EN VISTA DEL RECIENTE TERREMOTO DE 8.8 GRADOS
OPERACION USA MANDARA AYUDA DE EMERGENCIA A CHILE

LOS ANGELES, CA (Sábado, 27 de Febrero, 2010) – Operación USA, una agencia humanitaria basada en Los Ángeles, anuncia hoy que mandara suministros médicos a Chile como parte de la respuesta humanitaria tras la devastación del terremoto.

El terremoto de 8.8 grados duro un minuto. Su epicentro estuvo a 90 kilómetros de Santiago, la capital de Chile. Mas de 140 personas han fallecido y un gran numero de edificios, carreteras, puentes,electricidad y teléfonos han sido destruidos. El evento también ha desatado una serie de alertas de tsunami en Hawaii y Japón.

Operación USA realiza una petición para donaciones de fondos monetarios. La organización también solicita donaciones corporativas en cantidad para ayuda medica, la cual enviara inmediatamente a la región desde su almacén en el Puerto de Los Ángeles.

COMO AYUDAR:
Se pueden hacer donaciones en línea a www.opusa.org o por teléfono al 1.800. 678.7255 o por medio de cheques hecho a nombre de Operación USA, 3617 Hayden Ave, Suite A, Culver City, CA 90232.

También puede enviar un mensaje telefónico al numero 50555 con la palabra REBUILD y donar $10 a los esfuerzos humanitarios de Operación USA en Chile.

Donaciones corporativas de materiales de emergencia en cantidades al por mayor también están siendo solicitadas. Millas aéreas también pueden ser donadas a Operación USA a través del programa de United Airlines Charity Miles en www.united.com

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Media Contact:

Alison Deknatel
Director, Communications
adeknatel@opusa.org
310.838.3455

For Spanish-language:
Alessandra Valconi
Program Associate, Latin America and the Caribbean Programs
avalconi@opusa.org
323.627.2688
310.838.3455

OPERATION USA TO SEND EMERGENCY AID TO CHILE FOLLOWING 8.8 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE

LOS ANGELES, CA (February 27, 2010)—Los Angeles-based International relief agency Operation USA announced today that it will send medical aid to Chile as necessary as part of the relief efforts following the earthquake that hit last night.

The 8.8 quake hit off the coast of central Chile, about 200 miles southwest of Santiago, the capital. First reports count over 100 people dead, with numerous collapsed buildings and roads, phones and power grids—as well as tsunami warnings triggered as far away as Hawaii and Japan.

Operation USA appeals for donations of funds from the public. The organization also calls for bulk corporate donations of health care materials, which it will ship to the region from its base in the Port of Los Angeles.

HOW TO HELP:

Donate online at www.opusa.org, by phone at 1.800.678.7255 or, by check made out to Operation USA, 3617 Hayden Ave, Suite A, Culver City, CA 90232. 


Text REBUILD to 50555 and donate $10 to Operation USA’s disaster relief efforts in Chile.

Corporate donations of bulk quantities of disaster-appropriate supplies are also being requested. Air miles can also be donated to Operation USA through United Airlines Charity Miles program at www.united.com.

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Media Contact :
Alison Deknatel
Director, Communications
adeknatel@opusa.org
310.838.3455

Richard Walden,
President & CEO
rwalden@opusa.org
310.838.3455

Thirty Days Later
Tuesday, February 16, 2010


Dear friends,


It is traditional in the Catholic faith to celebrate mass in remembrance of the dead after one month has passed. Today throughout Haiti, at 7 am, in what is left of the parishes of Port au Prince, this mass will be celebrated for the estimated 200,000 dead from the earthquake. In addition to these masses, President Preval has declared today to be a day of national fast, and the beginning of three days of national mourning. We are participating in this act of solidarity by offering mass at 7 am at Titayin, together with Bishop Dumas, at the burial place of the indigent and unknown dead from the earthquake. We ourselves have buried about 2,500 people there in the last 30 days.

 

After weeks of frenetic activity, we are returning to a state of equilibrium. Our hospital had become a trauma MASH unit, as had all other medical centers in Port au Prince that are still standing. We were able to offer about 30 surgeries a day at four sites (two in our hospital, one on our hospital grounds in a tent, and one at the St. Camillus Hospital, which we staffed for the emergency.) Many of these, sadly, were amputations – sometimes two for the same adult or child. 



To give an idea of the size of the problem, it is likely there are about 20,000 people now who have been amputated or who have orthopedic hardware screwed through their skin to the bone. Port au Prince has about 20 Haitian orthopedic surgeons, and visiting teams to Haiti will soon leave. All 20,000 need to be followed closely for removal of hardware, control of infection, reevaluation of the amputation, and of course for artificial limbs and rehabilitation. Obviously 20 surgeons will not be able to handle this load. We have worked closely with the St. Camillus Hospital so as to return our St. Damien Hospital to a pediatric center and to have a growing center for adults at St. Camillus. We hope together to be able to keep good tabs on the patients we have operated on, and hope to be able to provide well for them in the future. 



