OPERATION USA RESPONDS TO HURRICANE IKE IN HAITI, CUBA & TEXAS
WHILE CONTINUING ASSISTANCE TO THE GULF COAST IN RESPONSE
TO HURRICANE GUSTAV

Operation USA’s response to the devastation in the Gulf Coast began immediately following Hurricane Gustav with a shipment of antibiotics and heart medications to twenty clinics in Mississippi and Louisiana and we continue to coordinate with the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), as well as our primary care association partners in Mississippi, Louisiana and now Texas with regard to the arrival of Hurricane Ike.

We have been in close contact with the Texas Association of Community Health Centers who may be dealing with a surge of evacuated patients in the coming days and are preparing a shipment of medical supplies and other essentials to health centers throughout the affected region. Our response to the devastation in Haiti and Cuba has already begun with shipments of water purification chemicals and medical equipment and supplies.

To see an ABC News Spotlight on Operation USA relief efforts, click here.
To find out How You Can Help, and for cash and supply donation information, click here for recent Hurricanes Gustav and Ike press releases. You can make an immediate donation on line by clicking on the "Donate Now" button on this website.

OPERATION USA TO ASSIST CUBA AFTER HURRICANE IKE

The Los Angeles-based international disaster relief group, Operation USA, is sending emergency assistance to Cuba's main pediatric hospitals in support of their response to the medical needs of children stemming from the devastation caused by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

To read our press release and to find out how you can help, click here.

CHINA EARTHQUAKE
AID RESPONSE UPDATE

When a magnitude 7.9 earthquake hit the southwestern region of China on May 12, 2008,15 million people were displaced, 350,000 injured, and almost 70,000 killed. Among the fatalities were more than 9,000 children and their teachers who died when 7,000 school buildings collapsed.  Operation USA responded rapidly to the disaster, deploying a team to the hardest hit area, Sichuan province, to assess the damage and needs of those affected.

Operation USA responded rapidly to the disaster by deploying a team to the hardest hit province, Sichuan, to assess damage, meet with government officials and coordinate reconstruction projects in the region. Operation USA is partnering with Honeywell Hometown Solutions, the philanthropic arm of Honeywell Corporation, to reconstruct a village-level primary school that will serve over 300 students. Future plans also include the construction of a primary care clinic that will serve the same population and fund psycho-social programs for children suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder .

A recent trip with the CEOs of 6 major US corporations active in China, the US Secretary of State and head of our foreign assistance program as well as the CEOs of three major US NGOs (including Richard Walden of Operation USA) was recently concluded. The group, coordinated by the Business Roundtable’s Disaster Response Task Force, met with Premier Wen JiaBao of China as well as senior officials at the national and local levels to discuss the best way to provide American assistance to those in need in this disaster of unprecedented size and severity. Dave Cote, Honeywell’s CEO, stated to the Chinese and to the other CEOs on the trip that Operation USA is Honeywell’s preferred partner in implementing relief projects in China—following our successful joint efforts in Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan after earlier disasters. Honeywell is replacing schools and clinics destroyed in the Sichuan earthquake.

To contribute to our China Earthquake relief efforts, please click here.

MYANMAR: A NATURAL DISASTER
FACES A MANMADE OBSTACLE

On May 2nd and 3rd, 2008, Cyclone Nargis swept through Myanmar, wreaking destruction across the Ayeyarwady Delta region.  In the wake of the disaster, 130,000 people were dead or missing with 2.4 million people affected.  In response, Operation USA has partnered with the Mae Tao Clinic on the Thai/Burma border, funding cross-border, cyclone relief medical teams organized by E.A.T. Burma, a consortium of Burmese-run medical groups.  We are also partnering with the Int’l Organization on Migration (IOM) for local procurement of materials inside Myanmar to supply their medical teams in the area.

Operation USA has a 15 year history of assisting the Burmese people and working around obstacles. For more on our Myanmar relief efforts and how you can help, click here

All of our work is guided by the principle of Smart Aid.

WHAT IS SMART AID?