The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti suffered a mighty 7.0 magnitude earthquake ripping Port-Au-Prince sending shockwaves as far as the United States and Jamaica in the Caribbean. I did not feel the quake but I do feel the pain and the agony that the Haitian people must be feeling. Imagine a country with poor infrastructure, poor people, ¾ of the population unemployed, most government agencies destroyed, mass graves etc etc. That is how impoverished the Haitian people are today. Forget about the US dollars you hear they live on, when it rains in Haiti it pours causing major flooding. I am grateful that it isn’t raining there because it would have been a worse position to be in for rescue efforts. To say their lives were better would be an understatement but in 30 seconds everything changed. As one survivor puts it “it happened so fast”.
President's Palace
Before Tuesday none of us were thinking of Haiti, we may have known the grim realities there. We were busy trying to ride through our own mountains – unemployment, recession. For now, others are suffering and they need our attention. Today and for many more months and years Haiti will be seeking all the help they can get to rebuild the country they once had.
In the past days, many charity organizations and corporate entities have been furiously soliciting funds and clothing for the millions of people who have been dislocated from their homes. Jamaicans, Americans, Canadians, Russians and others around the world are playing their role in assisting the Haitians. Because of Jamaica’s proximity to Haiti it will be the last check point before all the donations arrive in Haiti from the Caribbean region.
I must say I have been addicted to the coverage of the Haitian Earthquake on CNN and online (Twitter and the various online news agencies) and I am now taking a break to pen this post. It has been a wonderful coverage from CNN. They may be low in ratings on politics in the US but they are performing excellently in bringing the latest news over there in Haiti. It was reported earlier today that the Haitian people are becoming more frustrated with relief efforts. This and many other things like looting, breakout of diseases, more of the injured dying etc can be expected as the country still without basic amenities like electricity and water supply heal from the tragic event.
We may never go to Haiti or see the place with our own eyes. I am sure you have seen the images and videos from the area as they tell a grim tale of what happened on Tuesday. As the days go by we will be bombarded with advertisements pleading to donate funds to help with the relief efforts there. You can HELP!
Tips on Helping Haiti
- Donate only to established agencies.
- Do not provide confidential information when donating funds.
- Be wary of scammers who are on the loose because more people are giving.
- Give with love and a grateful heart.
You may be wondering how you can help. I would suggest sending money. There are many text lines open to donate to the Haitian people in their darkest moment.
I texted to my local line here in Jamaica and it felt good. I received a text later saying that “To date Jamaica has raised J$2.3 million for the Haiti Relief Fund.” That is equivalent to US $25, 813.69. Oh damn. I seriously thought it would have translated higher. Oh well, there you go. Goes to show how weak my Jamaican dollar is.
I texted 'HELP'
To the Number 162
Confirmation
Further Confirmation
Go donate. You can HELP! Watch your money feed those hungry people.
Corve DaCosta's Blog 
The only bright spot in this trajedy is that now the worlds attention might stay on Haiti long enough to monetarily help it grow beyond the issues of its past.
Yeah That’s true. I hope the country can use this as a moment to restart and go on a new path. They need this.
Politics has wrecked that country so much.
There is a nice Red Cross text donation too, text Haiti to 90999. It is 10 dollars through the International Red Cross.
I’ve been through three earthquakes in California, two really bad ones, but nothing close to comparing with this. It is so sad. Hopefully, as bearman said, the world will help lift the country up to a new level, and put Haiti on a road to recovery for all its people.
Good advice on the donations. The spammers and scammers are already trying to take advantage of the earthquake.
My prayers go out to all of those people in the world who can use them.
This is so devastating…Thanks for sharing the correct ways for donating. It’s important not to get scammed and ensure that the people who need our help most get it.
Great site Corve I will be back to read more of what you have to say! 🙂
This is sooooo sad!
Seeing all of this on CNN and other news agencies has seriously broken my heart. Those poor people of Haiti have it so bad already and now something like this happens to them. The children are always the people hit the hardest. Many of them are left with no parents and that is simply horrifiing. My heart goes out to all the people of Haiti and to all the rescue and relief workers helping.
