Join Southern University, Ag Center in Haiti Relief

The January 12 earthquake in Haiti devastated that nation and has many people wondering what they can do to help. In the years since Katrina, the process for managing donations has become more efficient, effective, and secure.

Southern University and the Ag Center have had a long history with Partners of the Americas, and many of our faculty and staff have travelled with them on many development projects in El Salvador, Louisiana's southern partner. Retired animal scientist James McNitt has worked in Haiti to develop a rabbit project which now involves more than 700 rabbit farmers.

If you want to make a donation to the Haitian Disaster Relief with assurance that it will be used properly, McNitt suggests donating to Partners of the Americas  http://www.partners.net/donate.

Southern University and A&M College professors Warner Anderson, Kristan Gordon and Ernst Pierre have started the Southern University Haiti Disaster Relief Drive. Items that are desperately needed by the Haitian children are:

Items needed are:

• Book bags
• Suitcases
• Clothes (for warm weather)
• Footwear
• Sanitizer
• Repellent
• Baby formula
• Thick blankets
• Toilet paper
• Female sanitary items
• Baby wipes
• Pampers
• Soap
• Shampoo and conditioner
• Caps

All donations can be brought to Southern University’s Center for International Education, Room 1100 in T.H. Harris Hall, located on Elton C. Harris Drive. A receipt will be given to all individuals making financial donations for the Haiti Disaster Relief Drive.  Contributions are tax deductible. 

Through the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, Louisiana has offered the U.S. State Department and FEMA resources to assist in the Haitian disaster response efforts, including more than 65,000 MREs and thousands of bottles of water being donated by Lipsey Mountain Springs Water.

Businesses that want to donate equipment and large-scale commodities to the Haiti response efforts can donate through:

•  Department of State Global Partnership Initiative: http://www.state.gov/s/partnerships/
• USAID: http://www.usaid.gov/

Cash donations from individuals or the private sector can be made through the following websites:

• Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund: www.yele.org
• InterAction: http://www.interaction.org/crisis-list/earthquake-haiti
• AidMatrix: http://www.aidmatrix.org/haiti.htm
• ALAN: http://www.aidmatrix.org/alan/about.html
• CIDI: http://www.cidi.org/
• American Red Cross: https://american.redcross.org
• Salvation Army: http://www.salvationarmy.org/ihq/www_sa.nsf

Visit FEMA http://www.fema.gov/rebuild/recover/howtohelp.shtm for a listing of other legitimate organizations and methods of donating.

Those seeking information on colleagues, friends, and loved ones missing in Haiti will find help at http://www.state.gov/p/wha/ci/ha/earthquake/index.htm for important public information from the United States Department of State or call 1-888-407-4747 (due to heavy volume, some callers may receive a recording).

For more information on Southern's Haiti Desaster Relief Drive, contact Anderson, Gordon or Pierre at (225) 771-2613.

For more information on the rabbit farm project, contact McNitt at (225) 771-2262 or email james_mcnitt(at)suagcenter.com