Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation

The first major aid shipment from the Tzu Chi Foundation, enough to provide 100,000 meals, has left Taiwan for Haiti and will soon be distributed to the people who need it. The shipment left Taoyuan international airport on January 22 for Miami, Florida.

After a brief stop there, it was flown to Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic, from where it will be taken by road to Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. It is due to arrive therein the morning of January 23 local time. The volunteers in place in the city are deciding on a safe place for storage and distribution. One of the alternatives is a warehouse owned by Haitian volunteer Steeve Lemite and his father. It has room for six containers and is a completely secured location.

The shipment consists of instant rice, corn powder, re-useable bowls and re-useable soupspoons. The foundation chose these items because experience has shown them to be the items that can be used with the greatest speed and in the most environmentally friendly way during a disaster. The rice is light to carry and be eaten 30-50 minutes after being mixed with hot or cold water. The foundation gave out large quantities of it to the surviors of Typhoon Morakot which struck southern Taiwan in August 2009. The volunteers used their skill and ingenuity to develop a similar instant food made of corn, the staple food of Haitians, to meet their taste. It can also be eaten after being mixed with hot or cold water. The volunteers hope that this corn powder will satisfy the demands of the Haitian people, in a quick and enjoyable way.

The quantities in the shipment are as follows -- 67 cases of corn powder, enough to provide 21,000 meals, at 50 grams per meal: 653 cases of instant rice, enough to provide more than 71,000 meals, at 100 grams per meal: 20,100 re-useable bowls and 20,000 re-useable soup spoons.

For its future aid to Haiti, the foundation will make its utmost efforts to provide what the Haitian people want, to facilitate the distribution in the best way.

Source: Tzu Chi Foundation