the where of it

to help in haiti you’ve got to know where to go

• Posted by Summer Wood on January 14th, 2010 filed in books, places
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I spent much of last night watching the TV and staring at the computer screen, stunned by the images of a Haiti under siege. The disastrous earthquake and its death toll, the very literal ticking clock as relief workers toil to rescue those still trapped, and the misery among the survivors – who will face not days or weeks but years of work to rebuild their lives – it’s a disaster of such scale that it’s almost impossible to comprehend.

Haitian-born author Edwidge Danticat is a MacArthur Fellow and the author of Krik? Krak! and Breath, Eyes, Memory, among other books. She spoke with Amy Goodman of Democracy Now about Haiti’s troubles (“Haiti devastated…”). In the report – which combined reports of collapsed buildings and general mayhem with some history of Haiti and Haitian immigration to the US – Danticat mentioned the work of some of the long-standing relief organizations doing positive work in the country.

One of those, Paul Farmer’s Partners in Health, was profiled by author Tracy Kidder in the bestselling Mountains Beyond Mountains. The organization’s mission is “to provide a preferential option for the poor in health care,” and they’re fulfilling it in an inspiring way. Right now is a good time to donate at the Partners in Health website.

The health care needs of this country, always enormous, have increased exponentially in the wake of this disaster. The Red Cross, USAID, and teams of rescue workers and medical providers from around the globe have rushed to bring aid to the injured and supplies to those in need. Part of the problem, though – said a weary Nan Buzard, a senior Red Cross coordinator in the country – is the difficulty presented by the need to transport supplies through a devastated countryside.

Accurately updated maps and other geographic information is critical in any disaster. That’s why I’m so impressed by the work of MapAction, a British-based NGO that works to provide “frequently updated situation maps showing where relief help is most urgently needed.” They take a boots-on-the-ground approach to gathering and assembling geographical data that can help advise relief agencies on blocked transportation routes, physical dangers, and other impediments to their work, helping them make decisions and save valuable time.

They’ve published a free downloadable handbook called MapAction Field Guide to Humanitarian Mapping. It teaches relief workers how to use free, open-source Geographic Information System (GIS) software to guide their humanitarian operations.