Please support our efforts to help families and children in Chile.
For your own copy of the poster above, click on the image and download and share our AAI Chile Response.
AAI is planning a fundraiser in Miami on March 21 to benefit earthquake victims and working with airline crews to mobilize quick response. Email Shannon DeWitt if you can help at believesucceed@hotmail.com. To view photos of Chile following the earthquake and tsunami, download the pdf.
You may send checks to:
Airline Ambassadors International
418 California Avenue, PO Box 459
Moss Beach, CA 94038
Please indicate “Chile Earthquake, 2010 ” on the check.
I arrived with Julie Manly and Roger R. Jean-Charles, both MD’s, at CDTI Hospital in Port-au-Prince 5 days after the earthquake to find a busy hospital that had been running at full throttle since the disaster had struck on the afternoon of January 12th. Two modern operating rooms and a GI suite upstairs and 5 tables in the emergency room downstairs were all occupied with surgeons and anesthesiologists busily working away.
They had modern x-rays and ultrasound!
I had never seen such a modern hospital in Haiti.
So how did it come to be there? A few days later, when we had a chance to catch our breath, I accompanied the principle owner, Dr. Reynold Savain on a tour of the hospital with a structural engineer who was inspecting its damage. Dr. Savain told me that he and his colleagues had wanted to do something for the first time in Haiti: To build a modern hospital that could be found in any country, but built by Haitians and run by Haitians. It was obvious that they had accomplished this. Very impressive. Soon after opening a couple of years ago the hospital had become the favorite of the embassy staffs and foreign nationals in the country.
Then complete disaster hit. Dr. Savain, his colleagues, and his CDTI Hospital (stands for Center for Diagnosis, Treatment and Imaging) were suddenly one of the only resources left in the city that could handle severely injured patients from this massive casualty of biblical proportions. It had survived essentially intact largely because of it’s recent construction to modern building standards. Due to safety concerns from some small damage to the foundation of the bed tower no patients were put in the rooms. Instead a tent ward was set up in front of and behind the hospital. Likewise, the CT Scan and Interventional Radiology equipment were not known to be safe to use without damaging them, but the modern OR’s, x-ray department and emergency room were fully functional.
As the magnitude of the disaster began to unfold it became quite clear that the hospital would soon run out of fuel for the generators, along with supplies, medicines and x-ray films. Dr. Savain knew he had to keep the hospital doors open. Literally hundreds of doctors, nurses and paramedics from the U.S., France, and elsewhere kept the surgeries going. It fast became known amongst us arriving surgeons and anesthesiologists as THE place to be in the city - if you wanted to use the skills that you brought to help, that is.
Dr. Savain has worked day and night. He has now managed to keep CDTI open for over a month, and is going broke (it is suspected by most of us that he is borrowing to keep the hospital open). He is also paying for the concrete and steel repairs for the foundation of the bed tower himself, to get patients inside and out of the sweltering tents.
This hospital, CDTI, is a precious resource for Port-au-Prince, (as is Dr. Savain) and cannot be allowed to close its doors! All of us who have worked at CDTI over the past month know this to be true.
If it survives, Dr. Savain plans to open a public wing for patients who can’t pay. This would be another first of a kind for Haiti I suspect. Many of us know people (and companies) of means. Perhaps a hospital where you work would like to do what my hospital (St Mary-Corwin Hospital in Pueblo and Catholic Health Initiatives, its parent company) did for me 5 years ago to help the hospital in Gonaives (Haiti’s 3rd largest city) and form a partnership…sister relationship if you will…with CDTI in Haiti. The possibilities for U.S. and Haitian staff exchanges for training and continuing medical education purposes, and an ongoing mutually enriching relationship would be endless!
I challenge anyone who has a spark to continue what we have started in Haiti as a result of this disaster to embrace the need now to keep CDTI Hospital alive!
