Now more than ever, HAITI NEEDS US.

We encourage you to please donate. Information on ways to do so is listed below.

JAKU KONBIT

We are committed to promoting the African cultural identity, self-reliance, family and community development, strategic networking and mutual cooperation amongst Africans and people of good will.

OUR MISSION

To project, protect, and promote the African personality, respect, dignity and well-being everywhere and at all times.

MEANING OF THE NAME JAKU KONBIT

The name Jaku Konbit is derived from two African languages, Ga and Kreyòl. In the Ga language of West Africa, Jaku means Africans and the word Konbit is from the Kreyòl language of Haiti and means working together, helping each other, thus, Jaku Konbit literally means, AFRIKANS HELPING AFRIKANS.

Haiti contacts

Canadians with family in Haiti can call the Foreign Affairs Emergency Operations Centre in Ottawa at 800-387-3124, 613-943-1055, or email sos@international.gc.ca. Canadians in Haiti can get in touch with Canadian Embassy officials in Port-au-Prince by calling 613-996-8885.

DFAIT is also advising Canadians who need assistance in Haiti to travel to the Canadian Embassy in Port-au-Prince on Delmas Road, between Delmas 75 and 71. Canadians can also contact embassy officials by calling 613-996-8885.

Evaluating a charity

Before making a donation, consumers should take precautions to evaluate a charity. Here are some tips:
  • Check the database of registered charities on the Canada Revenue Agency's website. Registered charities are authorized to issue donation receipts for income tax purposes. Contact the charity to confirm that they do provide official donation receipts to donors. Cheques should be made out to an organization, not an individual.
  • Call the charity or look on their website to see how your donation will be used.
  • Ask for supporting literature on the charity's past missions to learn more about the charity.

HOW TO DONATE

In-kind donations of food, clothing and other items, while well intentioned, are not the best way to help those in need. There are tremendous processing and transportation costs involved in shipping these items to beneficiaries. Local purchases of food and clothing are more culturally appropriate and effective. Red Cross supplies can be purchased in the immediate area, thereby reducing transportation costs. Cash transfers to the affected region provide the optimum flexibility to our Red Cross colleagues so they can meet the most urgent needs.

PLEASE DONATE!

Haiti earthquake

Powerful earthquake hits Haiti – Urgent help needed

On January 12, 2010 a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, followed by several powerful aftershocks, struck off the western coast of Haiti, causing buildings to collapse in Port au Prince and chaos as people fled the damage.

The Canadian Red Cross is accepting donations to support Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti. Donations can be earmarked to the Haiti Earthquake fund. Canadians who wish to give may donate online by clicking here. Donations can also be made by calling toll-free 1-800-418-1111 or by visiting any Red Cross office.

The Canadian Red Cross sent $200,000 immediately to support emergency relief efforts on the ground and is on standby to provide additional emergency assistance. The Red Cross response includes evacuation support, search and rescue efforts and providing shelter and first aid. Local Red Cross volunteers continue to work around the clock to help the many people affected by this disaster.

UNICEF Canada is taking donations for the earthquake in Haiti. An income tax receipt will be issued for all donations $25 or more. For donations less than $25, receipts will be issued upon request. Please email secretary@unicef.ca or call 1-800-567-4483.

The Salvation Army in Canada is sending $100,000 US in aid and has started a fundraising campaign. You can also use your cellphone to send a donation by text message.

Médecins Sans Frontières Canada are setting up clinics to replace damaged medical facilities in Haiti. The group is also working to bring more teams into the country.

World Vision is preparing to distribute emergency supplies to those affected by the earthquake. World Vision has been working in Haiti for over 30 years, helping an estimated 300,000 Haitians each year to overcome poverty through providing access to education, clean water and nutrition, as well as helping families with medical care.

Partners in Health reports its Port-au-Prince clinical director, Louise Ivers, has appealed for assistance: "Port-au-Prince is devastated, lot of deaths. SOS. SOS... Temporary field hospital by us at UNDP needs supplies, pain meds and bandages." Follow link to help by donating.

Direct Relief is committing up to $1 million in aid for the response and is co-ordinating with its other in-country partners and colleague organizations. Their partners in Haiti include Partners in Health, St. Damien Children's Hospital, and the Visitation Hospital, which are particularly active in emergency response. Donate to Direct Relief online.

The Humanitarian Coalition — Care/Oxfam Canada/Oxfam Quebec/Save the Children. In collaboration with a number of organizations, The Humanitarian Coalition is taking donations for relief for those devastated by the earthquake in Haiti on Tuesday.

Artists for Peace and Justice, which was established after director/producer/writer Paul Haggis met Rick Frechette, an American doctor and community organizer working in the slums of Haiti for 22 years, is accepting donations. Call 310-319-1394 for further assistance.

International Medical Corps. a private, voluntary, nonpolitical, nonprofit organization, is deploying an emergency response team to Haiti.