On a side note: I had no idea you live in Jamaica Corve. That is AWESOME! If there is anywhere on the planet other than the US I would choose to live, it is hands down Jamaica. Where abouts do you live in Jamaica Corve?
Great commentary on this terrible, terrible tragedy in Haiti. My prayers go out to them but they also need money to rescue and rebuild ASAP in addition to prayers, so I hope everyone will please donate…here in the U.S. a lot of people go through the Red Cross but like you said there are also ways to text message other aid groups in order to help out and you can check a company’s business records through the Better Business Bureau web site. May God bless and keep the people of Haiti.
Thanks for sharing this. This is so sad. I’m praying hard for the victims.
great post corve. I feel good to see you showing others your generosity. I think that we in jamaica could have raised a lot more that 2.3 million when we look at the cell phone penetration of the country. Why have we not raised more money?. I don’t know what provider you use but if the smallest amount you can text is $25 then 2.5 translate to just 80,000 text. If digicel alone has 2 million subscribers then we can do better.
I am saying this because in this great tragedy I hear some very insensitive comments when people asked make a donation. We must never forget especially here in Jamaica we are all the same in love and humanity. Our primary purpose in life is to help each other or at least not hurt them. We should also remember that two-thirds of Port Royal was sank by an earthquake in the 1600, as a child i visited there and saw the sinking buildings and our capital Kingston was devastated in 1907 i think. Jamaica sits right on a major fault line so it is not a question if but when.
Personally I fear an earthquake than any other natural disaster. The great rolling sound and shaking is very nightmarish.
Corve, I am a little disappointed with the attention FOX news has given this tragedy, are they playing politics or what. I must say the MSNBC, CNN AND BBC have all done a good job. I think it is a little premature and irresponsible to be predicting body count. At one point they had it at half a million. I think they are senationalizing the news for ratings. Remember there are Haitians all over the world trying deperately to reach family and hearing of mass burial and burning of bodies. Ofcourse we have to be mindful of deseases and the urgency to despose of the dead in a humaine way.
When i look at Haiti they remind me of Jamaica. I think they have a beautiful country except for the deforestation which have contributed to mudslides during floodings. The people seem more resiliant, except for a few matchate carrying jackasses the people seem humble and trying to put their lives together. When i look at Katrina and this tragedy the people in Haiti seems less entitled.
Well said, Corve. My son’s class and all the other classes in his elementary school are collecting money. Hopefully it all ends up where it will help the most.
Great post. I felt very similar. You being a lot closer there in the Caribbean have a better grasp on the country’s situation now and before. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen so much response all around me, from media, Churches, and bloggers. I am grateful and praying the relief keeps coming for many years to those wonderful people.
Oh gosh. Look at that building. And I’m sure there’s much worse. I cannot even imagine the fear of suffering through a much lesser magnitude, let alone this.
It is a very sad thing and you gave good advice for donating. We sent money to the American Red Cross, which is a very trustworthy organization.
Thank you for the follow on my blog. Your blog is very good. I will add it to my Reader and will be back to visit.
It’s a heartbreaking situation.
I went online the day after the earthquake occured and donated money to The American Red Cross on behalf of the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. I would encourage all those in a position to do so that haven’t done it to donate now.
To think surviving the earthquake is only half the battle, you then have to find food and water. When all the dust has settled , you then have to find a place to live and start again 😦 Heartbreaking
Very good blog. If anyone sees this and does Swagbucks, then you can also donate your SB. There’s a tab on their front page.
good on ya corve! ull be well rewarded for your caring nature 🙂
This is such a sad situation, I hope they get the help that they deserve.
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Hi all you regulars.
We are a mob aren’t we?
This disaster is beyond words…
*sigh* it’s so sad
this is tearing my heart apart. And this am (wednesday) they had another aftershock. I can’t even imagine what those people are going through physically or emotionally. It’s just horrible!
I didn’t go as far as take pics of my payment confirmation, but I did text. This just moves me so much
Great post !! Hopefully, compassion fatigue does not materialize after the media exits, Haiti !!
wow..I have not seen the aerial photo of the destruction until now..I’m speechless once again. You made a great point about people donating to established organizations.
This was an excellent and touching post. Good for you doing your bit to help too.