The National Association for the Prevention of Starvation (NAPS), Oakwood University’s student volunteer disaster relief group based in Huntsville, Alabama, departed at 5:30 a.m. on Friday, January 15, from Huntsville International Airport, headed to the Dominican Republic, as there are no direct flights going into Haiti at this time.  NAPS is mobilizing its resources—human and medical, but is greatly in need of financial and medical supply donations as the group prepares for its 10-day itinerary, which very likely could extend to several weeks.

The six-member team is headed by NAPS president, Anthony Paul, Ph.D., a biology professor at Oakwood University who founded the NAPS organization in 1978.  Other members of the team traveling to Haiti include Dr. Marlo Hodnett, four students and other Oakwood staff members, three of whom are Haitian-Americans with family members who have been directly impacted by this disaster.  They are bracing themselves for the second wave of danger and disease as they provide medical relief to the thousands of victims affected by the earthquake devastation.  In addition, NAPS will be providing cholera prevention training to the youth of the country, as was done in 2008 in Zimbabwe.

Please continue to pray for our NAPS branch organization in Haiti.  The following is the list of medical supplies that are greatly needed:

Medical Supplies Needed

• Iodine
• Bandages
• Sutures
• Scalpels
• Antibiotics
• Anti-inflammatories
• Doxycycline for Adults

Financial donations may be made through the NAPS website via PayPal. For more information, see the NAPS website at napsoc.org or call the NAPS office at 256-726-7056. (For WAFF-TV 48's online report on NAPS trip to Haiti, click on the link, http://www.waff.com/global/story.asp?s=11819791 , then click on the video link on the right of the webpage.)

NAPS is a 501(c)3 non-profit volunteer relief organization founded in 1978 and registered in the state of Alabama in 1993. Its mission is to mitigate hunger, poverty, and disease, and to improve education and food security among suffering people, both nationally and internationally, regardless of race, religion, or nationality. The organization provides humanitarian aid and educational support in the areas of emergency relief, skilled volunteers, healthcare professionals, agricultural technology, and social and spiritual comfort. The organization operates independently of all governmental, institutional, or political influences.