donate directly to a town at epicenter of earthquake

Today I received this email from my friend Olivia, and wanted to share in case anyone feels more comfortable donating on a more local level.


Dear Friends and Family,

As many of you are aware, I spent this past summer in Fondwa, Haiti. This is a town that has mobilized its citizens and taken matters into its own hands over the past twenty years to overcome many of the hardships facing the country. They established a local orphanage, an association of peasants that leads many activities including reforestation projects, a university that challenges students to implement their own development projects, a clinic (one of the only places to get any medical care for miles), a convent, a radio station and a bank. Over the summer they were working on building a road through the town, and even trying to establish a bakery in order to create a local business.

All of this was destroyed in the recent earthquake. Fondwa was at the epicenter of the quake, and each and every building and structure has been leveled, including the nun's guest house where I stayed this summer. Many people died, including a nun that I was very close to and an unbelievable 2 year old orphan who lived with us during my time there.

If you were planning on donating to Haiti, I ask that you consider donating directly to Fondwa. They are accepting donations for both the university and the peasants' association, which are the organizations most capable of funneling aid and furthering development in the area.

You can find donation information below, and can also contact me with any questions that you might have.

Many thanks for your support and all the best.

Much Love,

Olivia

If you are interested in assisting APF or UNIF at this time, it would be best to donate financial resources due to the many infrastructural and procedural obstacles that prevent aid from reaching Fondwa.

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DONATIONS TO THE UNIVERSITY OF FONDWA
If you are interested in donating to the University of Fondwa, checks can be made out to UNIF-USA and sent to Father Med Laz at the following address:

The University of Fondwa-USA
P.O. Box 480300
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33348

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DONATIONS TO THE ASSOCIATION OF PEASANTS FONDWA
If you are interested in donating to APF, you can deposit donations directly into our account. You can contact Sabrina or Veronica (numbers below) for assistance or for the exact bank account and routing numbers.

The APF Account at City National Bank of New Jersey (CNB), in USA.

The Name of the account: APF (Asosyasyon Peyizan Fondwa)
Banks’ Name: CNB ( City National Bank of New Jersey )
Bank's Address:
382 West 125th. Street
New York, NY 10027
Tel. 212 865 47 63 ( Sabrina Brice or Veronica Gilbert at 866 551 58 88 ext. 645)
e-mail: sbrice@citynatbank.com

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Donations will be used to satisfy immediate needs such as food, water, medicine, and temporary shelter. If you are interested in offering long-term assistance for reconstruction of Fondwa, please let us know so that we can ensure that your donation is allocated towards this.