"Certain" Haitian orphans cleared to enter United States

The Obama administration today has announced it will allow "certain" orphaned Haitian children to come to the U.S. where families are waiting to adopt them. The Miami Herald provides a full report here.
The press release, sent to the Reporter by the Department of Homeland Security is below:

SECRETARY NAPOLITANO ANNOUNCES HUMANITARIAN PAROLE POLICY FOR CERTAIN HAITIAN ORPHANS

Today! Artists unite to benefit Haitian relief in Roxbury

The Massachusetts Haitian American Earthquake Task Force is teaming up with local artists, gospel choirs, and special guests from across the nation to launch a major fundraising effort this Sunday, Jan. 24 to benefit organizations working to support victims of the January earthquake in Haiti. The program will be staged from 3-9 p.m. at Madison Park High School , 75 Malcom X Boulevard , Roxbury.

Helping kids cope during crisis: What do we tell them?

“Will we have an earthquake in Cambridge?”
That’s one of the questions my students asked during a discussion about the earthquake. You can bet that in numerous schools and households throughout the country, the same question is being asked. It’s important that adults address children’s concerns during this difficult time. Here are some suggestions from Dr. David Fassler, a child and adolescent psychiatrist practicing in Vermont.

Help needed! Translate messages from victims for emergency responders

The Center for Future Civic Media at MIT has reached out the BHR and our staff and readers for help with a new database intended to help get emergency responders to Haiti's earthquake victims. A new text/SMS code — 4636— is being employed in Haiti to help coordinate emergency response to those in need. We are asking all of our Creole-English speaking readers to help with this effort ASAP. Please follow the directions carefully.

Here is a brief backgrounder from Christopher Csikszentmihalyi, who is directing MIT's efforts on the project:

Update: BHR's Rich Innocent now in Cabaret, north of Port-au-Prince

The Boston Haitian Reporter's Richardson Innocent has left the Delmas section of Port-au-Prince and is now in Cabaret, a town north of Haiti's capitol where the situation is considerably less dire. The Reporter spoke to Innocent on Sunday afternoon just before 3 p.m. We had last talked with him on Thursday when he was still in Delmas.

A troubling call from Les Cayes

(2:20 p.m.)- Our newsroom just received a call from Renel Louis Jean, 22, who is in Au Cayes and is desperately looking for help. He has left Port-au-Prince, where he was when the earthquake hit, with a group of survivors.
His says mother Alourdes Pierre and his father, Jeanty Louis Jean, were killed in the earthquake and have been buried in Carrefour, just outside Port-au-Prince, where he is from.
“They are still picking up bodies from the streets,” he said. “We are not getting any help.”
Les Cayes is located several hours away from Haiti's capitol.

Bi-partisan push for help: Obama taps Clinton-Bush for new Haiti fund

The White House has announced today that two former presidents —Bill Clinton and George W. Bush — will head up a new fund.
Here is the statement from the fund's website.

Statement by President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush

"We are deeply saddened by the devastation and suffering caused by the recent earthquake in Haiti. The people of Haiti are in our thoughts and prayers.

Zamor: Fondwa University is 'gone', town flattened

Riche Zamor, a Boston man who serves as president of the University of Fondwa tells the Reporter today that the school's facilities have been completely destroyed. Fondwa, a town located about 45 minutes southeast of Port-au-Prince, is utterly destroyed, according to Zamor, who is in the United States but has spoken directly to several members of his staff on the ground.

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