In collaboration with the Papal Nuncio, the president of the Haitian bishops conference, the local CARITAS office and the Italian Protezione Civile, we are setting up seven positions in the provinces, (especially since about 30% of the population has abandoned the capital) to be able to help enable access for these people to a medical system. We can do our best to follow a certain number patients from these sites, return them to Port au Prince for needed attention—by helicopter or land—and use these points as well for large distributions of food and educational materials for schools. We hope to continue to partner with St. Camillus and the Haitian bishops to strengthen a similar response within Port au Prince as well.


At Francisville, we are making a center for production of artificial limbs. Gena Hergaty hosted a meeting two days ago of 30 non-governmental organizations at our St. Germaine program, to determine the best collaboration for all those eager to invest in rehabilitation and physical therapy.



On the home front, Erin Kloos has made an exceptional recovery after being dug out of our crumbled Fr. Wasson Center. The funeral of her brother Ryan will be later this month in Phoenix. Fr. Craig Hightower celebrated the funeral of Molly Hightower, concelebrated by Fr. Phil Cleary. I hope I can arrange to leave Haiti for a few weeks at the end of February to see my father, and to visit both families for mass in their homes. 



We offered mass last Saturday for Molly and Ryan on top of the rubble of the Fr. Wasson Center on an altar made of fallen block, using chant and incense to honor Molly and Ryan and all who died in the earthquake, and to show our faith and hope, and determination to rebuild and continue our life giving mission.

 

The Fr. Wasson Center is being cleared by heavy government equipment, and we will rebuild a central administration center on the site, with a metal instead of cement framework, which are fast becoming popular here. We will also make an artistic monument to stand prominently on the corner, by a famous Haitian artist, dedicating the new center to Ryan and Molly and honoring all the victims of the earthquake.



In Tabarre our three areas of destruction were the perimeter walls, the tower, and the chapel. The Italian Protezzione Civile is clearing the debris, reinforcing the tower, rebuilding the chapel and rebuilding the walls. Additional internal non-structural damage to the hospital is being repaired by the Italian companies that made the initial installations (especially the central oxygen supply). The new maternity and neonatal program, born of necessity during the traumatic days following the quake, is following a good and logical course, and the rest of the hospital is returning to normal. 



Our surgical capacity will still be challenged as we tend to many postoperative children and new traumas. The cancer center got quite a boost, thanks to Sister Judy, as it is now a partner with the Danny Thomas Children’s Cancer Hospital in the USA. This will bring quite a help for development, diagnostic, training, material and medicines.

The St. Helene orphanage in Kenscoff was largely spared, but we were glad to see so much charitable activity on the part of the children, coming to the hospital to visit injured children and distributing food and supplies in the tent cities.


The Family Services team has been very attentive to vulnerable children in the tent cities and has elaborated a good plan for continued involvement. Future reports will be given on all these points I mention in this summary by the people involved.

 

We are still gathering the names of those who have died or disappeared in the rubble. We hope soon that Daniela, our temporary home correspondent, will be able to make a memorial page on the NPH website. We are very much struck with sorrow by the deaths of our colleagues or deaths in their families.



The St. Luke program has been valiant and tireless, and we suffered the loss of some staff and directors. We also suffered the loss of one third of our 18 street schools. We will resume school in tents, as soon as we have enough, and thanks to Artists for Peace and Justice, we are studying all aspects of rebuilding.



Everywhere around us there are huge social problems: woundedness, homlessness and hunger. There are wounded, homeless and hungry among our 800 employees (all programs combined, including St. Luke). This is made more dreadful by the advance of the rainy season. We had our first rain yesterday.



In a separate letter over the next few days, I will outline the investment we hope to make in addressing these three social problems and the rebuilding and advance of our own programs.



For today, please join us in mourning. Join us in prayers for the dead, for the living, for the future.


Thank you and God bless you,

Fr. Rick Frechette

 

Air shipments of essential medical supplies and personnel have been made possible by:

Ball Corporation
Honeywell Hometown Solutions
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc.
United Airlines

Medical, shelter and emergency supplies have been donated by:

Acculogistics
Adoodle, Inc.
Adhezion Biomedical
Afflication Clothing
American Regent
American Apparel
Apotex Corp.
Berry Plastics
Boy Scouts, Long Beach
CAMSS Shelters
Carolina Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Cascade Designs
Cedars-Sinai Health System
Dava Pharmaceuticals
David L. Jones, DDS
Dennis Fire
Eco-Sounds Medical
Eloquest Health
Eton/Ears to the World
Global Services & Trade Inc.
Kaiser Permanente
Kloiber Family Foundation
Kombo Kart
Kubota Engines
Laughlin Cartrell
Mayday Industries
Moldex
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc.
Natural Soap Formulas
Noonshin Malakzad Blanque
Pelican Products, Inc.
PL Developments
Precision Orthopedics
Safe Industries
SeQual Technologies Inc.
Servicon
Solar Integrated Tech
Solstice Neurosciences
Sterling Medical
Stewert Medical
StriPEN
Surgem, LLC
UCLA
Vitamin Angel
West-Ward Pharmaceuticals
Works Gloves