Adventist Development and Relief Agency is a non-governmental organization present in 125 countries providing sustainable community development and disaster relief. ADRA is asking for any donation possible to support its emergency response fund.

Yele Haiti was established by musician Wyclef Jean to inspire change through programs in education, sports, the arts and environment. Yele Haiti is accepting donations to help make a difference in Haiti via its website. Because of high traffic to the website, Yele is accepting donations through mobile phones, with people able to text the word "YELE" to 501501 to make a $5 contribution. Yele Haiti can also be followed on Twitter.

Plan Canada has been operating in Haiti for nearly 40 years. Donations can be made by calling 1-800-387-1418.

Mennonite Central Committee is responding to the Earthquake disaster in Haiti. MCC is responding with emergency relief supplies and will be there for the long term in reconstruction and trauma support and other work to be determined. Call 1-888-622-6337 to donate or for more information.

United Nations World Food Programme is airlifting almost 90 tonnes of high energy biscuits — enough to provide more than half a million emergency meals. An income tax receipt will be issued for donations over $10.

United Jewish Appeal-Federation of Greater Toronto and Combined Jewish Appeal of Montreal have established funds for humanitarian relief aid to the afflicted areas. In Toronto call 416-635-2883 and in Montreal call 514-345-2600.

Wyclef Jean helping through 'Yéle Haiti'

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Haitian born musician Wyclef Jean founded charity organization Yéle Haiti in 2005
  • Yéle has been involved with Haiti through scholarships and food drives
  • Jean and Yéle mobilized within two hours following Haiti earthquake
(CNN) -- In 2005, Haitian-born and Brooklyn-raised musician Wyclef Jean created the grassroots charity organization Yéle Haiti. The former member of the Grammy-winning group The Fugees coined the term Yéle in a song and imbued it with the meaning, "a cry for freedom."

The purpose of the organization has been, from its inception, to restore pride and hope to the Haitian people through projects that will allow citizens to ultimately help themselves, such as the creation of scholarships, support for the arts, food distribution and emergency relief. "I see old women with large bags of rice on their heads and men on street corners selling sugarcane and mangos, all just trying to survive with a strong sense of pride," Jean said in a statement on the group's Web site. "Walking past a church in my village, I hear the congregation singing an appeal to God to hear their cries and grant deliverance to Haiti. Through experiences like this, I sense where my mother and my father got their strength. Now the whole country needs to reach deep into the spirit and strength that is part of our heritage.

"The objective of Yéle Haiti is to restore pride and a reason to hope, and for the whole country to regain the deep spirit and force that is part of our heritage." Within two hours of Tuesday's 7.0 magnitude earthquake, Jean and Yéle mobilized on social networking sites to raise funds for disaster relief. Jean is encouraging people to text "Yéle" to 501501, which will automatically donate $5 to the Yéle Haiti Earthquake Fund, or to visit http://www.yele.org/.

"I cannot stress enough what a human disaster this is, and idle hands will only make this tragedy worse. The over 2 million people in Port-au-Prince tonight face catastrophe alone. We must act now," Jean said in a statement Tuesday night.

In its first year, the organization, which Jean created in collaboration with his cousin, music producer Jerry Duplessis, provided scholarships to more than 3,600 children.

In 2007 Jean testified before the House of Representatives urging the U.S. government to earmark more funds for education in Haiti and to encourage the U.S. private sector to enter the Haitian market in order to create jobs for the Haitian people. Jean also stressed the important of the arts in Haiti.

The group has used local musicians to deliver food into slum neighborhoods where no other organizations are able to go. They have held annual hip-hop competitions where underprivileged youth are invited to write raps on social issues. A project called Yéle Cinema shows free Creole-dubbed films in slum neighborhoods, interspersed with short messages about social and development themes.

Jean hasn't been shy about using his celebrity status to advance the aims of Yéle Haiti. Following the devastation of several consecutive tropical storms in September 2008, Jean brought actor Matt Damon to the island. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have traveled with Jean several times, most notably in 2006 when Jolie was pregnant with their first child. Last March the musician brought United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and President Clinton to tour the region.

"I was honored to show my support when they asked me to join them on this important humanitarian trip which also gave them the opportunity to experience the beauty underneath the devastation my country and its people have had to face. It's crucial for me to do all I can to raise awareness and help Haiti get through this tough time," Jean said in a statement.

While in Haiti the group visited a Yéle sponsored feeding program and met with President René Preval and senior government officials.

In May 2008, Jean and Yéle Haiti partnered with the United Nations World Food Program and the Pan American Development Foundation to create "Together for Haiti," a program that specifically provides resources for targeted food distribution, employment creation, micro-enterprise grants and farm training.

"The food crisis we've seen develop in Haiti over the last 60 days is more serious than any emergency I've seen over my years of work with the country," Jean said in a statement. "Even where food is available, the citizens of Haiti do not have the resources to buy it -- and we must take immediate action. I'm confident that through the commitment of these three powerful organizations, 'Together for Haiti' will rise to meet this urgent challenge and provide direct relief to the people."