£30,000 emergency aid for Haitian earthquake relief

Following the devastating earthquake which took place in Haiti on Tuesday 12th January 2010, the President of The Freemasons’ Grand Charity has approved two emergency grants totalling £30,000. The funds have been issued to the British Red Cross and Plan.

The 7.3-magnitude quake, Haiti's worst in two centuries, struck at 1653 local time (2153 GMT) on Tuesday. The epicentre was within 10 miles of the centre of the densely-populated capital, where around one million people live, more than 50,000 people are feared dead.

The British Red Cross has been awarded £20,000 to assist with their relief efforts. Red Cross volunteers in Haiti are currently assisting the injured and supporting hospitals who do not have enough capacity to deal with this emergency. The most urgent needs at this time are search and rescue, field hospitals, emergency health, water purification, emergency shelter, logistics and telecommunications.

Plan has also been granted £10,000 in support of their efforts in dealingwith the immediate aftermath of the disaster. Plan’s priorities are assisting children and their families and getting people into safe accommodation wherever possible, as well as working with survivors to help ease their psychological trauma.

Visit The Freemasons’
Grand Charity website at www.grandcharity.org

£20,000 donation for Bangladesh Relief

Following the devastation of parts of Bangladesh by Tropical Storm Sidr, The Freemasons' Grand Charity is supporting the relief work of the Red Cross with an emergency grant of £20,000. Around 1 million people are believed to have been affected by the storm which hit the Southern Coast of Bangladesh on 15 November, destroying homes, crops and infrastructure and triggering a tidal surge that swamped three coastal villages.

The official death toll stands at over 3,100 people, but this is expected to rise as rescuers continue to recover bodies from amongst the debris. Some remote areas are still inaccessible and many survivors are without fresh water and food.

The emergency grant approved by the President of the Grand Charity will help to fund the work of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, providing for the needs of some of the most vulnerable people affected by the storm, including the provision of blankets, food, shelter, medical supplies and basic healthcare.

The Freemasons' Grand Charity is the principal Masonic Charity involved in donations to non-Masonic causes as well as providing assistance to needy Freemasons and their dependents.