Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund FAQs

The earthquake in Haiti has generated a large-scale response to the UUSC-UUA Joint Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund. As the enormity of the devastation unfolds in the media and relief needs become clear, our supporters have many questions. Below are the answers to the more frequently asked questions. If your question is not answered here, be sure to contact us online or by phone toll-free at 800-388-3920.

1. How is UUSC different from other disaster-response agencies?
   
   UUSC reaches groups of people who are at risk of being left out or overlooked by traditional relief and recovery operations, working with local partner organizations to identify and bring attention to the gaps in recovery — and help fill those gaps. UUSC takes action in the critical days and weeks immediately following the disaster, and then continues to work into the mid- and long term as survivors struggle to reestablish their lives and livelihoods.
   
   Large aid agencies roll out large-scale disaster programs in a one-size-fits-all approach. In major disasters, this kind of response gets a large amount of aid to a large number of people. However, one drawback to this approach is its assumption that everyone is in the same situation when the disaster occurs.
   
   UUSC, by contrast, works from our knowledge that when a disaster strikes, people are in very different situations, determined by race, class, and gender. To help illustrate this, consider the following: research shows that in a disaster-stricken city covered by one ambulance service, an ambulance will respond twice as fast to an emergency call from a wealthy neighborhood than it will to an emergency call from a poor neighborhood. Support from UUSC, in contrast, goes directly to those people whom the ambulance takes twice as long to reach. UUSC's work begins with an understanding that how people are marginalized before a disaster will affect their access to relief after a disaster.
2. How much of my gift directly supports relief and recovery?
   
   Thank you to all who have already given financial support to help UUSC respond to the humanitarian crisis in Haiti. Your donation is restricted to the UUSC-UUA Joint Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund. UUSC sends $0.92 of every dollar you donate to support relief and recovery efforts on the ground. The remaining $.08 covers essential administrative expenses, such as wire-transfer fees to send funds to Haiti and calls between our office and our Haiti-based partners.
3. What is UUSC's experience in responding to large-scale disasters?
   
   UUSC has extensive experience in responding to large-scale disasters, including the Indian Ocean Tsunami, the earthquake in Pakistan, the floods of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Gulf Coast, and Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar. Evaluating all of its work is part of UUSC standard practice. UUSC has undergone external evaluations of its disaster-relief work in the Gulf Coast, Pakistan, and areas affected by the tsunami. If you would like to learn more about these evaluations, please contact our office.
4. How does UUSC determine who to partner with?
   
   The best way of identifying and reaching marginalized groups is through partnering with grassroots organizations working in the country itself. Because UUSC is a justice organization, this is our particular focus in any crisis. We contact grassroots organizations, develop eye-to-eye partnerships, listen to their concerns, bring in our reflections from our disaster experience, and together shape a program that is relevant, looks at people as survivors — not victims — and begins from the needs they articulate.
5. How does UUSC work in a disaster setting if they do not have staff in the affected area?
   
   Because local responders are usually the first and best responders after disaster, UUSC works in close partnership with like-minded organizations already working on the ground. Their firsthand knowledge of their communities enhances their ability to assist and support people in crisis, particularly marginalized groups, like minorities, who are often left behind by traditional relief efforts. We work to support and strengthen local organizations since they will be there doing the work long after the relief organizations pack their bags. Sometimes, UUSC contracts with people on the ground on a short-term basis to provide hands-on support, occasionally placing them in a partner organization.
6. Which groups are you partnering with in Haiti?
   