Jim Smith, MD
Pueblo, Colorado
You may send checks to:
Airline Ambassadors International
418 California Avenue, PO Box 459
Moss Beach, CA 94038
Indicate “
CDTI HOSPITAL FUND, Port-au-Prince, Haiti” on the check.
Airline Ambassadors is working with major airlines to transport needed aid to Port au Prince as soon as air traffic control allows. Here is what we have in place:
HUMANITARIAN AID
160,000 lbs of high priority aid in Denver and Salt Lake City donated by LDS Charities. We seek to position this in JFK or MIA where charity flights on AA, UA, JetBlue and Spirit will be easier to coordinate. This first shipment of aid consists of:
- Water bottle filters
- Family food kits (MREs : meals ready to eat)
- Powdered milk
- Hygiene kits
- Tents for temporary shelter
- Canned food
- 80 lb bags of rice and 80 lb bags of beans
- Emergency medical modules
LDS Charities has pledged to deliver as much aid as we can ship, but we are waiting before ordering more until we have secured dates for transport.
DISTRIBUTION LOGISTICS
Our main partner on the ground is US Southern Command who is coordinating the relief effort in Port au Prince. They will provide ground support for distribution and store our aid initially with Food for the Poor and Catholic Relief Service (as they have intact warehouse space.)
FUNDING
AAI is collecting funds to pay for the fuel of aircraft that will deliver food, water, medical supplies, blankets, tents and emergency personnel from JFK/MIA to Port au Prince.
VOLUNTEERS
When emergency medical response efforts have ceased, interested airline crew members will be contacted and may register here. You will be asked to provide your name, phone number, passport number, airline affilation and ID number. You will be added to our volunteer personnel list and contacted when an aircraft becomes available. Thank you for your concern and generosity.
Airline Ambassadors invites you to support our adopted project and on-going missions to All Of God's Children Orphanage in Haiti.
Our first task is to provide a critically needed water filtration unit for the children. Long-term health and well-being measures will continue as volunteers initiate hygiene education programs and projects to foster a positive, safe haven for young ones to learn and grow.
If you are interested in participating a trip, please visit our Haiti Brochure
(pdf for print) for more information. Contact our coordinator, Corey Aungst, for details about the trip or to join our wait list.
If you cannot join us in Haiti, you may continue to support the project!
To donate to our All of God's Children Orphanage Project, please select the button below.
Or, you may send a check to:
Airline Ambassadors International
418 California Avenue, PO Box 459
Moss Beach, CA 94038
Please indicate:
"Haiti, All of God's Children Orphanage Project "
Last month, I was able to go on a mission through Airline Ambassadors to visit the Wounded Warriors at Landstuhl Hospital in Germany. Most of the injured who go there are from Iraq and Afghanistan, directly from the battlefield. The time spent with these individuals was priceless, and I am trying to put together another trip between now and the end of February.
The only way I will be able to do so, is if I can get donations to help with any expenses I will have. Also, if you feel inclined to write a card or two that I can give to the heroes we meet over there, that would be wonderful. My initial thought was to be there for Valentine's Day (show the wounded our love .. or something like that..) but I learned that most volunteers only show up around the holidays. So I am going to make any future trips I do between major holidays. My plan is that our next AAI mission to Landstuhl will be to deliver love via Valentine's Cards & some special treats to our Wounded Warriors 23-31January.
Select our donate button below to support Robin's Project and deliver some joy to our soldiers overseas.
To learn more about Robin's inspiration, please read her personal message (pdf). In addition, you will find Robin featured on Fox, ABC News, and
supporting the UN's Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) for fostering self-reliance and independence in countries needing long-term economic solutions to poverty.
The cooking systems you provide to these families are comprised of a highly-efficient stainless steel cook-stove, fry pan, cooking pot, toughened glass lids and a thermo pot. This system heats food or water with an 80% reduction in fuel and boasts a very low smoke emission as compared to traditional charcoal stoves. In Africa, the urban poor must pay a large amount of their income on fuel. These cook-stoves save much of that expense with the added benefit of reduced pollution and deforestation. Ordinarily, a great amount of wood is needed to produce charcoal. These new cook-stoves require only a small amount of twigs, which can be gathered without cutting down trees.
