SOS Rescue Teams Have Arrived

Jan. 17, 2010 - PRLog -- The Emergency Relief Program for Haiti is being led by Johann Denk from our Regional Office in Costa Rica. The volunteers from the Dominican Republic are psychologists and social workers who will begin the much needed psychological crisis counseling for survivors. At least another 15 psychologists and social workers from Costa Rica are expected to follow within the coming days.
   
The first steps to be taken by the SOS team are:

1) Assess the situation at the SOS Children's Village in Santo and the neighboring communities which are heavily affected by the earthquake. Determining the fate of hundreds of families who have been supported by our family strengthening programs in Haiti is a priority.

2) Coordinate the arrival of a larger team that is expected to come in the next days.

3) Prepare for the receipt and distributino of relief items.

The first shipment of ten tons of supplies for Haiti left this morning at 11 AM local time from Santo Domingo to the border of Jimani. The transport is led by Wilfredo Rosario, Director of the Dominican SOS Children's Village in Los Jardines. This shipment includes both donated and purchased supplies.

The list of supplies includes:

Water
Canned food, milk, juice, pasta
Medicines
Tents
Sleeping bags
Lamps
Large plastic tables
Fuel: 200 gallons of diesel and 100 gallons of gasoline
Shovels, picks, metal scissors, cement, saws, hammers

The truck will remain on the border of Jimani, and will start tomorrow with the Haitian Army convoy. The army will guard the truck to the village of Santo.

It has been confirmed by the Dominican government that a mobile clinic will be installed at the SOS Children's Village in Santo. Equipment and medical staff are planned to arrive on January 18.

At SOS Children's Villages in the Dominican Republic, four teams are working hard to increase the effective coordination of actions. Efforts are focused on the purchase of food, medicine and other items, as well as efforts to continue receiving donations in kind.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://www.sos-usa.org/newsroom/press-releases/Pages/SOS-...

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SOS Children's Villages is the world's largest charity for orphaned and abandoned children with 500 villages in 132 countries. http://www.sos-usa.org