Emergency Appeal

18 January 2010

More than a million people have lost their homes following a major earthquake in Haiti on Tuesday 12 January.

80% of buildings collapsed in and around the capital Port-au-Prince, and homes, schools and hospitals have been destroyed.

It is thought that the death toll could reach up to 200,000 and up to three million people are thought to have been affected. 

Although this is not the first disaster to have hit the impoverished country in recent years, the earthquake is thought to have been the strongest Haiti has seen for 200 years.

Haiti, which has experienced years of political unrest and is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, has few resources to deal with an emergency of this scale.

Y Care International's partner, the ACT Alliance reports that the situation in Port-au-Prince remains grave. Rescue teams and medical services are overwhelmed. Many people are still sleeping outside because their homes have been reduced to rubble. 

Little heavy equipment can be found to free trapped survivors, remove rubble and clear streets. Even shovels for burying the dead are in short supply. 

Y Care International has launched an emergency appeal to raise money for our partners, the Dominican Republic YMCA and the ACT Alliance to provide vital supplies to the people of Haiti who urgently need our help.

Please donate to the appeal by filling in the form below, or you can contact our Fundraising Team on 020 7549 3175. Donations can also be made over the counter at the following Building Societies:

Cambridge Building Society
Coventry Building Society
Cumberland Building Society
Kent Reliance Building Society
Norwich & Peterborough Building Society
Nationwide Building Society
Northern Rock Building Society
Progressive Building Society
Skipton Building Society
Stroud & Swindon Building Society
Yorkshire Building Society