ASSESSMENT FOR LONG-TERM RECOVERY PROJECTS BEGINS

LOS ANGELES, CA (February 15, 2010)—As the one-month anniversary of the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti in January passes, Los Angeles-based International relief agency Operation USA announced today that its Haiti disaster relief efforts continue with additional shipments of essential medical aid, alongside the assessment of long-term recovery projects.

Operation USA estimates that it has sent over $3 million in donated medical, energy, food and shelter supplies to Haiti to date. With generous corporate support from Honeywell Hometown Solutions, United Airlines, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc. and Ball Corporation, the agency has sent seven air shipments of relief supplies to Haiti in the past month, getting essential pharmaceuticals, medical, emergency and shelter supplies, generators and light towers, as well as medical personnel to partner agencies on the ground in Port-au-Prince, as well as the equally hard-hit city of Jacmel.

Three million water purification tablets are being readied for shipment for individual and family use. One million Vitamin A tablets have been ordered from a producer in Canada—a simple solution to fighting many childhood diseases. A donation of generators from Kubota Corporation is being delivered to partners on the ground in Port-au-Prince. A large-scale procurement of food, soap and utensils was made in the Dominican Republic and has been shipped to St. Damien’s Pediatric Hospital/St. Luke’s Schools for use within the large network they support. Two large donations of baby food are currently being processed in the U.S. Procurement is additionally underway for temporary housing items, including tents and prefab structures.

Long-term recovery projects are still being planned. Initial reports have identified the rebuilding of schools and clinics in Port-au-Prince and Jacmel as primary recovery projects to be undertaken. Projects will likely be funded in Grande-Goave and Petit-Goave as well. As implemented after the Asian Tsunami, Operation USA plans to give livelihood grants to local groups, individuals and families to re-establish themselves economically.

HOW TO HELP:

Donate online at www.opusa.org, by phone at 1.800.678.7255 or, by check made out to Operation USA, 3617 Hayden Ave, Suite A, Culver City, CA 90232.

Text “AID” to 50555 and donate $10 to OpUSA’s Haiti relief efforts.

Air miles can also be donated to Operation USA through United Airlines Charity Miles program at www.united.com. Corporate donations of bulk quantities of disaster-appropriate supplies are also being requested.

About Operation USA

Operation USA is an international relief agency that helps communities at home and abroad overcome the effects of disasters, disease and endemic poverty by providing privately-funded relief, reconstruction and development aid. Since 1979, the Los Angeles-based Operation USA has worked in over 99 countries, delivering over $350 million for relief and development projects. 


Operation USA’s immediate disaster response has focused on the most pressing medical needs due to the devastation of hospitals and medical facilities—facilitating the delivery of donated material aid supplies. Local partners in Haiti include St. Damien’s Pediatric Hospital/St. Luke’s Schools, L’Athletique d’Haiti, Partners in Health, International Medical Corps, The City of Jacmel and the Hands and Feet Project (Jacmel). Artists for Peace and Justice—among whose ranks include Paul Haggis, Madeline Stowe, Charlize Theron, Maria Bello, Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Marcia Cross, Josh Brolin, and many other luminaries—has asked Operation USA to act as its non-profit umbrella for its support of St. Damien’s/St. Luke’s.

February 6, 2010

Long-time Operation USA supporter Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc. lands a plane shipment of generators and light towers in Santo Domingo, DR as part of ongoing Haiti disaster relief efforts.

Kubota Corporation donated $50,000 in generators that were included in this shipment.

Designated for partner agencies in Haiti, this donation will provide essential light and power for surgeries, medical care and ongoing relief efforts in Port-au-Prince, and other areas in need.

Kubota Corporation affiliated companies in the United States and Canada, including Kubota Tractor Corporation (KTC); Kubota Credit Corporation (KCC); Kubota Manufacturing of America (KMA); Kubota Industrial Equipment (KIE); Kubota Engine America Corporation (KEA); and Kubota Canada, Ltd., have donated $50,000 in equipment in-kind for ongoing relief efforts in Haiti--including Kubota generators and other electronic and first aid supplies.

“Kubota employees around the world would like to express our sympathy for the victims and their families of the recent earthquake disaster in Haiti,” states Dr. Satoshi Iida, President, Kubota Tractor Corporation (USA).

“Kubota sincerely hopes for the eventual recovery and re-settlement of those impacted by this crisis. It is our hope that this donation will be helpful to the significant humanitarian work ongoing toward relief efforts in the aftermath of the earthquake.”