Finnish Organisations Plead for Haiti Aid

The Finnish Red Cross (SPR) has pledged 200,000 euros to help Haiti, whose capital Port-au-Prince has been devastated in a massive earthquake. The government and the Evangelical Lutheran Church have also promised to send emergency aid.

In addition to the immediate funds, the SPR is asking for the public to make donations using its website (site in Finnish and Swedish only). It is also asking the Foreign Ministry to fund a mobile hospital clinic to be sent to the country as quickly as possible.
A team of health care professionals in Tampere is awaiting the green light from the International Red Cross. The IRC will take a few days to make a full assessment and whether it is useful to send teams and equipment all the way from Finland. SPR communications officer Taina Keinänen notes that it's much cheaper to send help from units closer to the disaster area.
Government and Church to Send Aid
Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry says it's prepared to donate aid as well, but is waiting for official requests from aid organisations.
Finn Church Aid, the charitable unit of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, has also earmarked 150-thousand euros for emergency relief. Thousands of people are feared dead in Haiti, and thousands more are still trapped in the rubble.
The Finnish Foreign ministry says that no Finns were injured in the quake. Only one Finn was known to be in Haiti at the moment. Both he and the 200-or-so Finns in the neighbouring Dominican Republic are all alive and well.