to treat more than 250 people a day on-site, with several transfers daily to the university hospital.

Eight babies have been delivered at the clinic since the earthquake. The fifth baby - yet to be named - arrived at 8 am, before the clinic opened, and so was delivered outdoors, in the courtyard. The baby girl and her mother Louester - a resident of the camp under the supervision of The Salvation Army - are doing well.

Salvation Army personnel have been sent to Petit Goâve and Jacmel, to assess the needs and formulate a response. The Salvation Army has also commenced distribution of food and essential non-food items to people living in the corridor south-east of Port-au-Prince. Affectionately dubbed the 'Balan Express', the initial run targeted the communities of Lafferonny and Balan.

The Salvation Army's 20-foot truck set out with 110 boxes of prepared food (equivalent to 9,504 individual meals), 330 gallons of purified drinking water, 38 hygiene kits and 39 tents to be divided between the two cities. The truck arrived in Port-au-Prince last week just in time to begin this essential support to these smaller outlying communities. It was a gift from the Salvation Army World Service Office (SAWSO) in the USA.

This food distribution brings the number of meals given out by The Salvation Army to more than 1.5 million, with another 2.5 million meals scheduled for delivery.

An additional 145 tents have been provided for distribution by the Protestant Federation, as well as through Salvation Army units in Carrefour, Petit Goâve and Port-au-Prince.

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THE Salvation Army in Haiti has now distributed more than one million meals in its response to the earthquake. The most recent distribution alone saw more than half a million meals given out in four hours. The organisation continues to work alongside other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and agencies, and it has now formed a good working relationship with the US Army's 82nd Airborne Division.

Late on Friday 29 January an officer in charge of the US 82nd Airborne Division requested that The Salvation Army conduct a distribution in the most dangerous part of Port-au-Prince, the capital city of Haiti. He agreed to provide security for this event and for the next distribution planned on Monday. Both distributions proceeded without incident and there is now a very effective and valued relationship with both the United Nations and the 82nd Airborne Division.

Major Kelly Pontsler, Public Information Officer in Haiti, describes what she saw: 'At 2pm the convoy of trucks arrived, escorted by four vehicles carrying approximately 40 members of the US 82nd Airborne Division. Within minutes of their arrival, the container trucks were in position, Salvation Army and military personnel had taken their places, the doors were opened and food began to move.

'For the dozens of staff and volunteers on-site for this distribution, this was about service. For the thousands of displaced people gathered on the dusty road, this was about continued survival.

'As smoke billowed from the ravine of smouldering rubbish which runs along the narrow road, family members followed in turn to present their food ration card for a stamp. As the line inched forward, each bearer of a card received food. The packages - containing rice, beans, and vegetables - provide a family of five with a week's worth of nutrition. An estimated 552,000 meals were distributed in less than four hours.'

Medical treatment continues to be provided, with an average of well over 200 people being treated each day. Lieut-Colonel Lindsay Rowe, Chief Secretary for The Salvation Army's Caribbean Territory, says: 'The work being done by these dedicated doctors, nurses and support staff is truly amazing. I stood in awe as they engaged in complex medical procedures with very limited medical resources at their disposal.'

This was the Colonel's first visit to Haiti since the earthquake. He writes: 'Nothing could have prepared me for what I would see and experience as I arrived in the crumbled city of Port-au-Prince. The sights, sounds and smells confronted me with the magnitude of this earthquake like no other medium possibly could.

'The city of Port-au-Prince lies in ruins - a mass of rubble and debris. Many of the buildings that appear to have survived the 33 seconds when the earth trembled are in fact structurally compromised and will need to be destroyed.'

The Salvation Army compound, in the heart of one of the poorest and most dangerous areas of the city, is made up of a school for 1,500 students, a children's home for 52 orphans, a medical clinic that serves more than 200 patients each day, a 1,000-seat corps (church) building, the divisional headquarters for Haiti Division, staff apartments and a conference centre, several unattached officers' quarters and an administration building. All but the school building are unsafe and will need to be rebuilt.

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Haiti Update 27 January: More supplies and relief reach Haitians

Another airplane with an additional 52,000 pounds of relief supplies touched down at the airport at Port-au-Prince, Haiti, carrying 350,000 meals, 18,480 gallons of water, 260 tents as well as tarps, baby items and assorted medical supplies. This brings the total weight of supplies delivered to Haiti so far to 132,000 pounds. 


