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Learn More About Afya's Work
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Typo Correction
To all our amazing friends and supporters, we apologize for the typo we missed in our latest letter. Due to the incredible pace our staff and volunteers have been working at for the last several weeks, we made a small mistake and have now fixed it.
Thank you for your understanding and your support.
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Greetings!
"
Many hands make the load
lighter
"
Haitian Proverb
In the moments after the earthquake's violence,
buildings crumbled, thousands of people died, and families frantically searched
for their loved ones. In the past two weeks since the devastating earthquakes
in Haiti, we have seen heartbreaking images of anguish, homelessness and death.
Afya has a special place in its heart for HAITI: they
were our very first recipients of medical and humanitarian supplies when we
sent our very first 40' sea cargo container in March 2008. Prior to this
shipment, the Partners in Health staffs, both in Boston and Haiti, spent months
teaching us how to do this work, and we learned to do it well. Less than two
years later, we are responding vigorously to improve access
to urgently needed supplies. At this time, we are honored to support those
that taught us.
Afya has been working non-stop to bring relief to
Haiti. In the past two weeks, PIH has referred hundreds of calls from
across the country to us, and we now serve as a national
coordination center for hundreds of thousands of pounds of donated
supplies that we organize, inventory and ship (or fly) to Haiti. We are working
closely with our New York-based hospital donor network and continually submit
revised lists of supply requisitions.
Within one week of the earthquake, we collected
and sorted enough supplies to pack and ship five 40-foot containers and two
airlifts of supplies to Haiti. Among other containers, we helped the filmmaker
Jonathan Demme coordinate and deliver a container to Jacmel, a city of 40,000
in southern Haiti. The container was tightly packed with life-saving
generators, lights and humanitarian supplies. We will continue
our national recovery effort and understand that the healing process that
lies ahead will be a strenuous marathon, not a nimble sprint.
None of this work would be possible without the
help of an energetic community. On Martin Luther King Day, more than 450
volunteers walked through our open warehouse doors, eager to participate. And
now, every day, dozens of volunteers of all ages come to help fulfill a
commitment to Haiti. Hundreds of thousands of pounds of medical supplies have
been donated to Afya; they are conscientiously packed by these volunteers, and then
shipped to Haiti.
A FEW EXTRAORDINARY STORIES
Afya is working closely with Deb Tupe, Assistant
Professor of Occupational Therapy at Columbia University, to coordinate a Rehab
Project in Haiti. This project will start with the shipment of rehabilitation
supplies - things that are desperately needed by the thousands of newly physically
disabled people in Haiti. A team of Occupational and Physical Therapists will then
travel to Haiti to assess, provide interventions that match the equipment to
the needs of patients, and teach Haitian staff.
We are extremely grateful to the Greater New York
Hospital Association for their vital support and help in getting the word
out to their network for medical supplies. They have worked diligently on our
behalf and their responsiveness will save hundreds of lives. The American
Association of Orthopedic Surgeons has encouraged their network to assist with
the recovery and donation of essential supplies, specifically those needed for
orthopedic surgeries. DotMed has notified their entire group of Afya's
work in Haiti and our driving need for supplies.
The Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) responded
immediately to this catastrophe -they sponsored our first set of container
shipments to Haiti. We also thank the JDC for helping us spread the word of
volunteerism throughout the greater New York area.It takes a towering
community of caring individuals to respond to overwhelming human
devastation. We are grateful to our new partners and look forward to their
ongoing support.
Please check our website for updated supply requests
and hours of operation. Sorters and packers are indispensable - it takes
thousands of contributing hands to help the victims in Haiti.
Thank you for allowing us the privilege to serve
as the site where individuals, families, local Haitians, schools and
populations-at-risk can come and give of self, so that another human being has
a sound chance for health and survival.
To keep our efforts going and growing, we
need financial support to continue serving as the local clearinghouse for New
York. Please consider making a donation. Help us continue to Help Haiti.
We are proud that Afya (good health in
Swahili) is serving as this home of promise for thousands in need.
With enormous gratitude,
Danielle Butin
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About The Afya Foundation of America
Thank you for all your continued and future support.
The Afya Foundtion of America
510 Nepperhan Avenue
Yonkers, New York 10701
914-338-7034
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