The largest project to be undertaken is the rebuilding of the public school, Ecole Nationale Jacob Martin Henriquez. The nine-building school complex will provide a new educational home and free daily meal to more than 400 local children in grades K through 7.

Operation USA has partnered with Honeywell Hometown Solutions, the philanthropic organization of Honeywell Corporation, to reconstruct this primary school that will serve students who couldn’t otherwise afford to go to school. This project was built in cooperation with the City of Jacmel, with the support of its exceptional Mayor (now Senator), Edwin Zenny—a nationally known anti-corruption figure and committed activist for Jacmel’s future.

The school—designed pro bono by global planning firm Gensler, with structural engineering services provided by seismic experts Miyamoto International—was built using contemporary, sustainable building methods and was designed to withstand any potential future earthquakes. The school’s construction process was used to train local builders in modern earthquake-resistant construction and environmentally-conscious techniques that can save Haiti both money and natural resources in the years to come. Operation USA will establish a scholarship fund to help cover the cost of books, uniforms and other student expenses.

UPDATE: MARCH 2011
Construction nears completion! Inauguration ceremonies were held on March 11, which included a ribbon-cutting ceremony with both Operation USA and Honeywell’s CEOs in attendance.

UPDATE: OCTOBER 10, 2011
The first day of school is here! The brand new campus proudly welcomes its first students today.

Press Releases
Gensler Donates Design for Haiti School
Operation USA and Honeywell Break Ground on New School in Jacmel, Haiti

Operation USA began working with the Port-au-Prince based NGO L’Athletique d’Haiti following the hurricanes that hit the Caribbean in the fall of 2008. The series of storms paired with a 50% rise in food costs exacerbated the already dire circumstance, leaving many impoverished Haitians without access to basic food and nutrition. Malnutrition was at crisis level for those most vulnerable, especially children.

L’Athletique d’Haiti (LADH) is an after-school sports program that serves children from ages 6 to 17 in Cité Soleil and Bel Air, the poorest slums in Port-au-Prince. In a country where soccer is a national obsession, the lack of sports programs deprives young people of the opportunity to acquire self esteem, discipline and dedication—the skills developed through playing sports. The program additionally offers a nutritious daily meal and transportation to its participants.

To address the increased demand created by the hurricanes, Operation USA contributed to the funding of a new cafeteria for the facility. Additionally, OpUSA provided LADH with a grant to support their food program which serves children from some of the most destitute areas of Port-au-Prince and surrounding provinces.

In the wake of the January 2010 earthquake, the needs grew…

PROJECT UPDATE:

The facilities at L’Athletique d’Haiti sustained some damage in the earthquake–however, a large number of the children and families the program supported suffered tremendously. Many of those who survived lost their homes.

The two soccer fields at LADH housed as many as 500 families, sheltered in self-made or donated tents. They were provided food and water, alongside medical care. Under the guidance of LADH’s inspiring founder Boby Duval, massive food distributions were undertaken for those living on site.

Operation USA is currently working with LADH to address both current and long-term needs. LADH has expanded its sports offerings beyond soccer—and now boxing, basketball and track are also offered. Engaging the kids in a safe environment, LADH continues to strive to keep the youth away from drugs and gangs in Cite Soleil. LADH continues to provide one meal a day to each child—and is in the process of adding an on-site organic garden, hen houses and compost program to be more sustainable and provide better support this effort.

Other countries in the Horn of Africa are being severely affected by drought. Successive seasons of failed rains—combined with increasing food prices, conflict and limited humanitarian access—have resulted in food and water shortages, acute malnutrition and mass displacement throughout the region. The lack of rain has also contributed to massive livestock deaths undermining the livelihoods of those who depend on them for economic and food security. Estimates are that there are at least 1.5 million displaced people—and 10 million people in need of immediate food assistance as a result of this crisis.

Operation USA is currently focusing on providing safe (e.g., purified) water to the camp in Dadaab. Local partners including Oxfam America and Africa Humanitarian Action, an Ethiopia-based Pan-African NGO.

Operation USA has numerous ongoing projects in Africa–with its initial aid effort dating from 1980 in Somalia. The 1984-86 East African famine was one of Operation USA’s largest relief efforts. Current projects in Rwanda, Ethiopia, Zambia and Sierra Leone encompass maternal and child health, mental health, literacy and community development.

