Waived cell phone fees

T-Mobile has waived fees for calls to and from Haiti! Thank you to T-Mobile in this time of need.

Graphic by Elisse LaFrance

Debris lays in the street after an earthquake along the Delmas road in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010. The roads are covered and can not be traveled. The people of Haiti are left homeless.

This two photo combination shows above, in a May 20, 2004 file photo provided by the Canadian Department of National Defence, the National Palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Below is the National Palace photographed Wednesday Jan. 13, 2010, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, one day after a powerful earthquake crushed thousands of structures, from schools and shacks to the National Palace and the U.N. peacekeeping headquarters. Untold numbers were still trapped.

Emergency Airlift

Yéle Haiti has teamed up with Federal Express, AmeriCares, Airline Ambassadors, Nature's Path and Clif Bars for an airlift of medical supplies, food and other emergency items that are urgently needed to assist earthquake victims in Haiti. A FedEx plane will go to Port-au-Prince from Miami next week, the exact date to be determined based on securing landing clearance.

The public is invited to drop off specific items that will be part of the airlift. Yéle volunteers will be on site to screen the donations and will accept only the following items:

- nutrition bars (individual or in packages)
- blankets and sheets (unopened in store wrapping)
- non-battery radios and flashlights (windup or solar)
- candles (loose or in packages)

While the blankets are for people sleeping outdoors and on the street, the sheets are for wrapping bodies of the dead.

These items can be dropped off on Sunday, January 17th from 9:00am to 3:00pm at the following location:

Adrienne Arsht Center
1300 Biscayne Boulevard
Miami, FL 33132-1608

Haitians in U.S. can apply for protected status

Washington (CNN) -- A temporary protected status for Haitian nationals who were in the United States as of Tuesday has been designated by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, she announced Friday.

"This is a disaster of historic proportions and this designation will allow eligible Haitian nationals in the United States to continue living and working in our country for the next 18 months," she said.

"Providing a temporary refuge for Haitian nationals who are currently in the United States and whose personal safety would be endangered by returning to Haiti is part of this administration's continuing efforts to support Haiti's recovery."

Napolitano estimated 100,000 to 200,000 Haitian nationals are in the United States illegally. She told reporters the temporary status allows them to stay for 18 months, authorizing them to work and send remittances back to Haiti as the nation "gets back on its feet."

However, she said, Haitians who now attempt to travel to the United States will not be eligible for the temporary status and will be repatriated to Haiti. She added that there have been no signs so far of an increase of Haitian nationals trying to enter the United States after Tuesday's earthquake.