Haiti Volunteer Project Update: Afternoon 1/20/10

I think your fourth point is a really important one, Julie. Right now Haiti is all across the papers and in the news, but – and unfortunately this will be the case – in a week or a month, something else will replace the tragedy in Haiti on the front page of the papers. But the problems in the country will NOT go away. The country will need volunteers to help rebuild the infrastructure, assist with finding lost family members and much more in the weeks, months and even years ahead. At that time, volunteer organizations will have found a way to mobilize help on the ground and be able and willing to take any help that people can offer. What happens in so many cases – Ethiopia and Somalia are two examples – is that people lose interest as the news media does. I encourage people to see through this tragedy for the long term and continue to show their passion as the nation begins to rebuild itself.

And what is so sad is that the world had pretty much not considered it a crisis that 80 percent of Haiti’s population lives on under $2 a day… until they are hit with a quake that literally crumbled their land to pieces. The silver lining amidst such a catastrophe is that Haiti is finally receiving the humanitarian aid and attention it has long deserved, and that slowly and carefully, if the world keeps paying attention and yes, stays with Haiti in the long-run, that all of the aid that is trickling in from all corners of the Earth will eventually transform Haiti into a stronger nation than it was before, unified in the face of such devastation and better equipped to handle natural disasters in the future. So the focus should be on infrastructure. Building Haiti better buildings with more attention to their foundations, better roads, better hospitals, better schools (when I say “better” I simply mean, more solidly constructed). This will prove to be an incredibly long process that we cannot even begin thinking about now until all of the injured are cared for and all of the Haitians affected (which is, directly and indirectly, pretty much the entire nation) are taken care of in terms of food, water and shelter.

But it is my deepest hope that Haiti will emerge from this tragedy stronger than before. This is the only way I can make sense out of all of this, because I can find no other possible explanation for this apocalyptic occurrence than the idea that maybe, perhaps, this was Haiti’s final and desperate cry to help for the world to turn its eyes to them and their centuries-long plight. We must remember that of course no one is personally responsible for this disaster and nothing we could have done as a human race would have prevented it from happening, and really we have no actual responsibility to volunteer to help, to donate, or to help rebuild, etc… but, the fact that their future is actually completely up to us- they are in a state of helplessness because so many of them have lost everything, I repeat, can you imagine losing everything in one dramatic life-shattering moment? -perhaps this thought will motivate us to help simply due to our humanity, to our compassionate nature as human beings (I know not everyone is compassionate, I am just trying to rally up encouragement). So I encourage you to participate in the long-term, because they are completely dependent upon the international community to make them a priority now, tomorrow, and in the months and years to come.

But I understand that, ultimately, this is one of the many countries that needs our help. Nonetheless, for a country so impoverished and lacking in basic resources to have suffered a catastrophic earthquake after two hurricanes just last year, is one of the most devastating, if not the most, devasating event I have witnessed in my time on this Earth (22 years), even though 9-11 hit pretty close to home for me. There just seem to be too many preventable deaths, and not enough survival stories …

Sorry if this is controversial. PLEASE PRAY FOR HAITI.

Haiti has been known as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere for decades. Circumstances severely worsened when a 7.0 earthquake hit at 4:53pm on January 12th, 2010 near the coast of the capital of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Devastation and panic quickly spread throughout the country. Although many national and international relief organizations have responded, individual volunteers can play an important role in Haiti’s recovery. That is where Haiti Volunteer Project and you come in!

HVP is organizing a trip to Haiti from March 13th to March 20th, 2010. We will volunteer in different areas such as working with children, gardening, and rebuilding structures. While the trip’s main focus is to volunteer with Haitians to rebuild and renew hope, HVP will also be adding tours of different areas within the country to show volunteers Haiti’s pieces of paradise. You will have a chance to experience Haitian culture firsthand. The key is to expose you, as the volunteer, to as much of the island as possible to ensure your fulfillment that will hopefully enhance your desire to return on future volunteer trips. What we need to remember is: Yes, the earthquake destroyed much of Haiti and claimed countless lives, but the country will need help for many years to come.

Email info@haitivolunteerproject.com for more information. Space is limited.