The news of the recent earthquake in Haiti may not actually move many of us simply because it’s in a different country and we seldom think we can help. We are of course, just pulling ourselves out of our own disastrous recession.
Still, the earthquake in Haiti has resulted in what’s estimated at thousands upon thousands of deaths and injuries. I honestly don’t think Haiti was ever destination paradise, but imagine what it must be like now.
So we’re broke. A lot of us wonder if we’ll ever get a job, when unemployment may run out, or when our own positions will be deemed unnecessary and be cut. When I read the stories of the earthquake in Haiti and look at the pictures of the people in the streets, I can’t help but wonder if in my own heart I could ever summons the strength needed to make it through such a disaster.
Most of us are not in positions to fly to Haiti and help physically, but here are a few simple ways that we all could pitch in. It only takes juggling a few dollars from our budgets to help.
1. Wyclef Jean, a Haitian-American singer founded the Yele Haiti Foundation which provides scholarships to children in Haiti. If you would like to donate to disaster relief, you can text “Yele” to 501501 and $5 will be billed to your cell phone bill and donated to the Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund. You can also go to Yele.org to donate.
2. To donate $10 to the American Red Cross, you can text “HAITI” to 90999.
3. A list of charitable organizations are available at this website if you’re looking for other ways to help the Haiti earthquake victims.
I want to note as well, that with each tragedy, a new group of sleazebags pop up to swindle people with good intentions out of their money. Don’t give out your personal information over the phone (and those calls will presumably start any day now) or over the internet through any emails. If you wish to help, stick with reputable organizations like those included in the link above.
There are tornados and sunamis and earthquakes and hurricanes. Do what you can, and if anything say a prayer for the country of Haiti and its people and remember that it could be any of us, it could be you, it could be me.