Salvation Army personnel and volunteers helped distribute more than 231,000 meals to displaced families located around the Salvation Army's main compound in Port-au-Prince with the help of the US Army's 82nd Airborne. Team members on the ground have reported that food distributions are going smoothly. In sharp contrast to stories of angry and unruly crowds at these types of events, The Salvation Army actually experienced spontaneous applause from the people gathered following a recent distribution.

Classes for 100 preschoolers in Port-au-Prince were held for the second day today in makeshift classrooms, representing a huge step in starting to return some semblance of normalcy. Twelve footballs were quickly snapped up by local children.

Medical treatment also continues with more than 300 people receiving various forms of aid. Thankfully, the trend of illnesses and injuries being presented at the clinic seems to be less traumatic than ailments seen in previous days.

In addition to more than a quarter million meals distributed, team members also provided more than 1,600 gallon jugs of water and 12,000 individual bottles of water.

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Monday 25 January: Salvation Army looking after more than 20,000 people made homeless by the earthquake.

The Salvation Army provides water to people living on and around a soccer arena

The Salvation Army is helping thousands of Haitians who've set up home in a football field behind the organisation's main distribution centre in the St. Martin area of Port-au-Prince.

The United Nations (UN) has designated The Salvation Army as the lead agency for the football stadium and another plaza, which are both adjacent to the compound. This designation gives The Salvation Army official responsibility to care for more than 20,000 people who have been made homeless by the earthquake.

Workers on the ground have observed that food is such a desperate need that many people, though seriously injured, will line up to receive food BEFORE seeking medical treatment because they feel the lack of food is the greater threat to their immediate survival.

Families occupying the field have received more than 24,000 meal kits, provided by the UN World Food Program, which are enough to supply a family with five days of food. A 10,000 gallon water purification system is also operational.

A mobile canteen also distributes food and water to villages and outlying areas of Port-au-Prince. UN security personnel have been providing assistance to ensure an efficient and orderly distribution process.

The Salvation Army is working with the Haitian government, the U.S. Military, FEMA, the UN, other NGOs and its corporate partners to implement a broad response to the disaster. Team members continue to attend UN cluster meetings to coordinate Salvation Army relief activities with other major organisations and ensure the most efficient use of resources and efficient allocation of precious relief materials and services.

A doctor from partner agency Doctors Without Borders treats a baby in the Salvation Army clinic

Small planes containing medical supplies and Salvation Army relief workers have been arriving in Haiti from Miami since Friday, 15 January. More than 250 people a day are receiving medical aid from Salvation Army doctors, nurses, paramedics and other specialists trained in medical care. These medical teams have delivered several babies at the main compound and have also been dispatched to various orphanages in the area to help children and infants who have received little help since the earthquake.

An assessment team is investigating adding Petit Goave, some 68km south of the city and with a population of 12,000 people, to The Salvation Army's service delivery sites. It has been difficult for aid to reach the area because of excessive debris which has blocked the roadways.

The Salvation Army is encouraged to see that opportunities for shipping and receiving aid supplies are beginning to increase. The main dockyard area of Port au Prince, which had been rendered unusable by the earthquake, is now being repaired and is becoming accessible to supply boats. Supplies are also being shipped by air via Santo Domingo and delivered by road to Port-au-Prince.

In a small sign that life will return to normal, more than a week after Haiti's earthquake, The Salvation Army has re-opened a school in a temporary site at the compound in Port-au-Prince. Two of the school's main buildings were destroyed in the earthquake and people are too terrified to enter buildings that are still standing. Still, Salvation Army relief workers will provide children aged three to six years old with security, nutrition and medical assistance as needed, in a make-shift school day. Prior to the earthquake, 1,500 children attended The Salvation Army school each day.

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Thursday 21 January: Up to 15,000 people looking to The Salvation Army for assistance

More than 700 Salvation Army workers permanently stationed in Haiti are being supported in their earthquake disaster response efforts by the international Salvation Army (at work in 119 countries).

The Salvation Army's efforts are focused in the second most dangerous area of the island, the Delmas/St Martin area of Port-au-Prince. The church and charity organisation estimates up to 15,000 people there are looking to The Salvation Army for assistance at its distribution and feeding centre, and nearby clinic.

Captain Jean Laurore Clenat translates as a doctor examines a patient at the clinic in Delmas

The initial response has been aimed at helping people survive. This life-saving effort concentrates on getting food, water and shelter to as many people as possible. Once the emergency situation becomes stabilised, Salvation Army teams will be able to turn their attention to the long task of recovery and rebuilding. However, this will be some time in occurring as urgent life-saving needs require the full attention of all available Salvation Army emergency personnel.

