Charities, Celebrities Step Up to Help Haiti

"I believe this is God's way of saying to the world, 'I want to see your humanity.'"

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Louis Elneus was working in his Stratford, Conn., office at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 12, planning upcoming events for his Haitian-based children's charity, Haiti Lumiere de Demain, when he glanced up at the TV and was stunned at the devastation he saw.

Houses slid down mountainsides, buildings crumbled, and hundreds — if not thousands — were injured and killed when a 7.0 earthquake rocked Haiti at 4:53 p.m., leaving an already vulnerable and impoverished country in total chaos.

The earthquake — the strongest to hit the Caribbean nation in more than two centuries — struck just 10 miles off the coast of Haiti's capital city of Port-Au-Prince, according to the Associated Press. The earthquake caused a hospital to collapse and severely damaged the National Palace, the U.N. peacekeeper headquarters and many other buildings. Victims, many of whom lay crushed in the rubble, screamed for help. Bodies lay in the streets.

"I stared at the TV in disbelief and knew that an earthquake of that magnitude meant complete devastation for Haiti," says Elneus, 36, who, like millions of others around the world tried unsuccessfully to reach family, friends and colleagues in Haiti when he heard the news. "I am very, very worried," he says. "I haven't been able to get through to anyone. But the people there need our help."

Musician Wyclef Jean, the founder of Yele Haiti, has already put out a call to action. Immediately after the earthquake hit, the Haitian-born singer took to the airwaves, asking the world to come forward and help. "Haiti today faced a natural disaster of unprecedented proportion, an earthquake unlike anything the country has ever experienced," Jean told TV's The Insider. "I cannot stress enough what a human disaster this is, and idle hands will only make this tragedy worse. The over 2 million people in Port-au-Prince tonight face catastrophe alone. We must act now."

Jean continued: "President Obama has already said that the U.S. stands 'ready to assist' the Haitian people. The U.S. Military is the only group trained and prepared to offer that assistance immediately. They must do so as soon as possible. The international community must also rise to the occasion and help the Haitian people in every way possible."

Donations of $5 can be made to Jean's Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund by texting "Yele" to 501501 or by visiting www.Yele.org and clicking "Donate."

New York City nightlife guru and event producer Unik Ernest, whose Edeyo Foundation has built a school and provides meals, books and libraries for children in Port Au Prince, is also calling for help. "My country just experienced a 7.0 earthquake in the middle of rush hour in a very populated and confined area  -- imagine Times Square on a busy day, but a slum," he wrote in an email. "The school that we built is within walking distance to the National Palace, which got hit hard.  Since the news broke out that we were hit with this unfortunate natural disaster, I still cannot get through to my mother and find out the status of her health and our school."

Some of his famous friends, including Tommy Hilfiger and Mark Wahlberg, called him and offered "to support any initiative (Edeyo is) planning at this moment," he wrote.

The Edeyo Foundation is also planning a telethon and a benefit concert tentatively scheduled for the first two weeks of February. Celebrities he says will be involved include: Rihanna, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ashton Kutcher, Usher, John Legend, Mariah Carey, Jamie Foxx, Wyclef Jean, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Kerri Washington, Susan Sarandon and others.

"As I'm writing this email I'm still getting reports of all the damage," he says. "You won't believe how desperately my people back home need your help. Thanks in advance for your friendship and support."

Donations can be made to the Edeyo Foundation by visiting www.edeyo.org.

Shining a Light

Elneus is poised to help, as well. Haiti Lumiere de Demain, which he founded in 1998, built a library and provides textbooks for students in every school on the island of La Gonave — west of Port Au Prince. It also gives students solar-powered flashlights so students can study at night after they work in the fields with their families and do their chores at home. The trade-off? Students must agree to plant and care for a tree when they accept a flashlight.

The lights have changed the lives of many students in Haiti, he says: "I met one father who thanked me profusely for the light, saying, 'My daughter went to school and brought light home.' What he was really saying is that I had given him a sense of dignity as a parent. In rural communities in Haiti, girls are often considered a burden. So this father was saying to me, 'You have helped me to provide love to my family and to help me cherish my daughter. Thank you for that.' And that's something we can never measure."

But now that Haiti is reeling from the earthquake and its aftershocks, his charity will focus in the short-term on raising badly needed funds to help feed, clothe and house victims. "Going in with supplies will be difficult," he says. "Many roads are probably closed. The infrastructure on the island is not there for communication. Cell phone towers may be down. Donating money is the best option right now. People can donate to major, credible organizations who are working there now, including Save the Children, Unicef, The Red Cross and Wyclef Jean's charity, Yele Haiti, and others.

Donations can also be made to Haiti Lumiere de Demain at www.haitilumiere.org.

As for his plan of action, he says, "As soon as I am able to talk to the director of my program, I will be able to assess how we will respond. We will look at what we can do in the short-term and in the long-term. I was very upset when I first got the news. But then I started thinking, 'What's the next step?' You have to be clear-thinking to coordinate a plan to help. We will raise money and buy what we need locally and evaluate what is needed in the long-term."

People can also help by volunteering in Haiti, "when the time is right. Traveling within Haiti is probably difficult if not impossible right now," he says. "But stay connected. Organizations who are helping in the region will need volunteers."

Those who wish to volunteer in Haiti can also contact Haiti Lumiere de Demain. "We are very interested in taking volunteers with us when we go to Haiti to help," Elneus says.

He hopes that the world will rally to help the people in Haiti. "At this moment, there is no place for so many of these people to go," he says. "No food. No shelter. No clothes. Nothing. We are being given the opportunity to extend a helping hand. As a person of faith, I believe this is God's way of saying to the world, 'I want to see your humanity. Where is it?' These are the moments when the question will be asked, 'When I was hungry, did you feed me? When I was naked, did you clothe me?' There are people in Haiti who are in real need right now. Are we going to replace their suffering with a hand of hope? This is a challenge to our humanity."

For more information on how to help Haiti in its recovery efforts, please visit:

THE RED CROSS           http://redcross.org

Text HAITI to 90999 and a $10 donation will be made to the Red Cross for earthquake emergency response. This amount will be charged to your cell phone bill.

UNICEF                          www.unicefusa.org/haitiquake or call 1-800-4UNICEF

SAVE THE CHILDREN    http://www.savethechildren.org.

WORLD VISION              http://www.worldvision.org

AMERICAN REFUGEE COMMITTEE   http://www.arcrelief.org

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS        http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org.

Photos by AFP/Getty Images, and el clinto/Flickr