News about Austrians in the USA

Change of aid workers in Haiti

The Austrian Workers' Samaritan Federation (Samariterbund) is changing some of the personnel on its seven-member team that has been helping earthquake relief efforts in Haiti since 24 January.

The Federation announced today (Thurs) that Lower Austrian Christian Wagner and Slovaks Zaher Mahmoud and Dana Spisiakova would leave for Haiti this morning.

It added that Viennese Christian Wagner and Slovaks Marcel Sedlacko and Tomas Dovjak would return to Vienna tomorrow.

Mahmoud and Spisiakova work for the Slovak Workers' Samaritan Federation.

Wagner and Spisiakova are sanitary experts, and Mahmoud is an emergency doctor.

Reinhard Hundsmüller, the Austrian Federation's federal secretary, said priorities would change along with personnel.

"Rebuilding must begin soon. The earthquake made almost one million people homeless, and they are living in very-difficult conditions," he said, adding that it was also necessary to establish a sustainable system of basic health care in Haiti.

He added surgeons were operating on people in tents in the parking lot of Haitian capital Port-au-Prince's second-largest hospital.

A Federation mobile medical team has been working in the Leogane area in Haiti since 26 January.

Austrian aid began to arrive in Haiti last week as charities started sending plane-loads of supplies and medicines to the earthquake-ravaged state. Two trucks and 76 crates of medical supplies left Vienna for Haiti last week as part of an aid package from the "Nachbar in Not" (Neighbour in Need) charity.

Medical supplies were also sent to Santo Domingo last week after the Interior Ministry paid for their transport. The supplies will enable Caritas' health stations in Haiti to care for 100,000 people during the next three months.

Austrian charity "Licht für die Welt" (Light for the World) said last week it would help build a rehabilitation centre for Haitian earthquake victims and help rebuild part of the destroyed University Clinic in Haitian capital Port-au-Prince.

Austrian farmers have also pledged to help farmers in earthquake-ravaged Haiti. The nine provincial agriculture chambers and the Raiffeisen group said they would contribute 30,000 Euros to support a Hilfswerk Austria agricultural project for 1,000 farm families in the Caribbean state.

The Red Cross, Caritas, CARE charity, Licht für die Welt, the Agriculture Chamber and the Workers' Samaritan Federation have set up accounts for donations to help Haiti earthquake victims, which can be made to:

CARE: PSK 1.236.000 (BLZ 60.000) – password: "Haiti"

Caritas: PSK 7.700 004, (BLZ 60.000) – password: "Erdbeben Haiti"

Austrian Red Cross (Österreichisches Rotes Kreuz): PSK: 2.345.000 (BLZ 60.000) - password: "Erdbeben Haiti"

Licht für die Welt: PSK 92.011.650 (BLZ 60.000) - password: "Haiti-Aufbauhilfe"

Agriculture Chamber: PSK account 90.311.400 (BLZ 60.000).

Workers' Samaritan Federation: PSK 00001-834-000 (BLZ 60000) - password: "Erdbebenhilfe Haiti."

Source: Austrian Times