Yesterday (Wednesday 20 Jan) Haiti was rocked by yet another earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale. This aftershock is posing problems for relief workers and their attempts to distribute much needed food and water.

On Tuesday (19 Jan) Salvation Army officers (ministers) and volunteers served 10,000 meals from its distribution and feeding centre. More meals of rice and beans arrived yesterday, though the dangerous conditions are hampering deliveries. The team is in urgent need of medical supplies, food, water, and personal hygiene items.

Volunteers off-load supplies arriving at the Army's distribution centre in Port au Prince

Immediately after the earthquake a Salvation Army clinic began functioning as a triage with victims showing up immediately for treatment. Another baby was born in the clinic early yesterday morning. With eight doctors at the clinic and two surgical rooms for major injuries established, the medical team served more than 200 patients on Monday (18 Jan) and some 300 patients on Tuesday.

These doctors are but a few of the dozens of doctors, nurses and other medical specialists from the US, Canada, the UK and other countries serving hundreds of people each day in Port au Prince and elsewhere in Haiti.

The Haiti response team has been able to set up tents on The Salvation Army's compound, with plans in place for the arrival of additional tents.

Salvation Army volunteers distribute rice and beans in Port au Prince.

The situation on the ground in Haiti remains unstable with security posing a major challenge for all relief agencies and the danger of aftershocks making it unsafe to approach buildings that have been damaged by the first quake. For this reason The Salvation Army is delaying the deployment of additional personnel other than those who are specifically invited to join the existing team because their skills are deemed essentially to the current operation.

The Salvation Army in Jamaica has prepared four large containers, over 2,000 boxes, to join a shipment from Food for the Poor. The containers will be shipped by boat from Kingston to arrive at either Cap Haitia or Port au Prince. Around the world The Salvation Army is working with corporate partners and vendors to send bulk food, quantities of pre-packaged meals, bottled water, tents, lanterns and other supplies, along with several 15,000-gallon water purification units and multiple mobile hospitals.

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Wednesday 20 January: Salvation Army Teams in Haiti Provide Food and Medical Aid

ALTHOUGH severely suffering from the effects of the 7.0 earhquake that devastated much of Haiti a week ago, The Salvation Army in that country has been fully mobilised in reaching out to help others.

The initial response has been aimed at helping people survive. This life-saving effort concentrates on getting food, water and shelter to as many people as possible and has involved more than 700 Salvation Army personnel from Haiti.

The local Salvation Army emergency response is being supported by international Salvation Army teams which have assisted in setting up staging areas in Kingston, Jamaica, and south Florida, US, and arranging logistics on the ground in Port-au-Prince. The supply lines established have already helped deliver skilled disaster relief workers, medical teams and supplies to those who have been affected.

Teams distributed a one-week supply of food to 6,000 families. This is just a drop in the bucket compared to the enormous population still awaiting food and water. One million prepared meals should arrive from the US today.

The Salvation Army around the world is working with corporate partners and vendors to send bulk food, quantities of pre-packaged meals, bottled water, tents, lanterns and other supplies, along with several 15,000-gallon water purification units and multiple mobile hospitals.

These babies are now being cared for in a Salvation Army Childrens home

Once the emergency situation becomes stabilised, Salvation Army teams will be able to turn their attention to the long task of recovery and rebuilding. However, this will be some time in occurring as urgent life-saving needs require the full attention of all available Salvation Army emergency personnel.

On Sunday 17 January a 14-person Salvation Army medical team from north-America, including eight doctors, arrived in Port-au-Prince with medical supplies. This is the forerunner of several other teams that will be arriving from around the world.

Thousands of people have made their home in a large football field behind the Salvation Army compound. The emergency teams are concentrating much of their efforts towards these people. There have been several minor quakes in recent days - one measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale - and many buildings are still unsafe.

Although The Salvation Army's La Maison du Bonheur Children's Home sustained damage it continues to care for 52 children and is preparing to receive 135 babies and small children from another orphanage in the countryside. Responding to a request posted on The Salvation Army's Caribbean website, two members of the emergency team went into the countryside and found 30 infants under the age of five months holed up in the back of a tractor trailer with no food or water since the earthquake. The children are now being transported to Port-au-Prince for ongoing care.

