Major Donation to Help Rebuild Haiti

Private Sector of the Americas donates $100,000 to PADF

LIMA, Peru, June 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A $100,000 donation will directly improve the economic situation for thousands of Haitians, as well as assist hundreds of others to move out of displacement camps, the Pan American Development Foundation announced. (www.PanAmericanRelief.org)

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The Private Sector of the Americas, a nongovernmental organization, made the donation to PADF during the Organization of American States' (OAS) General Assembly here. Both are nonprofits and affiliates of the hemispheric body.

"This generous donation by the Private Sector of the Americas will play an important role in PADF's efforts to rebuild Haiti," says John Sanbrailo, PADF's executive director. "Working with community leaders, we have identified development projects that will benefit from this contribution."

Projects include a water distribution system and a nursery, both of which will be run by their respective communities, and will create much-needed jobs and improve living conditions in key areas of the capital of Port-au-Prince. All of the projects are part of a PADF-managed program called Community Driven Development, which implements under the auspices of the Haitian government.

In addition, resources will also be used for home repairs and transitional housing supplies, which will help up to 400 people.

"The situation in the camps is desperate as people live under tarps, plastic and even bed sheets," says Sanbrailo. "With the start of what is predicted to be the hardest hurricane season in 50 years, it is vital that we move people into safe shelters."

PADF—an independent nonprofit that also responds to natural disasters on behalf of the OAS—was a first responder in Haiti. During the initial eight weeks after the Jan. 12 earthquake, PADF and its partners benefited more than 300,000 people with food, clothing, shelter, medical care, employment and more. PADF has worked in Haiti for nearly 30 years on disaster relief, economic development and enhancing civil society. (www.PanAmericanRelief.org)

Speaking during the ceremony, OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza tied the donation into the larger theme of "Peace, Security and Cooperation" of the 40th General Assembly, which brings together the foreign ministers from the Western Hemisphere. The General Assembly started June 6.

"I strive to create an environment in which we can cooperate to benefit our least fortunate neighbors," Insulza says. "So much more work is still ahead of us in Haiti and elsewhere in the region, but I am sure that by cooperating we are on the right road to creating a hemisphere of opportunity for all."

The Buenos Aires-based Private Sector of the Americas dedicated money that would have been used for its annual meeting, along with other donations, to help rebuild Haiti.

"We feel the pain for the people who lost everything," says Enrique De Obarrio, the second vice president of the Private Sector of the Americas. "But, at the same time, we are proud and grateful that we can cooperate in order to improve their situation."

De Obarrio emphasized how cooperative relationships like the Private Sector of the Americas' and PADF's are important tools to resolving some of the hemisphere's most pressing problems.

About the Private Sector Forum

The Private Sector of the Americas is an Inter-American, nonprofit institution that gathers national and regional business entities and companies from the private sector to facilitate and promote the establishment of a formal and institutionalized dialogue with the Organization of American States (OAS) and, through it, with its Member States. (www.PrivateSectorAmericas.org)

About PADF
PADF is a non-profit organization established in 1962 to promote, facilitate, and implement social and economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean. In the past year, it had more than 5.6 million beneficiaries in 18 countries.

PADF is one of the largest non-governmental organizations in Haiti. With nearly three decades of work on the ground, PADF now manages a large portfolio of activities ranging from community-driven development to protecting human rights.

PADF is based in Washington, D.C., and has field offices in Haiti, Colombia, the Dominican Republic and elsewhere. During the past year, its programs benefited more than 5.6 million people in 18 countries. www.padf.org

SOURCE Pan American Development Foundation