Hurricane Matthew Relief Effort Information

 
Hurricane Matthew Relief Effort Information
Special Message from District Governor, District 7020, Haresh L. Ramchandani
Friends, I know we have all been watching, and in some cases, been directly affected as Hurricane Matthew has made a devastating impact across Rotary District 7020. We are grateful that most of us were spared, however as we know South Western Haiti and the Bahamas took direct hits.
 
A Hurricane Matthew Disaster Committee headed by District Disaster Chair Jacqueline Heyliger, a disaster planning professional based in the USVI, and a number of district leaders have met, assessed the needs currently coming out of Haiti, and have decided on 2 components. One – An Immediate Response for Direct Relief needs and Two - a more medium to long term approach.
For the its immediate needs we will be focusing around Les Cayes, Jeremie and Aquin in Haiti. The Rotary Club of Les Cayes, a strong Rotary Club, along with DGE Robert, and many of our Rotary leaders in Haiti, will lead the efforts. Their assessment is unfortunately a bleak one: Many, many homes have lost their roofs leaving thousands of families unprotected and there has been a serious outbreak of cholera, putting further pressure on the already strained resources. They advise that the community’s immediate needs are materials (metal sheeting), to repair the roofs and water filters to provide clean drinking water. Fortunately, both are still available for purchase on the ground in Haiti, however there are naturally supply and demand issues which will affect cost, so it is essential that funds are made available to buy these items immediately. Currently, a sheet of metal roofing costs US$4 and approximately USD$200 to put a new roof on, and a filter plus bucket, which can provide just under 300 gallons of clean water per day, should cost around US$50-60.
Ways to Give at District 7020.org