Haiti is a desperately poor nation; most live on less than $400 a year. It's the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. There is very little infrastructure in the country; what little existed was in Port-au-Prince. Most Haitians do not have access to clean drinking water, sanitation, medical facilities, or emergency services. In 2008, the island was devastated by four hurricanes that struck back-to-back. Now this.
The news this morning is chilling. The above photos are the before and after pictures of the presidential palace. According to CNN, most of Port-au-Prince has been leveled and the death toll is expected to be in the thousands. The building housing the U.N. workers has collapsed. In the best of times, the capitol barely functions (and then mainly for the elite who live there). Haiti is our neighbor and it needs help. Many NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) have plans underway to deploy aid workers to assist in this catastrophe. For those of you who are able to help, I urge you to do some research, and locate a worthy organization to assist in the rescue and recovery efforts. The Haitians are, after all, our neighbors.
For those of you familiar with my connection with Haiti, I've heard from one of the missionaries at Danita's Children (located on the north east corner of the nation). Everyone at the orphanage and school are fine and the surrounding neighborhood seemed unaffected. In addition, another missionary has spoken with Pastor Daniel Paul at The House of the Lambs of God Orphanage and all is well there. We are still waiting to hear about Pastor Altese at the other ophanage in Ouanaminthe. I'll keep you posted.
6 comments:
What a great post. I had no idea unemployment was that high. This is such a huge tragedy and on top of everything else, what help is there is having trouble getting to the places it's needed due to the conditions of the roads...reminds me of Katrina but on a much bigger scale. And to a place that is so sadly ill-equipped.
I'm happy to hear that your friends are okay, though. That's great news!
My heart aches for these people. I know how I felt after Hurricane Katrina and know that you have a similar attraction to Haiti. Let's hope our country does a better job providing aide this time around.
This is just so heartbreaking. I'm so happy to see everyone who's donating and doing what they can though.
This is all so heart breaking, I honestly haven't turned on the news because I don't want to watch it. :(
Also on a happy note you have an award on my blog.
It's so great to see the world pull together in times like this. Imagine what could be done if we worked together when there wasn't a crisis.
Lisa- thanks so much for the award! I appreciate it!
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