Bermuda's residents can best help devastated Haiti by donating cash, not food or clothing, the Red Cross said yesterday.

Ann Spencer-Arscott, director of the local branch of the charity, said kind-hearted citizens here had given $25,000 in just two days after hearing about the massive earthquake that ripped through the Caribbean country on Tuesday evening.

And many more offers of help have been received from people wanting to donate items rather than money — but Ms Spencer-Arscott said Haiti wasn't yet in a position to accept that kind of aid.

"The thing that I would really like to impress to the community is that both the Salvation Army and the Red Cross have people on the ground and they are right in there trying to sort out all of the situations," she said.

"We are both getting calls about clothing and food and other supplies. At this moment, both of our organisations are saying they haven't even been able to assess the situation effectively.

"The cash donations are the most important so that they can get things faster. They don't have the resources to accept supplies."

MP Charlie Swan, from the UBP, told a press conference yesterday that Haiti needed all the help it could get.

And he reiterated the request from the Red Cross that assistance be given by monetary donation rather than food or clothing.

Meanwhile, Bermudian charity worker Phillip Rego — who gave up his landscaping business in 2008 to help poverty-stricken Haitian children — said all of the youngsters in the care of his Feed My Lambs Ministry were safe.

"We want to thank all those who have been praying diligently for Haiti, especially for our orphanage in Montrouis," he said yesterday morning.

"We finally received word last night that all our children are OK and safe. Unfortunately we haven't heard from our clinic in Port-au-Prince.

"We have been calling, like everybody else and can only continue to hope and pray that they are alive and well.

"For those that have expressed their willingness to help in the medical field, we are trying to get organised and get all the necessary medical supplies and medication that will be needed while we are there.

"There is already someone here in Bermuda that is working on that very thing. Please continue to pray for the Haitian people as their recovery is going to be long and painful."

Frigga Simmons, a Haitian living in Bermuda, said her hometown of Jacmel was badly affected by the hurricane.

"I spoke to my brother this morning," she said. "I am going to try to do something to help my hometown. I saw the devastation on TV and my brother said it's nothing like what's in real life.

"All of the efforts are going to [capital] Port-au-Prince. No attention is being given to the outskirts. I am going to see what I can do to get people together. I can't imagine how those people feel."

Digicel said yesterday that cell phone customers in Bermuda could donate money to the humanitarian relief effort in Haiti by texting "HELP" to 5151. A dollar goes to the Digicel Haiti Relief Fund for each text and there is no restriction on the number of texts that can be sent.

Donations can also be made to:

• Bermuda Red Cross, via two bank accounts: Bank of Bermuda — 010-187417-011 and Bank of Butterfield — 20-006-060-663859-200 or by mail to Bermuda Red Cross, Haitian Earthquake Appeal Fund, Charleswood, 9 Berry Hill Road, Paget, DV03

• Hott 107.5, where the funds will go directly to Wyclef Jean's Yele Haiti Foundation and Architecture for Humanity. They are accepting cash and cheques.

• Phillip Rego's charity Feed My Lambs, at its Bank of Bermuda account 010-305498-012 or by mail to Phillip Rego, c/o Feed My Lambs Ministry, PO Box HM 3184, Hamilton HM NX, Bermuda

• See page Lifestyles for a story about a Haiti fundraising scam warning.