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10/12/2008
On October 12th Humanity First volunteers, Dr. Ali and Bob Cobb, presented a Target gift card to Kevin "Pork Chop" Freeman after he lost every thing in the wake of Hurricane Ike. Kevin and his family lived in Port Bolivar and lost their two cars and their house where only the deck he built last year remains. Currently he is living in San Leon in a trailer home that one of his relatives has lent him and his insurance has so far only paid for a rental car. He remains tremendously upbeat in this difficult time though he became emotional when Humanity First presented him the $300 gift card.
10/06/2008
Humanity First Team purchased over $1,000 worth of cleaning supplies for residents living in Galveston Island for cleaning the mass infestation of mold in their homes since the entire island was . In partnership with the Jesse Tree Organization, an NGO working with the City of Galveston's Emergency Management Office, these supplies will be distributed to those who would best benefit from them.
Humanity First Team reports that although the Galveston area is still under 8PM curfew, it is much more safer now. Unfortunately, the entire Galveston Island is still at least 3 feet under water.
9/24/2008
9/23/2008
9/22/2008
9/21/2008
9/20/2008
A 2nd and 3rd Humanity First Teams arrived in the region on the evenings of September 20th and 21st with a focus to serve coastal areas outside of Houston. The additional teams focused on Harris County, Chambers County, and the Seabrook/Clear Lake areas where Humanity First's assessment team has reported extensive damage and ongoing short term needs. Food and supplies valued at more than $2,000 have been delivered to over 200 hurricane survivors.
9/15/2008
A first responder team has been dispersed by Humanity First USA to assess the situation on the ground, and is working to transport blankets, sleeping bags, collapsible cots, and clothing items to the devastated areas as needed.
9/15/2008
Sunday saw great devastation in Texas and other southern parts of the country when Hurricane Ike made landfall. Sweeping first through the Caribbean and claiming 80 lives, the category 2 storm proceeded into the Gulf, submerging Galveston followed by mainland Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas. The center of Hurricane Ike slammed into Galveston, Texas at 2 am on September 13th and moved inland across the Galveston-Houston area, knocking out power, water and sewer services, toppling trees, damaging buildings and leaving 31 people dead so far. The Texas Public Utilities Commission estimates that more than 2.4 million customers are without power and the U.S. Energy Department says 400,000 others are without power in Louisiana and Arkansas. Tap water has been declared unsafe to drink in cities such as Houston. In Galveston, winds as high as 110 mph have blocked all forms of communication and have left survivors with no gas or food. As shelters fill up in coastal areas and major cities, the shortage in food and water is making the situation increasingly desperate.
In the past Humanity First has provided disaster relief services for Katrina in 2005, followed by several post-disaster rebuilding projects. Now, HF teams are ready to leverage Katrina relief experience to respond and provide any relief services needed by survivors of Hurricane Ike.
The best ways to support Hurricane Ike relief efforts is to volunteer and/or donate cash (please designate your donation to "Disaster Relief Fund" while setting up your donation).
HF will be providing updates through this website and email communications to our supporters. If you have not registered already, please take a moment and register on this site to stay updated.
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Humanity First is registered in 43 countries across 6 continents, and has been working on human development projects and responding to disasters since 1994. These have included the earthquakes in Turkey, Pakistan, Japan and Iran, floods in Africa and Latin America, hurricanes (Katrina and Rita) , tornado's (Kansas) and wild fires (California) in the USA, Indonesia and Bangladesh, and conflicts in Eastern Europe.
Since its inception and IRS registration in 2004, Humanity First has been focused on spending most of the raised funds on direct program related expenses. As a result, more than 90% of its funds are in that expense category. This is achieved through dedicated volunteers in its management, and program operation teams.