Operation USA has worked to help in relief and recovery efforts in numerous states.

April 2011
Tornado hits Tuscaloosa, AL


An extremely large and violent tornado outbreak—the largest in United States history–occurred from April 25 to 28. It produced destructive tornadoes in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, and affected other areas throughout the Southern and Eastern United States. A total of 336 tornadoes were confirmed in 21 states. At least 297 people were killed—210 in Alabama alone.


The tornados left catastrophic destruction in their wake, especially across the state of Alabama. On April 27th, a massive tornado cut a six-mile swath through the community of Tuscaloosa, Alabama damaging or destroying more than 5,700 structures, and directly affecting the lives of more than 13,500 people. Widespread and destructive tornadoes occurred on each day of the outbreak, with April 27 being among the most prolific and destructive tornado days in United States history.



Operation USA is dedicated to the relief effort in Alabama—and has worked since the disaster to help those who have lost their homes begin the rebuilding process. Working with local partner Habitat for Humanity Tuscaloosa, OpUSA has provided shelter supplies including clothing, flashlights and radios. 
 

Historic Flooding of Mississippi River

From April 14–16, the storm system also produced large amounts of rainfall across the southern and midwestern United States. Two more storm systems, each with heavy rain and tornadoes, hit in the third week of April. In the fourth week of April, from April 25–28, another, even more extensive and deadly storm system passed through the Mississippi Valley dumping more rainfall that resulted in deadly flash floods. The unprecedented extensive rainfall from these four storms, combined with springtime snow melt from the Upper Midwest, created the perfect situation for a 500-year flood along the Mississippi.

As flood waters proceeded down the Lower Mississippi from the St. Louis area (where the Missouri River and the Mississippi River converge), they affected Missouri and Illinois, then Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana. President Barack Obama declared the western counties of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi federal disaster areas.

Operation USA partnered with a relief team of police officers from Colorado to help with relief efforts in Durant, Mississippi.

May
Tornado hits Joplin, MO

The 2011 Joplin tornado was a devastating multiple-vortex tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri late in the afternoon of Sunday, May 22, 2011. The tornado reached a maximum width of in excess of 1 mile during its path through the southern part of the city. As of July 8, officials reported that 159 people died from the tornado, with another killed by a lightning strike during cleanup operations the next day. This was the third tornado to strike Joplin since May 1971. It ranks as one of America’s deadliest tornadoes—and is likely to be the costliest; the cost to rebuild Joplin could reach $3 billion.

The tornado, which struck around dinnertime, crushed nearly a third of the city. It destroyed as many as 2,000 buildings, knocked out power and cellphone service for many, and damaged water treatment and sewage plants. It was the deadliest single tornado in more than half a century, and it adds to a season of particularly deadly tornadoes.

Operation USA partnered with Epic Poker to raise funds for tornado relief efforts in Joplin. Relief efforts will focus on the needs of community health clinics, alongside projects supporting children’s education.

The Japanese National Police Agency has confirmed 14,981 deaths, 5,279 injured and 9,880 people missing across eighteen prefectures, as well as over 125,000 buildings damaged or destroyed. The main tremor split highways, flattened buildings and ignited fires all over the northeastern Pacific coast. The ensuing tsunami wiped out entire villages.

As many as 4.4 million households in northeastern Japan were left without electricity and 1.5 million without water. Many electrical generators were taken down, and at least three nuclear reactors suffered explosions due to hydrogen gas that had built up within their outer containment buildings after cooling system failure. Residents within a 12 mile radius of the Fukushima nuclear power plant were evacuated.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan described it as the country’s worst crisis since World War Two.

Immediate response
Operation USA began immediately working to address needs for material aid in the face of the enormous damage caused by the earthquake and tsunami, with a focus on shelter and medical supplies. Staged disaster supplies are also being prepped for dispatch from OpUSA’s Port of Los Angeles warehouse, to be distributed through on the ground partner agencies in Japan.

With an onslaught of cold winter weather following the disaster, the first shipment of a $1.1 million donation of Gap brand winter clothing was distributed to tens of thousands of recipients in Miyagi, Fukushima and Iwate.

