****Updated January 16, 2010****
I’m going to take a moment out here to be serious here. What happened there in Haiti was a major tragedy, and many people don’t realize just how bad. Let me break it down for you.
This earthquake was at 7.0 on the Richter scale, making it the strongest quake since 1770. That also classifies it as a major earthquake. The quake occurred six miles from the surface of the earth, as opposed to the hundreds of miles where they normally occur. There were 33 recorded aftershocks ranging from 4.2 to 5.9. 2.0 to 4.0 is the typical range of earthquakes we feel here in the US with the aftershocks registering far less.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. Most of its inhabitants live in little more than shacks. Starvation and poverty are a widespread problem for the country. 80% of Haitians live below the poverty line. Most live off of less than $2 a day, and do not have formal jobs.
The earthquake hit 10 miles west of Port-au-Prince, home to over 2 million people. As there are no real construction guidelines in the country, most houses and buildings have collapsed.
There are 3 million+ that are in desperate need of help. They no longer have homes, they no longer have electricity, running water, or food. Many need medical help but the hospitals and doctors are severely under prepared to handle the sheer amount of people who need them. They don’t have the equipment, supplies, medicine or man power to handle such an emergency.
Here’s where you come in.
There are so many places that you can go to to help. I’m going to find as many LEGIT organizations as I can and list them here. The more lists and listed, the better. I hope to even make it to Haiti myself to offer my support in any way possible. The least you can do is offer any amount of cash you can spare, or food or whatever you feel they may need over there.
Red Cross – Donate money, services or items needed
– Text “haiti” to 90999 to donate $10 to Red Cross for Haiti relief effort
Yele – Fund by Haitian native Wyclef Jean specifically to provide relief
– Text “yele” to 501501 to donate $5 to the Wyclef Jean Yele project”
Google Haiti Relief Page
– Go here for the latest news, ways to volunteer, directly donate to causes and more
Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI)
– Place yourself in the Federal Database for volunteers based on your services and availability
Watch Mr. Safety’s video
– This one’s easy. Go watch this video. For every 100k views he gets, he’ll donate. I’ve been following this guy on the web for a while and I believe he’ll do it.
Stillerstrong
– Ben Stiller’s non-profit that was previously donating to build schools in Haiti is temporarily redirecting their donation funds to the disaster relief.
More to come as I get them. List will be updated often, please check back. In the meantime, please keep Haiti, its people and those who have loved ones lost in your hearts, thoughts and prayers.
– Marz
Posted in News and Politics
Tags: Disaster relief, Donate, Earthquake, Haiti, Tragedy