Full scale emergency relief is imminent

Monday, 18 January 2010 13:54

With an estimated 200,000 dead in Haiti, the Good Neighbors emergency team arrived at the ground zero, earnestly providing relief as the first of the Korean NGO groups.

Emergency relief, as the term implies, saves lives and provides life-sustaining help for people to return to their normal daily lives. During this period, highly trained professional teams are essential to distributing relief supplies and systematically providing relief activities efficiently.

January 16^th at 2 am (local time 15^th, 1pm), the first wave of Good Neighbors emergency relief teams arrived at Santo Domingo, capital of Dominica Republic, completing NGO registration with OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) for emergency relief. The evening of 16^th (local time 16^th early morning), the team drove from Dominica Republic over the border line to the Port-au-Prince launching site for the emergency relief.

The area is currently in desperate need of supplies, including food, clean water and medicine. However, no efficient distribution of any item is under way due to the paralysis of government administration. Good Neighbors is hoping to find more efficient relief solution through the local network in coordination with UN troops, agencies, Haiti local police and local NPOs.

Since major airport and harbors are severely damaged with no sign of quick recovery, a base camp will be set up in Barahona region, near border line of Dominica Republic and Haiti to send necessary supplies and manpower to ground zero.

So far, Good Neighbors has deployed 20 emergency relief individuals including medical staff from Korea and the US. In three days, donations have totaled 500,000 USD as of January 17^th.

Relief activities and restoration projects are not expected to end for some time, and much attention and support are needed from communities. The most urgent need is in medicine and relief supplies; sending more emergency relief teams including doctors and nurses to save lives in Haiti is crucial.

Please call us at 877-499-9898 for any medical support and donations. Good Neighbors is recruiting doctors, nurses and pharmacists who can provide medical assistance in Haiti and also accepts donations through online @ http://www.goodneighbors.org/projects/48

Team captain Byung Hee Lee directing relief acitivity on-site