Today is Martin Luther King Jr day and nothing expresses the need for compassion more than the ongoing tragedy in Haiti. With emerging numbers of deceased and dispossessed coming out of Haiti after the terrible earthquake, we are starting to see the significance and importance of keeping an open heart. Aid has been flowing into the country since the quake with little of it reaching those in need due to the inherent infrastructural problems long associated with the poor republic.
Haiti is starting to see the aid and humanitarian efforts get through as United States military presence and humanitarian organizations secure landing zones, the one functioning airport, and routes of transportation. The organizations are in some cases rebuilding roads simply to get supplies through to the most heavily hit areas and organizers are seeing the further need for funding and security.
There are many charities that you can get involved with to aid the people of Haiti and I am going to recommend three that have proven to be trustworthy in the past with a transparency and professionalism that is sometimes lacking in other organizations.
Please find it in your hearts to help the people of Haiti as they are your neighbors. They are desperately crying out for succor and we can do more together than separately.
The earthquake in Haiti has not only destroyed countless lives and property, but has also exposed the underlying problems that the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere have been battling with since its inception.Haiti is is need of help and the sluggishness of aid is not only a result of an overall lack of humane efforts when there is no economic gain and a poorly run and shattered infrastructure. For those who are drawn to help there are many ways to aid the hurting country.
Mercy Corps is one of the most effective NGO's operating in developing countries. The organization often is one of the few aid agencies to gain access through its use of partnerships and non partisan outlook on humanitarian aid. Mercy Corp has a campaign to get into Haiti and donations are the best way to get involved.
The following are a few ideas on where your actions can make a difference sent to Sustainable Seattle fromMichael Kieschnick, President of CREDO Action from Working Assets.
Doctors Without Borders-a group CREDO members support with their phone bills-operates one of the only free trauma centers in Port-au-Prince as well as an emergency hospital in the capital for pregnant women, new mothers and newborn children. All three of its primary medical centers have collapsed, but DWB has already set up temporary shelters and is offering emergency care on the ground.
President Obama has ordered his Department of Homeland Security to temporarily halt all forcible deportations to the disaster zone, but this falls far short of what human rights groups are asking for. The president should grant Temporary Protected Status to undocumented Haitian refugees in the U.S. Refugees from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Somalia and Sudan are afforded this status. To refuse to do so for Haitians would be irresponsible and immoral.