A focus on rebuilding and recovery
Given the incredible scale of this catastrophe, second phase needs will be tremendous. Operation USA will work with a well-established network of local partners, and draw on resources in Japan dating back to the Kobe quake.

While further assessment is needed before committing to specific recovery projects, Operation USA will focus its efforts on supporting communities that may be overlooked by larger agencies or the Japanese government.

Projects will be identified where the efforts can have the maximum impact. Operation USA has over 30 years experience in both education and community health projects (most recently in Haiti, China and Chile), and will focus its recovery efforts in these areas.

Operation USA takes the intention of our donors seriously. All funds raised that have been specifically designated to support our work in Japan will be spent on Japan relief.

SUPPORT AND PARTNERS
Generous corporate support and in-kind donations have been provided by:

California Community Foundation
Cascade Designs
Etón USA
The Gap
Honeywell Hometown Solutions
Kaiser Permanente
Manitha Neyam Trust
Pelican Products, Inc.
United Airlines

Local partners include:

Peace Winds Japan
Second Harvest

Nonprofit community clinics provide healthcare to all people, regardless of their ability to pay. They serve the uninsured, working poor, high risk and vulnerable populations. But the demand for their services is increasing just as their funding is decreasing. For over 29 years, Operation USA has provided supplies, equipment and medicines—free of charge—to community clinics and health centers throughout California.

Operation USA’s California Clinics Supply Program provides, on average, more than $5 million worth of materials each year. Over 100 nonprofit agencies are served throughout the state that provide clinical, mental health and/or social service care to men, women, and children in need. Partnering with manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers and retailers, donated products are shipped directly to the clinics based on their current needs.

Operation USA maintains a 24,000 sq. ft California Board of Pharmacy-licensed warehouse at the Port of Los Angeles where donated items are received, staged and stored.

Operation USA Open Warehouse events are held regularly for partner clinics who are invited to ’shop’ at the warehouse and select, free of charge, useful items from the inventory. These events allow the clinics to interact with each other as well as learn more about the donating companies.

Operation USA’s California Clinics Supply Program continues with thanks to many generous supporters. Product donors include: Brother’s Brother Foundation, Heart to Heart International, Kaiser Permanente, DAVA Pharmaceuticals, King Pharmaceuticals, McKesson, Mitsubishi, and others.  The California Community Foundation, The California Endowment, Kaiser Permanente, Blue Shield Foundation, McKesson Foundation, San Francisco Community Foundation, California Healthcare Foundation and The Lincy Foundation, among others, provide financial support.

Homes, roads, bridges, crops and livestock were washed away. The flood ploughed a swathe of destruction from northern Pakistan to the southern province of Sindh. The floods ravaged the lives and livelihoods of millions and the impact of this disaster will be felt for years to come.

Operation USA is focusing long-term recovery efforts on supporting the rebuilding of the already tenuous education capacity for girls—alongside a community-led recovery program in the Bangla Ichha Union Council, an acutely vulnerable community in southern Punjab.

OpUSA partnership with Relief4Pakistan—and focus on Bangla Ichha

Located on the western banks of the Indus river, where Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab provinces meet, Bangla Ichha is an area inhabited by the Mazari tribe. 95% of the community here is agrarian—and was deeply affected by the floods.

- 30,000 people were displaced—75% of the total population
- An estimated 5,000 homes were destroyed or damaged
- 95% of the cultivated agricultural land was submerged by the floods

Due to a lack of funding from government sources and minimal presence of international institutions, the dykes in Bangla Ichha have historically been weak, leaving hundreds of villagers vulnerable to annual flooding. Implemented in partnership with the Khawateen Cooperative Society, a local community-based organization, Operation USA and Relief4Pakistan are working to have nearly 19 kilometers of dykes reconstructed and secured. Once stabilized, only minor annual maintenance will be necessary.

Due to climate change and other environmental factors, it is expected that this region will be continually vulnerable to severe flooding. The strengthened dykes would mitigate the impact of these floods on lives and livelihoods, leading to higher income generation. A more prosperous community will allow for an increased access to education and vocational training options for younger generations.

Operation USA has focused our recovery efforts in two areas:

COLIUMO LIBRARY: Tome, Biobio, Chile

Coliumo is transitional neighborhood located in Tome, a small coastal town in the region of Biobio. Following the earthquake and tsunami, Coliumo suffered radical changes. Over 200 houses were completely destroyed. After losing their homes many families sought refuge in the nearby hills were they remained for many weeks. They lived in tents while they waited for transitional houses to be built.

