Toronto non-profits gear up to provide aid in Haiti

In the wake of a catastrophic earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0, the effects are being felt worldwide.

As of Wednesday, CNN was reporting an estimated 100,000 dead in the quake which tore through Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince on Tuesday. First lady, Elisabeth Debrosse Delatour describes the city as ‘destroyed’. Among the dead is the Archbishop of Port-au-Prince.

Port-au-Prince’s population is around 3 million people – one third of Haiti’s population.

Toronto is home to thousands of Haitian-Canadians and as the devastation becomes more clear, many are desperately trying to contact family members in the region of Port-au-Prince.

BrandAid Inc., a Toronto-based non-profit has issued a notice on its site stating:

Haitian Relief Notice!
Effective immediately proceeds from all BRANDAID Project sales will be used to support Haitian relief efforts!

The charity purchases hand-crafted items from artisans, paying their asking price up-front, and then sells them via their website. The notion began as a Fair Trade initiative and has since blossomed. The idea behind the project was simply to support better living and working conditions in artisan communities – often in impoverished nations.

BrandAid Inc. works directly with several Haitian artisans. Today, two are believed to be among the dead.

Also involved in the relief effort is Global Medic, a non-profit disaster relief response organization. Their manager of emergency programs, Matt Capobianco states the group will be in Haiti for 14 days. The team plans to focus on restoring access to clean drinking water, providing water purification units and to assist in restoring medical infrastructure using a portable field hospital.

Global Medic is a registered charity and is accepting donations through Canadahelps.org.

Toronto-based World Vision Canada is also participating in the effort, distributing emergency supplies to victims of the quake. A donation page has been set up at their website.

Donations can also be made through the Canadian Red Cross.