Haitians with Disabilities - How to Help
... Before the quake approximately 800,000 Haitians were living with a disability. With the destruction of the quake, that number is likely to have increased significantly. Portlight Strategies is on the ground in Haiti providing food, water and other emergency service to our Haitian brothers and sisters with disabilities. Healing Hands for Haiti has been serving Haitians with Disabilities for over 10 years, and despite having suffered serious losses of their own, they are continuing to assist in Port-au-Prince, the capital city. ...

Let's figure out how we can reach out to the lovely people of Haiti in the coming weeks and months as we keep them in our thoughts and prayers.

If you are already helping a local social service agency, congregation or individual aid effort please share what is happening in your community.

Those of us who can't spare money for direct donations may be working in church kitchens or at neighborhood rummage sales to raise money for those already in Haiti reaching out to individuals, families, and of course the children.

Here are stories that may be of special interest to families of children with disabilities:

AARP Foundation Establishes Relief Fund for Older Victims of Haiti Disaster
Grandparents, great aunts and great uncles may be the primary caregivers for children

Circumstances are dire in Haiti for those with diabetes


Helping Haiti Special Olympians

There are many families of Haitian descent in our neighborhoods and schools who must be especially affected by the terrible tragedies of the earthquake and its aftermath.

Tips and resources to help Haitian students, staff and parents cope with the earthquake

Children and adults who survived the earthquake and who are in such great need of compassion and immediate help to survive now will deal with disabilities due to injury and illness to a greater degree than we can imagine.

Ww must do whatever we can to support the survival, health and hopes of the people of Haiti now and in the next few months - please share your ideas and resources.

Please share this message via Twitter to help build resource lists here for those who want to help in any way they can.

Pam W
SE of Seattle

The mission of PAZAPA is to support the treatment, education, and development of children with disabilities, and to integrate them into the community at large.
The city of Jacmel, where much of PAZAPA's work takes place, was severely damaged by the January 12 earthquake. Executive Director Marika MacRae and her children are safe. We expect the impact of the earthquake on our operations to be substantial.

PAZAPA provides surgery, orthopedic devices, physical therapy, and rehabilitation for physically handicapped children at no cost to the children’s families. ... To date, more than 700 children with orthopedic problems have been treated.
Health Care and Education - PAZAPA offers guidance to families to encourage ongoing effective home care. ... The staff nurse also oversees pre- and post-operative care, first aid treatment, medications, vaccinations, and treatment of epilepsy, arthritis, and infectious bone disease as prescribed by volunteer and local physicians.
Special Education - The PAZAPA school in Jacmel provides education and therapy each year for approximately 70 children with developmental/mental handicaps from infancy to late teens. Without PAZAPA, these children would not have the opportunity to go to school at all.
Children attending the PAZAPA school receive hot meals and nutritional supplements when necessary; those with severe and/or multiple handicaps are seen in their homes.
The school provides three levels of education. Early intervention (0-3 years) ... Preschool (4-10 years) ... Senior class ... PAZAPA also subsidizes boarding school education for children with visual and motor impairment at Ecole St. Vincent in Port-au-Prince. All hearing impaired children are tested by professional audiologists at PAZAPA; those who can benefit from it are provided with custom-fitted hearing aids free of charge. In 2008 Pazapa began a school for the deaf, which educates hearing-impaired children up to the national certificate level. PAZAPA also offers a varied vocational training program for senior, mentally handicapped children and graduates.
"Mainstreaming" is the best and often the only choice for handicapped children, particularly in rural districts. Supported by advocates front the community, PAZAPA has influenced government and private schools to accept children with disabilities.
PAZAPA extends its programs into the surrounding rural villages, where staff members and volunteers hold screening clinics to identify children with handicaps and help the families and community leaders design their own programs utilizing resources available locally.
PAZAPA arranges and funds surgical care and follow-up for physically disabled children in these communities, encourages local schools to accept handicapped children into the classroom, and facilitates the establishment of community centers where handicapped children and their families can meet and share solutions.
PAZAPA also facilitates meetings in Jacmel for the exchange of ideas and experiences among parents and has financed weeklong seminars for representative mothers at a Port-au-Prince training center. These mothers are taught simple child development techniques which they use to assist families in their rural areas.
Family Support Program
The staff at PAZAPA firmly believes that health is related to economic status. Therefore, PAZAPA has facilitated small independent commercial ventures through "Ti Commerce" (small business) loans for parents of its children. Previous adult programs have included a fruit drying project established by a Peace Corps volunteer, literacy classes and seminars on women’s and children’s rights, as well as courses on sewing and cooking.

PAZAPA is also supported by the Canadian organization Canadian Step by Step Support for Disabled Children of Haiti.
Canadian donors may go to:
www.canadianstepbystep.ca
C.A.S.S provides funding for educational and medical services, as well as economic support to disabled children and their families.
SOME OF C.A.S.S. ACTIVITIES INCLUDE:
· Supplying medical and educational material to selected facilities or schools.
· Provide a local site for collection and warehousing of materials/supplies and arranging for regular shipment through Canadian volunteers.
· Contribute funds for environmental support needs (e.g. ramps, generators) through a Canadian agent.
· Provide funding for tuition fees for children with disabilities to attend specialized education.
· Support and link with Canadian medical groups providing volunteer services in Haiti (e.g. orthopaedic surgery).

Let's figure out how we can reach out to the lovely people of Haiti
Please share this message via Twitter to help build resource lists here for those who want to help in any way they can.

Pam W
SE of Seattle

Johanna wrote: One more org to consider supporting - Hearts with Haiti: Wings of Hope is an orphanage that cares for children w/ developmental and intellectual disabilities--many of the children arrive at Wings of Hope with no known names and/or birthdates. One of the people central in keeping this orphanage running was recently given an outstanding alum award from my alma mater; the org is completely volunteer run.

US International Council on Disabilities
NGOs Accepting Donations and Specializing in Disabilities in Haiti
Mobility International USA Haiti Relief:
InterActions Disability Working Group efforts, and others