This program will encourage women to use these savings to send their child to school, and engage in microenterprise opportunties. They can generate more income to feed their families and escape the cycle of poverty.
We are committed to sponsoring 5000 cooking systems to urban poor in southern Africa. Each stove is $340 and enables one child to go to school through grades 1-12. Consider sponsoring as a family, as a team, or as a group. We would like schools to encourage each of their classrooms to sponsor a cook-stove and a child's education.
Please donate whatever you can to help.
Thank you for your support and for sharing this information with friends, relatives, church members and co-workers. Together we can make a real, positive, lasting change in the lives of thousands of families.
Please click on the donate button to help now!
Or you may send checks to:
Airline Ambassadors International
418 California Avenue, PO Box 459
Moss Beach, CA 94038
Indicate “Southern Africa -- Cookstoves ” on the check.
*Each donation is 100% tax-deductible
Haiti
Haiti Disaster Relief Effort Continues El Salvador (member-led trip)
documents the work and efforts of previous missions.
Please read our latest Haiti Update for more about the aid distribution.
If you would like to join us on a mission, please visit the Haiti Brochure.
You can help to support future missions by selecting
the Donate Button.
AAI will continue to send water purifiers, medical supplies,
and food with your donations.
Watch our site for updates about the work accomplished
with your generous support!
Thank you!
*Each donation is tax-deductible
Mexico
Mexico Orphan's Fund
Mexico
Coordinator: Becky Gahman
Two orphanages near Ensenada , Mexico, need our help. Casa de Paz and Pequenos Hermanos Childrens' Home house 45-55+ children (including 12 special needs children).
The down-turn of the economy, escalating violence between the drug traffickers and the threat of Swine Flu have devastated Mexico . The aid, previously provided, has dried up and they are destitute.
These children go months without fresh meat or fruits, and many times their propane is cut off before help arrives. Many of the dorms for the children are dilapidated with shoddy plumbing.
We do our best to help them but there are so many bills to pay, beside the basics of electricity, propane and medical. They need food, cleaning supplies and more.
Please help us get the aid they need so that the children can have electricity, hot meals, baths and help getting the supplies they need.
Donate to the Mexico Orphan's Fund!
Any contribution will help.
Please select the Donate Button and you will be directed to our
secure, online payment system.
You may send checks to:
Airline Ambassadors International
418 California Avenue, PO Box 459
Moss Beach, CA 94038.
Please indicate, "Mexico Orphan's Fund" in the memo section.
The goal of this project is to fund the reconstruction of a daycare center, or creche, in Johannesburg, S. Africa that I visited in April. Maria is the owner, and cares for approximately 20 infants, toddlers, and kindergarteners in a leaking, mildewy, floorless, muddy "building". She also has several children living in her home, who were abandoned or orphaned and know only her as a mother.
The funds will cover the costs of a concrete floor, carpet tiles, walls, and a new roof. Once this is done, we will begin filling the creche with toys, books, food, and more! Will you please join me with a tax-deductible donation of $5, $10 or $20?
We are committed to sponsoring 5000 cooking systems to urban poor in southern Africa. Each stove is $340 and enables one child to go to school through grades 1-12. Consider sponsoring as a family, as a team, or as a group. We would like schools to encourage each of their classrooms to sponsor a cook-stove and a child's education. 
The goal of this project is to fund the reconstruction of a daycare center, or creche, in Johannesburg, S. Africa that I visited in April. Maria is the owner, and cares for approximately 20 infants, toddlers, and kindergarteners in a leaking, mildewy, floorless, muddy "building". She also has several children living in her home, who were abandoned or orphaned and know only her as a mother. 
