What are you doing to respond to the catastrophe in Haiti?
Posted at 5:00 AM on January 15, 2010
by Eric Ringham
(22 Comments)
Filed under: International affairs
The Haitian earthquake has taken an immense toll on a country that was struggling already. On Thursday President Obama announced an initial pledge of $100 million to support relief efforts. What are you doing to respond to the catastrophe in Haiti?
Comments (22)
Donna is right. My kids asked me what I was doing for Haiti and I said that I was paying my taxes which apparently are now being used to rescue HAtians. The place was a pit before the quake and it will be after. Yes we should do 'something', but eventually the emails will stop, the TV cameras will go home and we will move on to the next tragedy of the month. There is a lot of suffering everywhere. Better to pick your charities, give to them and try to think long term.
We are giving through the United Methodist Church Committee on Relief. 100% of contributions go to the designated cause.
I have been speaking with my students (1st and 2nd graders) about the situation. We have read books about Haiti and earthquakes. We have been making blankets to donate to local charities and families in need. Since the earthquake, the children have decided (all on their own, I proudly add!) they want to do something to help the people in Haiti. Any ideas on what my little ones can do?
Actually, nothing. Nothing at all. Just what we all were doing before the earthquake. Haiti was a disaster even before the temblor struck. Perhaps if as much attention was paid to Haiti before hand as we are now there would be less death and destruction. I'm not callous. All I'm saying is we are throwing good money after bad, too little too late. Perhaps the US should have spent the billions of dollars overthrowing the despotic corrupt governments in Iraq and Afghanistan and instead use it to overthrew the one in Haiti. I'm sure the Haitians would appreciate our nation-building efforts far more than the Afghani's do. Our sense of charity is too short lived to have any impact on this disaster. Once we have collectively done the feel-good one-time thing and offer say a few million dollars, we will pat our selves on the back, as if in an act of penance, and then go on with our pathetic lives following Tiger Woods or the Tonight Show debacle and complaining about our economy. (If only the Haitians were lucky enough to be obsessed with such problems). Meanwhile our generosity will have as much an impact on a trillion-dollar disaster in Haiti as a tic-tac in a whale. So as the Haitians continue to struggle, starve and die, we will have long forgotten about their plight... just like before.
I was grateful to receive a timely email from my church, St. Michael's Lutheran Church in Roseville, MN. My donation will be channeled through the ELCA, which has already contributed $250,000 through the Lutheran World Federation’s Haiti Program.
I'm waiting to donate until early next week when my employer's foundation will announce the details of their matching gifts program for this crisis. The foundation will likely match employee gifts to the Red Cross, as they usually do in times of crisis.
My department at work (marketing) has made the decision to donate $10 from each transaction made during our next email campaign to the Habitat for Humanity's Haiti fund.
Gave to Mennonite Central Committee
In addition to financial support to Doctors without Borders, I am modifying a class I'll be teaching to include more on Haiti so students will have some knowledge about the history of Haiti and how that created its current situation.
I DONATED TO PARTNERS IN HEALTH. www.pih.org THEY ARE ALREADY ON THE GROUND IN HAITE AND CAN HAVE AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT. And I am praying.
My husband & I are from Winona, MN. We are on the Board of Haiti Love & Faith, a Christian organization that supports a girls' home in Carrefour, the epicenter of the earthquake. We sponsor 2 girls and have been to Haiti many times. In fact, we had a trip planned for Feb 2. All roads are blocked into Carrefour, so we are trying to get a helicoptor to go in with medical supplies, etc. Donations can be made online to www.starofhopeusa.org or by mail to Star of Hope International, PO Box 427, Ellinwood, KS 67526-0427. Please designate Haiti Love & Faith if you want your donation to go to the girls' home.
Doctors Without Borders.
Donated to the Red Cross and World Vision. Praying. Talking to folks at work.
We made a donation to Lions Club International. They are responding with people on the ground and supplies. They will be there as long as there is a need for help. Most people don't realize that their hometown Lions Club that puts on that pancake breakfast and builds the park in town, is part of a huge international organization that provides disaster relief around the world. And yes, I am a member. If you can't do anything else, support your local Lions Club by going to their fundraisers. Talk to them, you'd be amazed at what we do and how we help people from the local area to the global community.
We donated to Lutheran Disaster Response because 100% of the donation goes directly to the Haitian people.
We talked about the tragedy with our six year old daughter and decided as a family how much money we could give. She gave part of her allowance for the week and we gave $50. It isn't a huge donation, but it felt good to give something as a family.
I donated to Partners in Health, Hope for Haiti and the Red Cross.
As a Search And Rescue - EMT I stand ready to ship out when the call comes.
DTOM
Even before the earthquake, Haiti was struggling with corruption and poverty. The lack of local infrastructure to ensure equitable distribution of resources makes me hesitant to float my money into this situation.
I will continue to donate time and money locally to charitable organizations (food shelf, Feed My Starving Children, Salvation Army, etc.)
We donated to the Red Cross via their web site and are praying for all.
We gave money to red cross through wcco website.
Praying, and waiting.
This is a total mess, with the absence of a government, police force, and military how much money or supplies will end up with tribal thugs or corrupt groups.
They are going to have problems and needs for years. After some of the dust settles(literally and figuratively) then I will make monitary donation.
Pray.
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