Haiti - 2 years Later

Barely a whisper was heard this past week marking the 2nd anniversary of the January 12, 2010 earthquake which literally ripped apart much of Haiti. Yes, there was mention of it at PBS and the Guardian but not much in the mainstream American media.

Lots of promises were made to come to the aid of the Haitians. $4.5 billion was committed to the country but, scarcely two years later, just 53% of the assistance has made its way to the country. A sad statistic but true statistic. Just two countries have fully followed through, namely Japan and Finland.

The ongoing tragedy has taken a huge toll. Not only did 300,000 Haitians perish in the quake but the after-effects continue to be devastating. Clean water, a lack of jobs, poor sanitation, cholera and homelessness are but a few of the problems. Oxfam states that at least 500,000 are still homeless. Yes, the tent cities remain.

On the education front, at least 653 have been repaired and another 612 rebuilt. That's promising but many children aren't attending school who were doing so prior to the quake. The earhtquake destroyed or damaged at least 4,000 schools. Much work remains to be done on this front.

As many of you know Kids4Good and Global Hope joined forces with Schools Count to rebuild IMN in Darbonne, Haiti. IMN is doing quite well...enrollment is up, a kitchen depot is in place and there is access to clean water.

Rarely do I have a wish but I do have one with regard to education in Haiti. My wish is that some philanthropic organization or foundation would donate $40,000 to build a high school in Darbonne. If that would come to fruition, I would see to it that the high school got built!!!!!!!!

All the best to our Haitian friends!
Dick