Salvation Army teams have grave concerns for the countryside areas as Port-au-Prince is the hub for the whole country. Now that the supplies from this 'service centre' have been disrupted it will be just a matter of time before fuel and food in the outlying areas runs out. Some Salvation Army centres have solar energy but most depend on diesel generators. The Salvation Army has been promised the use of a helicopter to visit locations outside the Port-au-Prince area that have also been badly damaged, including Petit Goave, Jacmel and Bellamie.

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Monday 18 January: A Salvation Army minister from Portsmouth travels out to Haiti today (Monday 18 January) to help the world wide church and charity's response to the earthquake disaster.

Major Cedric Hills, corps officer (church leader) of Portsmouth Citadel Salvation Army, expects to be in Haiti for a month liaising with the United Nations to deploy Salvation Army teams from around the world to bring their expertise and resources to the aid of the Haitian people

Until July 2008 the Major was The Salvation Army's International Emergency Services Coordinator based at the church and registered charity's International Headquarters in London.

For almost 12 years he has been involved in humanitarian responses to the world's major conflicts and disasters from Bosnia in 1996, famine in Kenya, floods in Mozambique, the conflict in Iraq and has considerable experience of relief work required after earthquakes having served with Salvation Army teams in the response to the Turkish earthquake in 1999, Peru in 2008 and Kashmir, Pakistan, in 2009.

His leadership responsibilities at the Portsmouth Salvation Army Church are shared with his wife Major Lyn Hills who will remain in the city to oversee the extensive programme of church and community activities. The couple have been Salvation Army officers (ministers) for 22 years and have served in the north of England, Scotland and London as well as providing welfare support to British Forces in Gutersloh, Germany, for five years.

Major Hills spoke of his commitment to hands on service to humanity when he arrived at Portsmouth in August 2008: "The Salvation Army, sometimes referred to as ‘the church with its sleeves rolled up', has a proud heritage in the area and a long-standing commitment to serving the community."

That dedication will now be expressed through the Major's service in Haiti where he is expecting to stay for a month supporting Salvation Army worker Bob Poff, who runs a residential home for 50 children but who has had his own house destroyed and the children's home damaged. Bob Poff is The Salvation Army's emergency services coordinator on the Island and will welcome the arrival of his close friend Major Hill and the Major's successor at The Salvation Army's International Emergency Services, Lieut-Colonel Mike Caffull who will stay for a week and then return to the London to coordinate the response by Salvation Army teams from around the world.

The Salvation Army World Services Organisation (SAWSO), based in Washington DC, US, sent Major George Polarek to Haiti on Thursday (14 January) to coordinate the various logistics needed to get food air-lifted into Haiti. At least 285,000 meals are ready to be sent and SAWSO is working through various channels and high-level US Government contacts. Major Polarek coordinated The Salvation Army's response to the 9/11 recovery programme. 

LISTEN AGAIN TO MAJOR CEDRIC HILLS INTERVIEWED ON BBC RADIO SOLENT Major Hills was interviewed on Sunday morning (17 Jan) before his departure for Haiti. Click to listen again to his interview on the Tim Daykin show. (Interview starts 1 hour 21 minutes into the show)

Experienced Salvation Army emergency workers arrived on Friday (15 January) in Haiti to help the international church and charity's local response to the earthquake that has devastated Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area.

Lieut-Colonel Lindsay Rowe, Chief Secretary for The Salvation Army's Caribbean Territory, says: "Like all other relief agencies The Salvation Army is experiencing a great deal of difficulty and frustration in its efforts to get emergency response personnel and vital supplies of food, water and medical aid on the ground in Haiti. With the main seaport severely damaged and the airport stretched beyond its capacity, making vital supplies available to waiting teams and desperate people is a logistical nightmare.

"Even when the supplies reach the airport many streets and roadways are impassable, leaving victims stranded without access to aid. The level of tension is rising as people approach their third day without access to vital aid supplies and medical treatment.'

On Thursday (14 January) a plane carrying experienced emergency response personnel from the US was diverted from Port-au-Prince when it was decided to close the airport to all but military aircraft. The plane finally landed at Cape Hatia, more than six hours drive away from Port-au-Prince, and the team obtained vehicles to begin the arduous trip.

Team member Major Tom Louden said there were large holes in the road which they had to go around on the edge of cliffs that had no guard rails. Because of the road conditions the team could travel at only 20 miles per hour. The Major reports that even away from the worst-hit areas people are walking around aimlessly. At times there were so many people in the street they had to wait for the street to clear to be able to pass through the crowds. 

Staff from The Salvation Army's Caribbean Territorial Headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica, have made arrangements for supplies and several volunteer doctors to travel to Haiti on two planes and Lieut-Colonel Rowe says other containers are loaded and ready to be shipped when the ports are open to receive them.

