An Update on the Haitian Earthquake

It has been eight months since the devastating earthquake that occurred in Haiti. There have been a couple of updates from the earthquake that hit Haiti on August 14th, 2021. According to the International Medical Corps on the date of October 5th, 2021 there has been a large effect on school children that were living around Haiti’s Tiburon Peninsula. This came as a result of approximately 70% of schools in the area being damaged and destroyed. In addition, there’s been a considerable amount of families that were left in income and home insecurity as a result of the earthquake.

An update from February 12th, 2022 from the United Nations news updates suggested that the International Organization for Migration have provided resources for impacted families to help them with their basic needs such as shelter and food. There have been supplemental efforts in conjunction with the Haitian government to assist children with food and returning to school. 

It was mentioned in the same update that Haiti has moved to focusing on recovering and reconstructing. This would be done with investing programs that provide social services. There has also been a mention of an industrial and infrastructural rebuild that would focus on school buildings and residential areas. Additional situations such as the recent political instability after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse have made rebuilding difficult for the country. Nonetheless, the goal of the Haitian government was to raise up to $2 billion for long term recovery and restoration.

So, after an update of the state of the country, typically these conversations are followed through with mentions of American humanitarian networks such as the Red Cross. When it comes to humanitarian efforts the work the American Red Cross promised to do was unreliable to say the least. According to the NPR article “In Search Of The Red Cross’ $500 Million In Haiti Relief” after the 2010 earthquake that hit Haiti, Red Cross raised half a billion dollars. However after receiving a substantial amount of funds there was not much improvement in infrastructure repair and general relief. The organization tried to explain that they donated towards “helping Haitians back on their feet” however, there really isn’t a list of specific programs that could verify these claims. All things considered, I would like to point you to the direction of smaller nonprofits where the donations will be a bit more helpful. This was a list retrieved from the instagram page @haitianbusinesses and they’ve compiled a list of smaller reputable organizations that focus on providing help and a resources to Haiti.

Nonprofits you can donate to on Instagram

1. Sow a Seed @sowaseed
2. Ayiti Community Trust @ayiticommunitytrust
3. Fonkoze @fonkoze
4. Hope For Haiti @hopeforhaiti
5. Partners In Health @partnersinhealth
6. P4H Global @p4hglobal
7. Ayiti Demen @fokalayiti
8. Man Dodo Humanitarian Foundation @mandodo_fdn

Raniah Jeanlys is a proud Haitian-American woman that was born in Pétion-Ville, Haiti and then grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina. She recently graduated from North Carolina State University majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and a minor in Law and Justice. She enjoys being an active student and participating in activities outside of school like dancing and volunteering at animal shelters.