Globus Relief responded to needs of Central American nations recently, providing desperately needed health and nutritional supplies to areas in Guatemala and Haiti.
Globus Relief, the Salt Lake-based humanitarian organization, acted within days of the tragic 2010 earthquake near the Port-au-Prince area in Haiti, supplying nutritional products, blankets and medical resources to victims and local partners. Globus Relief maintains international partnerships also, creating delivery systems to get aid where it needs to go.
Kim Jeanroy, shipping coordinator for Globus Relief, commented on the organization’s response to the Haiti natural disaster.
“We were in there pretty quick,” Jeanroy said.
Globus Relief and cooperating partners used response networks already in place, allowing them to act within days after the devastating 2010 earthquake, according to Holly Harris, a donor relations officer and volunteer coordinator for the organization.
“We are providing resources to local partners serving locally,” Harris said, “and local partners serving internationally.”
Globus Relief lends support in keeping up clinical care needs for medical facilities, said Harris.
The Maliheh Free Clinic and the 4th Street Clinic in Salk Lake City both receive short-dated medical supplies such as pregnancy tests, pharmaceuticals and basic first-aid supplies.
Earlier this year, in partnership with The Hope Alliance, Globus Relief and Utah community volunteers put together 100 midwife field kits for midwife training programs in Guatemala. Each kit contains innovative solutions to meet basic specific needs, including a small hand-held luggage scale and a sling to weigh newborns.
The Rotary Club of Puerto Barrios operating in Guatemala will receive the midwife kits, and also train local volunteers in midwifery, according to Aaron Lock, Globus Relief international project manager.
“They have provided training in Guatamala for some years.” Lock said. Asociación Ak’ Tenamit, based in Guatemala, also partnered with the training initiative.
The Salt Lake NGO plans to improve its current volunteer program. In the past, Globus Relief targeted medical students from local universities, expressing the importance to community participation with incentives in leadership development and exposure to a variety of medical instruments, equipment.
Concerning the condition of Globus Relief’s volunteer outreach program, Harris said, “(it’s) something that we’re developing.”
The task of sorting the large-scale and vast variety of donated materials falls to volunteers and limited personnel.
Last year, 14,533 volunteer hours contributed to what equates to seven full-time positions, said Harris.
