Unprecedented levels of donations from Irish charities
As the devastation of the quake unfolds, charities have begun deploying Irish staff to Haiti. In excess of €2.5 million has been donated to charities in Ireland following massive collections at a number of public events at the weekend and a flood of calls to aid phone lines.
UNICEF Ireland, whose main priority is distributing clean water, is arranging a candlelight vigil in the grounds of Christchurch Cathedral in Dublin tomorrow evening at 5pm.
Medecins Sans Frontieres said medical teams were performing caesarian sections and amputations. And its experienced staff had never seen so many serious injuries, with patients being brought in by wheelbarrow and on others’ backs.
A big difficulty was the bottleneck at the airport, which has turned away vital cargo flights, it said.
Trocaire said it was involved in distributing food packages to feed 50,000 people.
The Irish charity, Haven, said 10 tonnes of much needed non-food items for relief efforts were due to arrive in the capital, Port au Prince, yesterday.
Several other charities in Ireland with staff in Haiti have reported generous donations including the Irish Red Cross, Oxfam Ireland and Plan International.
