by Tracy Lee

    UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Non-profit organization Hope for Haiti is providing relief to victims of the country's devastating earthquake in the face of major obstacles, its executive director, Elizabeth Davison, told Xinhua Friday.

    She said Hope for Haiti, whose mission is to improve Haitians' living conditions, had spent the past two days searching through the rubble for survivors and administrating first aid.

A mourner holds a candle during a gathering to grieve for the victims in the Haiti earthquake, at the Trocadero esplanade in Paris Jan. 16, 2010. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei) Photo Gallery>>>

    The 7.3-magnitude quake on Tuesday may have killed up to 45,000people, according to UN preliminary estimates.

    The organization's country director in Haiti, Mike Stewart, has taken a big red "tap-tap bus," a colorful local form of public transport, loaded with lifesaving supplies, materials for a makeshift trauma center and two doctors to Port-au-Prince from the southwestern Haitian seaport of Les Cayes half a day's drive away.

    Davison, who is at the organization's Naples, Florida base in the United States, said "we wanted him (Stewart) to wait to make sure everything was safe but no way," adding Stewart didn't think twice about making the trip to Port-au-Prince.

    Davison said the situation in Haiti had deteriorated from shock to desperation, according to information from Stewart.

    "Just the horror -- the pain is setting in," Davison said. "There's just screaming. It's a terrible, terrible scene."

People hold candles as they participate in a gathering to mourn for the victims in the Haiti earthquake, at the Trocadero esplanade in Paris Jan. 16, 2010. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei) Photo Gallery>>>

    Stewart and his staff were currently manning three buildings and a hospital as part of their relief efforts, with one building used to hold about 500 dead bodies, Davison said.

    "They are trying to find people alive to give them first aid," she said, adding Hope for Haiti's goal was to get more doctors and supplies into Port-au-Prince.

    A major challenge has been logistics. The Haitian capital's port is severely damaged and aviation fuel is short, and aid agencies have been struggling to fly in vital supplies for days.

    Davison said she had five doctors and four nurses packed with their backpacks at the Naples airport ready to go, but because of the lack of jet fuel in Haiti and in the neighboring Dominican Republic, they could not take off.

    "We could get down there but we wouldn't have gas to get back," Davison said.

    Instead, they are on standby. As soon as supply barges reached Port-au-Prince and the surrounding islands, the group would be on its way to the capital, hopefully by Saturday with an additional person, Davison said.

    "I have got to get (Stewart) reinforcements," she said.

A woman holds a candle during a gathering to mourn for the victims in the Haiti earthquake, at the Trocadero esplanade in Paris Jan. 16, 2010. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei) Photo Gallery>>>

    "We don't want people dying from secondary disease that can be prevented," Davison said, adding they also had a wound specialist ready to assist those in need.

    As part of its relief effort, Hope for Haiti has cargo planes waiting in Naples -- all set to take teams, supplies and materials to Haiti.

    Davison also expected the relief efforts to be a "steady stream of teams" for weeks to come, with Hope for Haiti medical personal across the United States "ready and willing to go."

    Also ready for take-off in the next few days are two 757 Boeing planes in Miami, Florida, which Davison said had enough fuel to go back and forth -- one was donated by a private donor and the other by General Electric, Davison said.

    The two planes will be packed to the brim with much needed supplies, which Davison said would include nails and wood for the "mini dorm" that Stewart would build for the staff's sleeping quarters.

    "We've been making a difference in Haiti for 20 years, but now we're going to be making even a bigger difference," she said.

UN seeks $562 mln to help Haiti earthquake victims

Seven-year-old Stepanie lies injures in a makeshift hospital on a street in Port-au-Prince January 15, 2010. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations and its partners Friday appealed for 562 million U.S. dollars to help the victims of the devastating earthquake that jolted Haiti earlier this week, as the world body scales up its assistance in the wake of the disaster. Full story

UN chief to travel to Haiti Sunday: spokesman

    UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will travel on Sunday to Haiti, which was devastated by a massive earthquake on Tuesday, his spokesman Martin Nesirky told Xinhua here Friday.

    Nesirky said that the Secretary-General made the announcement during his meeting with Haitian staff at United Nations headquarters Friday to comfort them and to offer his condolences. Full story

UN chief to travel to Haiti to show solidarity with quake victims

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks to reporters at UN headquarters in New York, the United States, Jan. 15, 2010. The United Nations on Friday issued a flash appeal of 550 million U.S. dollars to provide emergency care to thousands of Haitians suffering from the fallout of Tuesday's earthquake that has devastated the country and created an epic humanitarian challenge.(Xinhua/Shen Hong) Photo Gallery>>>

    UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced here Friday that he will soon travel to Haiti, which was devastated by a massive earthquake earlier this week, to show solidarity with the people of the impoverished Caribbean nation. Full story

World Bank to provide additional emergency aid to Haiti

    WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank said Wednesday it will provide an additional 100 million U.S. dollars in emergency grant funding to support recovery and reconstruction in Haiti in response to a magnitude-7.0 earthquake that caused extensive damage and casualties in the Caribbean nation on Tuesday.

    "This is a shocking event and it is crucial that the international community supports the Haitian people at this critical time," a World Bank press release quoted bank group President Robert B. Zoellick as saying. Full story

16 UN staffers confirmed dead in Haiti: Ban

    UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said here Wednesday that 16 UN staffers were confirmed dead in Haiti in the wake of Tuesday's devastating earthquake.

    The 16 include 11 Brazilians, one Argentine, three Jordanian police officers, and one Chadian officer, said Ban.Full story

Earthquake crushes thousands of buildings in Haiti

    SANTO DOMINGO, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- A major earthquake rocked Haiti on Tuesday, crushing thousands of buildings, including the presidential palace and the U.N. peacekeeping headquarters, and trapping untold numbers of people in the rubble of the capital city.

    The devastation from the magnitude-7.3 quake, the strongest ever recorded on the poor Caribbean island, was so complete that it seemed likely the death toll would run into the thousands, according to reports monitored here. Full story

"Scale of catastrophe in Haiti is very high," says UN peacekeeping chief   

    UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations deals with humanitarian crises all the time but the devastating earthquake in Haiti has stricken especially close to home, said the head of UN peacekeeping forces Alain Le Roy here Wednesday.

    With the number of fatalities among UN staff members rising, LeRoy said the emotion is "extremely high." Full story

Over 100 UN personnel trapped in collapsed headquarters in Haiti earthquake

    UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- A total of 100 to 150 UN personnel were trapped under the rubble of the main building of the UN mission in Port au Prince, Haiti, which collapsed in a powerful earthquake, UN officials said Wednesday.

    The UN staff members were still working at the headquarters of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) when the earthquake struck, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters at UN Headquarters. Full story

Special Report: Strong Quake Rocks Haiti