Haiti

I was going to write about how if you want to donate to Haiti, you should go directly to a known nonprofit's website (American Red Cross, etc.) and donate there to avoid scams, but it seems everyone probably knows this already. (I don't have TV, and miss major trends and stories.)

However, I thought this was a good time to introduce the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders, an organization that began 40 or so years ago in France that now reaches out to impoverished countries worldwide. The organization concentrates on providing quality medical services during times of crisis--war and natural disasters, and ongoing problems--epidemics, malnutrition, and medical exclusion. They rely heavily on the talents of highly trained doctors, nurses, logisticians, water-and-sanitation experts and administrators to do their work, meaning that those working in such situations as the Haiti earthquake are prepared to hit the ground running. The link I provided is an article generated by Doctors Without Borders which will give you an idea of how bad things are in Haiti. The nonprofit had three permanent hospitals in Haiti, all of which have been so badly damaged by the quake that doctors are doing all their work in tents.

If you are thinking of donating to the Haiti earthquake, this is a good website to consider.