Vancouver Jewish Community Contributes Over $40,000 to Haiti

In just under a week, our community has contributed over $40,000 to the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund. The total will double, thanks to the Canadian government, which is matching donations.

Funds raised in Vancouver are being directed to the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), our long-standing partner in the relief field. JDC is the largest international Jewish humanitarian assistance organization in the world, and has been providing effective, non-sectarian assistance to both Jews and non-Jews worldwide for 95 years.

Snapshot of JDC efforts in Haiti:
o Providing emergency relief efforts that meet the immediate needs of survivors, including medical supplies and equipment, and food.

o Supporting the provision of medical equipment by three different ground agencies: Medical Corps of the Israel Defense Force, Heart to Heart International and Afya Foundation.

o The Medical Corps of the Israel Defense Force is operating a field hospital in Port-au-Prince that is saving lives and administering vital medical care. JDC helped equip the hospital with high-demand orthopedic devices and infant incubators for its neonatal unit.The field hospital has quickly become the gold standard of emergency medical care in Haiti.

See the news reports below:

o IDF Field Hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzOAwIMcErg&feature=player_embedded

o IDF Field Hospital the “Rolls Royce” of Medicine in Haiti: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6108523n&tag=contentMain

o Second miracle birth at IDF Field Hospital: http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=9591907

o More video available at www.jewishvancouver.com/haiti.

o Working in collaboration with the Afya Foundation, JDC sent an initial container of mattresses and much-needed medical supplies to Zanmi Lasante/Partners in Health, a renowned local NGO. A second container is being shipped on Friday, and a third will follow.

o Within days of the disaster, JDC-supported relief agency Heart to Heart International and its team of doctors and nurses were on the ground providing critical medical aid first in Port-au-Prince and later in Leogane, an isolated town where little other assistance has reached.

o Haiti will need help beyond its immediate emergency needs. JDC is reserving a portion of funds for sustainable intermediate and long-term rebuilding and reconstruction programs.


Our partner, JDC brings unparalleled experience to the Haiti relief effort through its International Development Program (IDP), which has provided immediate relief and long-term development assistance to victims of natural and manmade disasters in more than 60 countries.

If you have already made a donation to the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund, thank you. If you haven’t yet had a chance, there’s still time to help. Visit www.jewishvancouver.com/haiti or call the Federation office at 604.257.5100.