Helping Haiti

February 4, 2010  
Filed under News

Haitian victims are crying for help buried beneath debris and rubble with little hope of rescue. The damaged caused to this already struggling country was astounding. An earthquake that hit an incredible 7.0 on the Richter scale demolished and destroyed almost every standing structure in Haiti turning the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere into concrete wreckage. Buildings were not the only thing destroyed but peoples’ lives, families, and friends were severely affected.

Devastating earthquake killed an estimated 200,000 people in Haiti, left 250,000 injured and left 1.5 million homeless. The remaining Haitians are crying out for help and resources that they need to stay alive.

Food, water, shelter, medical supplies: all of these necessities are becoming scarce and countries around the world including the United States are pitching in to help the victims that are still clinging to life.

The World Food Program said that 250,000 ready-to-eat food rations had been distributed in Haiti, the actions were noble but only made a slight dent in the population by reaching only a fraction of the 3 million people thought to be in desperate need of these necessities.

More help and aid is coming in from relief organizations like the Red Cross to try to help the Haitian victims, but the relief efforts do not seem to be making much progress because of the growing number of people in need.

To help the Haiti victims, members of National Honors Society at Ottawa High School came up with an ingenious fundraising idea called “Hoops for Haiti.”

“Seeing all the devastation on the news inspired me to come up with the idea. It’s really up to the individuals that donate that will determine if this will be a successful fundraisers or not, but we already have some business’s sponsoring,” said senior Alyssa Currier, whose brainchild combined the community with the current goings-on at the high school.

In this program, a local business sponsors one of the Ottawa High School basketball players. They can donate an amount of their choosing per basket that the player makes for the rest of the season. The accumulation of money at the end of the season will go to the Haitian Relief Fund donated by the sponsoring business.

“I think the “Hoops for Haiti” is a great idea. I like how it is getting the community involved to donate to the Haitian relief fund,” said sophomore Hayley Rideout.

If you are not going to be near any Ottawa High School basketball games anytime soon you can also make small charitable donations to help this suffering country.  Some organizations you can reach by the phone or online and make your donation that could make a difference in this dilapidated country.

• Save the Children says that at least 2 million children or more have been affected by the earthquake. Donate online or by phone at 1-800-728-3843 to support their efforts to help Haitian children and families;

UNICEF is working hard to help Haiti’s children. To donate to its ongoing emergency relief efforts, visit the website or call 1-800-4UNICEF;

• The Pan American Development Foundation is the disaster relief arm of the Organization of American States. It has been in Haiti for over 30 years, and currently has over 150 people on the ground there. Go here to make an online donation or call 877-572-4484;

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Haley Butler

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