PADF's Homes for the Holidays for Haiti Seeks Donations to Repair Damaged Homes

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With more than 1.3 million Haitians still living in displacement camps, the Pan American Development Foundation has launched a campaign to collect donations to help repair damaged homes. www.ImUnitedforHaiti.org

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100211/DC53912LOGO)

The innovative campaign – called Homes for the Holidays for Haiti – seeks contributions so displaced families can leave the unsafe and unsanitary displacement camps for dwellings that have been inspected and repaired by professionals.

"Too many families continue to live under bed sheets and pieces of plastic in Haiti," says John Sanbrailo, PADF's Executive Director. "It is unimaginable that our neighbors should live like this when we can repair their damaged homes."

Too poor to repair the homes and unable to find stable work, more than 1.3 million sought refuge in these temporary camps after the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake.

"We created Homes for the Holidays for Haiti so individuals can make a difference by repairing these homes," says Sanbrailo. "Donations of $25 or more will add up to helping our most disadvantaged neighbors. $100 can rebuild a wall and $1,000 can repair a home. It is fast and safe to donate on our special website www.ImUnitedforHaiti.org."

PADF, U.S.-based Miyamoto International and the Haitian government trained 270 structural engineers who inspected the conditions of more than 382,000 buildings in the capital of Port-au-Prince. Based on U.S. standards, buildings were "tagged" based on their condition. A green tag is safe; a yellow tag means it needs repair (and those fixes are described); and a red tag is unsafe. More than 99,000 buildings were yellow tagged. Repairing these houses would allow 800,000 people to return home.

PADF has begun the repair process. We have trained local masons and contractors to do the work and engineers to supervise it. The contributions raised through this campaign will help more families to return home.

"We often think of gifts that last beyond the holidays. This is one of those gifts," says Sanbrailo. "Please visit I'm United for Haiti and contribute to our Homes for the Holidays for Haiti campaign."

About PADF

The Pan American Development Foundation (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, its work reached 10.2 million people in 22 countries. www.padf.org  

In Haiti, PADF manages a large portfolio of activities ranging from community-driven development, assessing and repairing homes, protecting human rights and natural disaster prevention. PADF's home assessment initiative is funded by U.S. Agency for International Development's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance. For more information on PADF's activities in Haiti, please visit: www.ImUnitedforHaiti.org  

In addition to Haiti, PADF has offices in Colombia, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. PADF is based in Washington, D.C. www.padf.org

SOURCE Pan American Development Foundation