It’s not uncommon for Haiti to be lashed by hurricanes, but an earthquake, such as the 7.0 magnitude quake that struck the other day, is out of the ordinary.  Haiti receives a great deal of attention from churches and other charity organizations as our hemisphere’s poorest country.

            If you are able to contribute in some way to relief efforts in the quake aftermath, consider getting in touch with the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross, both of which are famous for disaster relief efforts.  Click on their names in this paragraph to go to their home pages.  Their home pages are also linked on my Links of Interest page in the Other Resources–Helping Others category.

            You can give $10 to the Red Cross by texting the word HAITI to 90999. The same word sent to 864833 contributes $5 to the United Way. The donations are automatically added to your phone bill.
 

            If you know of other charitable organizations you believe to be trustworthy, leave the organization’s name and web address in the comment section below.

            When getting in touch with any charitable organization, find out what they need most.  That way you and your church or other group can give intelligently and effectively.

            If you’re unable to give something tangible, pray.

            If you’re an amateur (ham) radio operator, you’ll be interested in the following information.  Likewise, if you have single sideband listening capability on a shortwave receiver, you’ll want to take note.

            The SATERN net—Salvation Army Team Emergency Response Network—operates on 14.265 MHz and is currently active.  At night they’re on 7265 and 3977.7 KHz.  SATERN handles what’s known as health and welfare traffic.  In the absence of telephone or cell phone communications, this net is one example of where ham radio shines during such a disaster.  More info is on their web site at www.satern.org.

            Another net frequency to monitor is 14.300 MHz.  In addition, all hams have been asked to keep 7045 kHz and 3720 kHz clear for possible emergency traffic related to the earthquake in Haiti.  Other frequencies may be activated on different bands at different times of day, so ham operators should be sure to listen carefully before transmitting to make sure they aren’t interfering with emergency traffic.

It should go without saying, but, if you’re a ham operator, don’t interfere with these directed nets.  If you can handle traffic, provide requested assistance, or can serve as a relay station, check in.  Otherwise keep your ears open and your mic off.

            If you’re not a ham operator but have the ability to listen to any of these nets, you’ll get an education about how valuable and important ham radio is in times of disasters and emergencies.  If this gets you interested in becoming a ham radio operator, a good place to start is the Web site for the ARRL, the Amateur Radio Relay League, at www.arrl.org.