A family in Haiti camps out in front of the fallen presidential palace in Port-au-Prince
March 12 marks the two-month anniversary since those initial tremors brought Haiti–an already underdeveloped country–to its knees. The devastation the 7.0 magnitude earthquake has left an indelible impact on the country. There are nearly three million internally displaced people, hundreds of thousands dead and injured, and thousands more left feeling hopeless.
When the earthquake struck, Free The Children was flooded with inquiries, phone calls, and e-mails from youth all over the world asking what they could do to help their peers in Haiti. From as far away as Chaoyang, China to Wacaunda, Illinois to Kelowna, British Columbia, youth took up the call to support relief efforts. As a result, Free The Children has been able to send $1.6 million worth of supplies and relief directly to Haiti to help those most in need.
Though Free The Children specializes in long-term community development, we knew we needed to support first-response emergency relief efforts because of our 10-year history of working in Haiti. In the past, we've built nine schools to support local partners, built a nutrition centre and sanitation facilities, and helped support teacher salaries and technical training for students.
Nearly 2,000 children in Haiti attend Free The Children schools every day. It is a place close to our hearts.
Our first response efforts focused on supporting Partners In Health, which has more than 20 years of experience working in Haiti. Partners In Health has a long relationship with Free The Children. Their health care system across Haiti is so effective that they were called upon by the Haitian Government to help get the Port-au-Prince general hospital up and running again. They also received patients at their permanent sites outside of Port-au-Prince where they were able to properly attend to fractures, amputations and provide life saving treatment to tens of thousands of people, especially children, who were cared for in their special pediatric wards.
Taking care of the hundreds of thousands of people hurt and injured after the earthquake is just the start. Millions of people are no longer able to live in the capital of Port-au-Prince. This means that many of them moving into rural areas without shelter, food, or water, and will require support to get back on their feet.
To find out more about what Free The Children is doing to help these internally displaced people, click here.
What can you do to support the people of Haiti?
You can read Craig's blog for first-hand accounts of what it was like on the ground in Haiti; you can contact a Youth Programming Coordinator to come up with really fun and exciting ways to fundraise in support of Free The Children's relief efforts; and you can keep talking about Haiti so people don't forget the devastation that has happened there.
Free The Children is committed to helping the people of Haiti break free of this incredible destruction and rebuild their country.
With your help, we can make it happen!
