Disaster in Haiti, from Lake Chapala Mexico
Disaster in Haiti
A few weeks ago there was a 6.1 earthquake in Port Au Price in Haiti which is one of the poorest countries in the world. Normally, when disaster strikes there are neighboring communities that can pitch in but such is not the case here. Everyone is very poor and thousands of people were killed. Thousands more left homeless, hungry and desperate for news of their family and friends.
Help poured in from many countries and, of course, the US, but it took some time to coordinate the immediate needs and the best way to access the airport to get aid to the people.
Food, water, blankets were vital and shelter and protection for the children left without parents.
Medical attention was crucial and workers to help find any survivors and dig them out of wherever they were trapped. They had neither the manpower nor the equipment necessary for such a mammoth undertaking.
CNN’s Dr. Sanja Gupta has been there from the outset and has joined other medical teams in providing whatever help they could to those who needed it but the numbers were overwhelming.
Aid organizations have been trying to organize who was going to what and after several days slowly they started to coordinate and get help to those who needed it.
CNN has covered this story for weeks almost exclusively and they have been extremely involved to fund raising and bringing us many horrible stories of death and dying but also stories of hope of finding and reuniting with family members.
As of today, $210,000.000.00 has been raised and sent to Haiti. The Obamas themselves sent $15,000.00.
There are many web sites devoted to making contributions and people are responding with whatever they can afford to help this beleaguered nation.. In this time of recession people are sending $5.00 or $10.00 to help even though many barely have enough to feed themselves.
54 orphans from Haiti were flown to Pennsylvania and greeted by volunteers as the children got of the plane until families could be found to help long or short term.
Many Americans and Canadians were in the process of adopting Haitian children when the earthquake struck and records have been lost causing unwanted delays in trying to get their children home. Hundreds of service organizations are working around the clock to speed up any necessary paperwork to get these orphans quickly into the loving and so very much needed arms of their adoptive parents.
Larry King Live on CNN hosted an all star special with many movie and sports celebrities to try and raise money. Fund raising is going on throughout the world to help the Haitians.
If you would like to donate you can go to CNN and find a link offering many ways you can help.
Also the Ellen DeGeneres Show’s website has suggestions on what may be easiest for you. For example: you can send $10.00 or $20.00 right through your cell phone.
It doesn’t matter what you do or how much you can afford to send. What matters is that we all do something and I, personally, trust both the above mentioned websites. You want to make sure that your money is ALL getting into the hands of those who need it most.