Operation USA has partnered with “Un Techo Para Chile,” a Chilean volunteer-based non-profit that specializes in the construction of transitional homes in post-disaster situations. In March “Techo” began a reconstruction project in the region, building houses and community buildings that were destroyed by the seismic shocks. Operation USA, working with “Techo,” is rebuilding the library in Coliumo, one of the neighborhoods identified as badly affected by the earthquake.

The necessity of this library is based on the quantity of children in the community and the lack of space they have for concentrating and studying inside the transitional home. This project offers a space for concentration that is vital for their education. Occupying a space of 36m, the library will contain three rooms, all adequately furnished. Donation for books will be made by Chilean Enterprises.

A BOAT FOR CHILE/RETURN TO SEA: Fishing/Livelihood Project, Araucania, Chile

Chile’s Fifth through Ninth regions experienced most of the destruction from the earthquake, especially along their coastline towns. These rural towns’ main tools for economic growth, such as the ports, boats and fishing equipment, were completely destroyed by the tsunami that followed the massive quake. Residents of these areas have not only lost their livelihoods which consisted mainly on traditional and artisan fishing but now find themselves in dire need of proper sanitation, nutrition, shelter and healthcare.

Operation USA has joined the campaign “A Boat for Chile,” a public-private partnership developed in cooperation with the Chilean government program: “Return to Sea.” The aim of campaign is to provide local fisherman with the necessary tools to resume their economic activities. Operation USA will be working in the 9th Region in an area called Araucania. The project will consist of repairing boats and engines for the fishermen of these small communities.

Operation USA has a history of work in the rehabilitation of rural fishing communities. After the 2004 Asian Tsunami, Operation USA provided livelihood grants, which included fishing boats and equipment to residents of Galle and Kalladi, two fishing communities located on the west and east coast of Sri Lanka respectively. This model proved to be very successful in restoring the economic activity of the village.

Operation USA has continued to invest in the future of the region’s children by funding afterschool programs and mental health initiatives that are designed to bring stability to their fragile lives. The Awesome Girls Mentoring Program, a long-term partner, offers afterschool programming for at-risk girls that gives them a place of safety and shelter, as well as provides a nurturing environment where they have the simple freedom to be children again.

Join Operation USA in supporting the first public library to be built in Rwanda, Africa. Donate new and used books today!

In 1994, Rwanda experienced a genocide in which approximately one million Rwandans were killed. Through the establishment of the Kigali Public Library–Rwanda’s first public library–it is the hope that the tools used for destruction will be replaced with tools of knowledge. Successful completion of this monumental effort will mark a watershed in Rwanda’s history, finally providing unfettered access to a treasure trove of knowledge that has so far been unavailable to a population of over eight million people. The library–a sanctuary for knowledge and a forum for the free exchange of ideas – will also be a monument to serve as a permanent reminder to all Rwandans and the rest of the world that the atrocities committed in 1994 will never be forgotten.

The Kigali Public Library (built by the Rwanda Rotary Club), is looking for support in building a collection of books for children and adults.

BOOKS NEEDED:

- Children’s books
- Literature/Fiction

- Non-Fiction:
– Science & Technology
– Entrepreneurship
– Commerce
– Agriculture
–Aviation
–Medicine
–Arts

- Science books are also requested for the Ministry of Education to benefit Secondary Schools (8-12) and the University of Rwanda (undergraduate and postgraduate). This also includes a request for books on Engineering and Math.

Books can be either new or used with slight wear.

BOOK DRIVE DATES & LOCATIONS

DROP OFF THROUGH OCTOBER 14, 2011*
Operation USA
7421 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90036

*Please call in advance of dropping off your books so we can be sure to be here for you!

Books can also be dropped off or sent to:
Seattle
Lucid Jazz Lounge
5241 University Ave NE
Seattle, WA 98105

Books will be delivered through RwandAir. We are very excited to help the Rwandan community create enhanced educational opportunities and brighter futures.

Monetary donations to support this program are also welcomed:
www.donate.opusa.org

Learn more about the Kigali Public Library:

http://www.kigalilibrary.org/