The Colonel says: "The international Salvation Army is responding in an amazing way. We now have commitments of more than US$500,000 through various territories and International Emergency Services. Please pray for our teams arriving in Haiti and for strength and grace as they set up the command and distribution centres." 
 

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Thursday 14 January: The Salvation Army in the UK and Republic of Ireland is asking the public to support relief efforts in Haiti following the devastating earthquake.

The church and charity organisation in the UK is making an initial £50,000 donation to support emergency and rebuilding work but The Salvation Army, which has been working in Haiti since 1950, is asking for help to support the provision of emergency aid to people affected and to rebuild its own services on the island.

Local volunteers and church officials from The Salvation Army responded immediately to the earthquake in Port-au-Prince, the capital city of Haiti, which caused extensive damage to buildings and significant loss of life.

News received from The Salvation Army's Caribbean Territory of which Haiti is a part, indicates that considerable damage was done to Salvation Army property in the city, including a children's home, a clinic and church building.

The Salvation Army is preparing to send more than 44,000 lbs of pre-packaged emergency rations to the country, along with emergency disaster teams. The Salvation Army is working with other agencies to identify appropriate transportation for the food. As with all such relief efforts, The Salvation Army will be a part of the initial emergency response while assessing longer term needs of the residents.

The UK public is invited to provide monetary donations only to The Salvation Army's Latin America Disaster Fund. Donations can be accepted in various ways.

• To donate online click here
• To donate by phone please call 020 7367 4777
• To send a cheque by post (cheque payable to 'The Salvation Army' with a cover note for Haiti emergency response) send to 
  Salvation Army International Development (UK)
  The Salvation Army
  101 Newington Causeway
  London
  SE1 6BN

At this stage funds are the best way to support as clothing and emergency supplies will be sourced from countries which are geographically closer to ensure that supplies reach the ground more quickly.

The Salvation Army's UK Territorial Commander, Commissioner John Matear, who until 2006 was the leader of The Salvation Army in the Caribbean Territory, urged people to pray and support the people of Haiti:

"Haiti is already an extremely impoverished nation and this disaster leaves every individual there exposed and vulnerable. Our hearts go out to all those affected and we just want to help. We pray that people will reach out and support in whichever way they can."

The Salvation Army World Services Organisation (SAWSO), based in the USA, is coordinating the various logistics needed to get food and support air-lifted into Haiti working through various channels and high-level US Government contacts.

Salvation Army International Emergency Services personnel, based in London, are on standby, ready to take action as soon as there is a clearer picture of what level of support is needed.

In November 2009 the international leaders of The Salvation Army, General Shaw Clifton and Commissioner Helen Clifton, were in Haiti, visiting some of the places that are now badly damaged by the quake. The General calls the worldwide Salvation Army to prayer for the people of Haiti whose lives have been so tragically affected by the earthquake, and for the many people who will be seeking to offer help and support.

History of The Salvation Army in Haiti / effects of earthquake on Salvation Army properties, programs.

• The Salvation Army has had a presence in Haiti since 1950 and currently operates schools, clinics, a hospital, feeding programs, children's homes and church-related activities spread across two major facilities in Port au Prince, close to the epicenter of the earthquake and at other locations in the country.

• One of the facilities, or compounds as it is referred to, includes a home for more than 50 children; a school with a daily attendance of 1,500 children; a medical clinic caring for 150-200 people daily; and a church that on any typical Sunday welcomes nearly 1,000 people. The facility is less than 10 minutes from the National Palace which was destroyed by the earthquake, and is in an area known as St. Martin that is home to predominantly poor living in the nation's capital.

• According to reports from Salvation Army staff in Port au Prince, no one in the compound was injured during the earthquake, but the children's home, the clinic and church suffered major damage. Several smaller buildings, including residences, have collapsed completely. People were sleeping in the parking lot overnight, while severe aftershocks continued to affect the country.

• The second compound that houses Salvation Army administrative offices is being used as an emergency operations center. Damage was slight to this compound, according to Salvation Army reports from Haiti.

• The Salvation Army hospital in Fond-des-Negres (75 miles west of Port-au-Prince) reports some minor damage, but no injuries.

For regular updates:

More information available at http://blog.salvationarmyusa.org/
International news http://www.salvationarmy.org
For more information from The Salvation Army in Haiti http://salvationarmyhaiti.org/
or visit The Salvation Army Haiti Facebook page by clicking here