I have seen many of you change your Facebook statuses over the past 24 hours to express your concern for the people of Haiti in the aftermath of yesterday’s earthquake.

As the photos and videos roll in and the gravity of this disaster becomes apparent, many of us are asking this question: What can I do to help? As we try to figure out what role we can play in responding to the suffering and destruction that we see on our televisions and computer screens, I hope that you don’t mind if I share a few thoughts with you based on my own limited experience in disaster emergency relief.

1. The aftermath of any major natural disaster is often marked by chaos. The response-capacity of the national government is often crippled as it attempts to gather together their own personnel and begins to take stock of its losses.

2. Major priorities in the immediate aftermath include search and rescue of those who may be still living under rubble and recovery of the dead, emergency and trauma medical services, food, clean water and basic sanitation (to prevent the spread of diseases like Typhoid), and efforts to begin to reinstate essential infrastructure (restoring means of communication, clearing roads etc). All of these tasks will take a tremendous amount of skilled-human and financial resources.
3. While there is much urgency now, it is important to note that though disaster only takes minutes or seconds to set in, that the rebuilding effort takes many years.
4. History has shown that disaster emergency responses, themselves, can sometimes cause long-term harm to the nations they intend to help, especially when they fail to empower the people they set out to help, and where they are piecemeal, poorly coordinated, and planning is short-sighted.
5. Not every organization that says it is collecting money to respond to the disaster in Haiti, is genuine. This is unfortunate, but we must be aware that there are those who will use this tragedy as an opportunity for personal gain.

In light of this, here are some tips as you determine how you want to help:

1. As I mentioned above, meeting the immediate needs of the Haitian people in the aftermath of the quake will require a major mobilization of resources and a cadre of skilled workers. If you are interested in contributing to the first response that has already begun, I suggest that you donate either to one of the United Nations agencies (these include UNICEF, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization and others), or to the Red Cross http://www.redcross.org/ or another one of the larger international NGOs (examples are Save the Children, Direct Relief International, World Vision, Medecins sans Frontiers/Doctors without Borders, International Medical Corps. These organizations are the ones that are more likely to have the capacity necessary to launch the kind of immediate response that is urgently needed right now. Other smaller organizations, which have a track record in Haiti, and are playing a role in the early response include Partners in Health/Zanmi Lasante and Wyclef Jean’s organization Yele Haiti.
2. If you are in Barbados or elsewhere in the Caribbean and are looking for a national/regional effort to which you can contribute. Please donate to the Red Cross, and stay up to date on the efforts of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency as the coordinate the regional response http://www.cdera.org/cunews/sitrep/haiti/article_2426.php. The Pan American Health Organization will also be playing a role http://new.paho.org/hq/index.php?lang=en. Also commercial banks and the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation have all announced that they will be collecting funds, though we should all be sure to ask where they will be directing these. (If you know of other reputable efforts please share)
3. Clothing and food drives are not likely to be of great assistance at the moment, as getting supplies in and out of Haiti is extremely difficult and the little air traffic that is available will likely be used to transport a volume of supplies that we, as a small island, can not match.
4. Fundraise, fundraise, fundraise!! This is where we can really make a difference. Mobilize as many resources as you can and then direct them to a reputable organization, with either a track record in disaster emergency relief, and/or with years of experience working in Haiti.
5. There are many really amazing Hatian community based organizations who have served their country through conflicts and hurricanes over the past few decades. These organizations will likely be critical in the rebuilding process that will be needed. Should you decide that your financial commitment to Haiti will be sustained for longer than the media coverage will last, donating to some of these organizations is a great way to help. Once again, remember to check out the reputation of the organization to make sure that they do indeed have a track record of service to the people of Haiti. For those of you know of great community based organizations like this, please post info so that others can benefit.
6. Lastly, if you (like me) believe in God, you can certainly help by praying! Pray for the people of Haiti. Pray especially for God’s peace to be with those who are still alive beneath the rubble as they await rescue. Pray for the rescue workers that are arriving on the growth – for stamina and for wisdom. Pray for God to move on the hearts of decision makers around the world to respond generously and wisely to this catastrophe. Pray for each of us that our compassion will be transformed to a deep sense that it would be unacceptable for each of us not to act in some small way.

Most importantly, this is not the time for piecemeal efforts or short-sightedness on our part. This is the time to have the suffering of the people of Haiti, and the long road of rebuilding and recovery that they will have to travel, squarely at the focus of our efforts. This is a time for compassion, and this is a time for ACTION. The scale of need is HUGE. Please let’s not go it alone. Instead, let us try to team up with larger efforts as we seek to make a difference. Please share information or tips on how to help if you have them.

Before I go, I just want to leave with you one of the many news clips that really stood out for me today. CNN’s Sanjay Gupta was interviewing President Rene Preval, President of Haiti. We’ve all seen the photos of the Presidential Palace, which has been badly damaged.