Haiti needs immediate (disaster relief), intermediate (reconstruction) and long-term (systemic and disaster prevention) assistance writes Aidan Rooney, CM.

The Red Cross, Mercy Corps, Doctors Without Borders, CRS and others excel in their abilities to plan and to deliver at various levels.

This is where the Vincentian Family comes in. We now have in place, structures to act on all three levels. But right now, disaster relief is the order of the day. Give. Quickly. To any reputable organization. Then, give again to an organization that can care the ball further on down the road. And, as members of the Family, join efforts on any level that stirs your creative imagination.

A recent article on the Brookings Web site discussed the amazing capacity of international relief systems to respond to major disasters but also the time lost in mobilizing these international resources to the site of the disaster.

Much of the life-saving happens before the international agencies even arrive.

While soliciting donations to help in the immediate aftermath of a disaster may be easier, funding ways for communities to respond to disasters and take efforts to reduce the risks of future disasters (e.g., hurricane awareness programs, flood warning systems) could save more lives in the long run.