   UUSC is partnering with the following grassroots organizations:
   
   
   • The Lambi Fund, which has been provided funds for immediate relief aid through their rural organization to meet the needs of migrants arriving in areas outside of Port-au-Prince. They are sourcing through local producers.
   • The Papaye Peasant Movement (MPP), which is coordinating immediate relief aid to meet the needs of displaced people arriving in the Artibonite from Port-au-Prince. They are also sourcing through local producers.
   • The Regional Coordination of Southeast Organizations (CROSE) in Jacmel and the Platform of Community Organizations of the Port-au-Prince Metropolitan Zone (COZPAM) in Mariani, Port-au-Prince, which UUSC is partnering with alongside ActionAid USA to support their distribution of food and essential gender-specific nonfood items to people through grassroots networks. An immediate grant will also support their essential logistical needs.
   • International Relief Teams (IRT), from which UUSC purchased discounted emergency medicine packs so that our staff could transport urgently needed medicines from the United States to hospitals and clinics in the Haitian countryside where our partners had identified earthquake survivors receiving care.
   • The Trauma Resource Institute (TRI), which trains first responders, community leaders, and health professionals in body-based trauma-response techniques designed to help people control their physical reactions to trauma and build their resiliency. TRI made one trip to Haiti in March and is returning in May to train 60 Haitians in trauma-resiliency techniques. In the fall, they will select 20 of the original 60 to be trained as trainers.
   • The Massachusetts Institute of Technology D-Lab (MIT D-Lab), which made one trip to Haiti to train MPP and Lambi Fund members in creating biomass charcoal and utilizing water catchment — technologies designed to relieve the stress on rural populations from the large numbers of displaced arriving in their communities.
   UUSC assessment teams visited Haiti February 5–12 and March 11–19. UUSC's program work in Haiti will continue to evolve based on assessment team visits, reviews, and communication with partner organizations.
7. Why is UUSC not included on X or Y list of organizations providing relief?
   
   UUSC has made every effort to submit to lists where possible. If you are aware of a list that does not include UUSC, please inform the list holder or contact UUSC with the list information.
8. Has UUSC shifted its focus to Haiti?
   
   UUSC has, in fact, expanded its reach to include addressing the devastation in Haiti. The work in Darfur, Afghanistan, Kenya, Uganda, Myanmar, and our other program areas continues, and we need our supporters' continued assistance to provide resources for these initiatives as well.
9. Does UUSC accept in-kind donations for Haiti?
   
   UUSC is unable to accept in-kind gifts for Haiti at this time and will be happy to redirect you to partner organizations as appropriate; please contact UUSC for more information.
10. I would like to volunteer. Can UUSC place me in such a position?
    
    UUSC usually does not have capacity to place volunteers early in a crisis since we work through partners who have their own local staff on the ground. UUSC is organizing a volunteer program for Haiti that will be put in place as the situation develops and volunteer work becomes more feasible. If you are interested in finding out more about this program, please contact UUSC for updates.
11. Has UUSC worked in Haiti before this crisis?
    
    Through the late 1990s, UUSC had a Haiti program focus that included direct partner support, policy advocacy in the United States, and education and engagement of UUSC constituents. That work focused on supporting Haitian women's organizations mobilized around reproductive health and women's empowerment, including the use of literacy and leadership training as tools in this mobilization. In response to the 2005 hurricane in Haiti, UUSC also supported the Lambi Fund with $5,863 for immediate relief to the affected area of Gonaives.
12. What will my gift purchase?
    
    Your gift to the UUSC-UUA Joint Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund will have tremendous impact.
    
    • $2 a day supports immediate food aid for an earthquake survivor arriving in the countryside (source: Lambi Fund).
    • $10 a day supports the immediate food, water, medical, and shelter needs for an earthquake survivor arriving from the earthquake-affected areas to the Central Plateau. This includes the costs of local organizations to host this community, doctors to minister to survivors, and food preparation (source: MPP).
    • $60 provides two weeks of wages to an earthquake survivor in a cash-for-work program run by the MPP; many rural families make about $25 a month (source: MPP).
13. How can I stay up-to-date on UUSC's activities?
    
    UUSC will be providing regular website updates and periodic e-mail updates to donors who have given to the Haiti Relief Fund.
14. I would like to donate from my PayPal account. Does UUSC have a Paypal account/e-mail address?
    
    UUSC does not currently have a PayPal account through which you may make a gift but is investigating this option. You can, however, donate in the following ways:
    
    
    • Online
    • By mail: please send checks to UUSC, PO Box 808, Newark, NJ 07101-0808
    • By phone: please call 800-388-3920 (press 1 and listen for options)