On Tuesday January 12th at 4:53 pm our neighboring country of Haiti experienced a catastrophic event that would change her forever. An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 hit near the capital city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti leaving 230, 000 dead, 300,000 injured, and over a million homeless. Over 90% of the nations buildings were damaged or destroyed, including many government and public buildings, hospitals, and schools. Immediately when news broke of this disaster, American media began to cover the story in depth and as a result many Americans and American organizations have contributed a great deal to the relief effort. Some top contributors include:
Many celebrities and other prominent figures in US media have also contributed their time and efforts to Haiti relief. President Barak Obama responded at once promising to use US funds and military to help with relief effort, and also employing former Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton to hop on board by starting their own ClintonBushHaitiFund. At first most relief efforts were focused on rescuing Haitians still trapped in the debris, but when the Haitian government called off the search for survivors on Jan 23, eleven days after the quake hit, efforts were shifted toward injuries and aid for those who had survived. This disaster has already affected over 3 million people, leaving people without homes sleeping in the streets and without many basic necessities like food, water, and medical treatment. There is so much that needs to be done and it’s encouraging to see the immediate response Americans have made to this dire situation. However, as time passes it’s important for aid efforts to continue, there are still many desperate people in Haiti and so much more to be done.
