Holding On To Hope For Haiti
Kelsey Tanouye
January 26, 2010
Filed under News, Top Stories
Better times are a figment of the imagination. Remnants of home are nothing but memories for most. For some, to even dare to say that the current situation in Haiti is bad would be one of the biggest understatements of recent years.
When a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit the area near Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, chaos ensued. The earthquake caused major damage to business establishments and families, above all else. The International Red Cross estimated that about three million people were affected by the quake and the Haitian Interior Minister anticipated 100,000 to 200,000 lives to be claimed. As of January 24, 2010, the confirmed death toll has almost reached that mark with 150,000 deaths. “Tent cities” have been established to house survivors with some shelter as relief from all over the world pours in. However, these shelters only provide some relief. When a survey by the International Organization for Migration was conducted to gain data about these current camps it was found that only three of 350 camps even had access to clean drinking water. What’s even more disturbing, though, is the manner in which mass graves have been constructed, involving the burial of at least 75,000 people in different trenches that have been dug since the earthquake’s occurrence.
Keep in mind there is still hope.
George Clooney set record numbers when his Hope For Haiti Now telethon aired on Friday, January 22nd, and lasted through Saturday, the 23rd. Big names were called out to man the telephones that were ringing from different donors. If you called in you could have spoken to the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon, or Tom Hanks and of course probably couldn’t stop smiling for a good minute after you hung up. There were also musical performances from Los Angeles, New York, and London venues, which accompanied the program and featured Stevie Wonder, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Sheryl Crow, Keith Urban, and Dave Matthews, just to name a few. The effort raised an astonishing $58 million and counting due to donations still being accepted. This total still doesn’t include donations from corporate companies and profits from iTunes. The “Hope For Haiti Now” album is currently the #1 iTunes album and had the biggest one-day album pre-order in iTunes history.
Donations towards the Haiti relief effort will still be accepted for the next six months by “Hope For Haiti Now” whether it’s online, by phone, by text, or through the mail.
- Online: www.hopeforhaitinow.org
- Phone: 877-99-HAITI
- Text: Text “GIVE” to 50555
- Mail: Hope For Haiti Now Fund, Entertainment Industry Foundation, 1201 West 5th Street, Suite T-700, Los Angeles, CA 90017
100% of funds raised will go toward relief efforts in Haiti, supporting these following organizations:
- Clinton Bush Haiti Foundation
- Oxfam America
- Partners in Health
- Red Cross
- UNICEF
- United Nations World Food Programme
- Yele Haiti Foundation
For more information, visit the Hope for Haiti Now website.