CARE, a prominent humanitarian organization fighting global poverty announced that ithas teamed up with leading mattress manufacturer Anatomic Global, Inc., on its humanitarian initiative, The WorldBed Project. As part of the collaboration, Anatomic Global is donating 10,000 emergency field beds for CARE to distribute to displaced Haitians following the January 12 earthquake near Port-au-Prince. The first 1,000 beds were handed out over the weekend.
"We are racing against time to provide waterproof shelter and decent sanitation now that the rainy season is upon us," said Sophie Perez, CARE Haiti Country Director. "Acute respiratory problems are rising because Haitians are sleeping on the bare ground or on moisture-absorbing surfaces. These WorldBeds will help us provide a sustainable solution to the current conditions."
Earthquake survivors stress how badly they need safe places to sleep. "I was sleeping on cardboard on top of concrete blocks. It wasn't comfortable but I had no choice," said Yvane Toussaint, age 28 and a mother of three, as she collected her WorldBed at a CARE distribution in earthquake-devastated Leogane. "I'm very happy to have this mattress; it's good quality, and I had nothing before."
A shipment of 1,800 WorldBeds is scheduled to be delivered to Port-au-Prince this week with an additional 1,800 beds to arrive the following week. CARE plans to distribute all 10,000 WorldBeds by June 1, the height of the rainy season. In addition, they will provide emergency shelter for 8,500 families (42,500 people) and give hand-washing education, hygiene kits, tarps and blankets to those in need.
"CARE will be a key distribution partner for us," said Patrick Johnson, executive director for The WorldBed Project.
"Logistics and distribution is a huge challenge in any natural disaster, but with CARE's experience, we know we can serve the people of Haiti quickly and effectively. They have already been instrumental in validating that the WorldBed is the right product at the right time in this crisis."
The WorldBed Project is a turnkey sleep system designed for emergency care and relief efforts. Built from high performing 3-inch cushioning foam, the cot-sized field mattresses can be compression packaged and quickly dispatched, in volume, to areas of need, anywhere, worldwide. It was created to provide needed comfort, increased levels of health and safety, and a more sanitary place to sleep in an effort to speed recovery, aid in healing.
The WorldBed Project was initiated during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 in which Anatomic Global mobilized a team to make and distribute 3,000 field beds that ended up benefiting those people temporarily housed in the Cajun Dome. In response to the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that hit near Port-au-Prince, Haiti on January 12, 2010, Anatomic Global, Inc. CEO David Farley, reactivated the WorldBed concept and began operating it as an adjunct business unit of his company on January 14, 2010. Its mission is to deliver 200,000 WorldBed products to displaced Haitians over the next year and will continue to aid other global disaster relief programs on an as needed basis. For more information, visit www.WorldBed.org.
To date Anatomic Global has also been joined in the effort by Relax The Back, FXI Foamex Innovations, Deslee Textiles USA, Brookwood Companies, CARE, World Hope International, World Vision and Parakletos International. The company is re-investing its corporate profits from all operations for the first quarter of 2010 to manufacture WorldBeds for Haitian relief and is actively seeking additional project funding and industry partners to participate in this critical humanitarian project. Interested parties should contact Patrick Johnson at patrick@worldbed.org or The WorldBed Project Program Director, Laura Castro at laura@worldbed.org.
CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE places special focus on working alongside poor women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty CARE also delivers emergency aid to survivors of war and natural disasters, and helps people rebuild their lives. For more information, visit www.care.org.