By By GREG KATSKI

Community Editor
A Washington resident and native of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, is waiting to hear from his relatives in Port-au-Prince, the earthquake-stricken capital of Haiti.
Dieudonne “John” Soifils, 63, said five of his sisters and their families live in the island nation’s largest city, which was devastated by a magnitude 7.0 quake on Tuesday evening.
“I’ve tried to call people back home and can’t get in touch,” he said.
Soifils said he fears for his relatives, which live in the “heart” of the city.
“I know for a fact that all of my people aren’t but 12 minutes away” from where the earthquake was centered, which was about 10 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, he said.
Soifils was born and raised in the capital city of Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation. He worked on a cruise liner while he lived in Port-au-Prince, until he moved to Florida in 1969. In Florida, he met his wife-to-be and moved to New York City. After living in New York City for about 20 years, Soifils said, he moved to Washington for a “better life.” Currently, he is a bagger at the Piggly Wiggly grocery store at Washington Square Mall.
Soifils said he takes trips to his homeland often, and he last visited his family in Haiti some 10 years ago.
“It’s still home, no matter what,” he said. “Even if the place is torn up, there’s no place like home.”
Soifils said he will do what he can to help the people of his impoverished, and now earthquake-stricken, homeland, whether that means donating clothes, food and/or water.
“I’ll do my best to keep them in my prayers,” he said. “I hope they find a better way.”
Soifils is one of about 800,000 U.S. residents of Haitian descent. The Associated Press reported Wednesday that many Haitian-Americans, like Soifils, could not reach relatives in Haiti in the wake of Tuesday’s catastrophe.
The U.S. State Department has established a toll-free number (888-407-4747) for people seeking information about family members in Haiti. The government advises that some callers may receive a recording because of the heavy volume of inquiries, according to the AP.
The U.S. government has dispatched ships, helicopters, planes and a 2,000-member Marine unit to help in the relief efforts, while aid organizations are asking for donations.
According to an AP report, donating cash to established relief organizations is the best way to help because it allows professionals to get exactly what they need and does not use up scarce resources such as transportation, staff time or warehouse space. People who want to volunteer for relief and/or recovery efforts should have previous disaster or international experience or technical skills and should work through a relief organization. More information is available at the Center for International Disaster Information’s Web site, www.cidi.org.
Organizations accepting donations include the American Red Cross, Wyclef Jean’s Haitian Yele charity and Oxfam’s emergency appeal.