Earlier this year, Haiti was hit by a massive 7.2 magnitude earthquake that has caused the deaths of over 2,200, while injuring more than 12,200. Hundreds of people remain missing after the earthquakes and the damage to the country is severe, ongoing, and affects the infrastructure of society at every level.
Here are four organizations that are working to help the people of Haiti, how they’re doing it, and how you can help.
Haiti Children’s Project
Children are typically some of the most vulnerable following a natural disaster. Not only are they affected by injury, the destruction of the home, and the illness that is common after such impacts, but it can affect their education and long-term prospects, as well.
The Haiti Children Project is helping orphans go to college. Founders Wade and Janet McGuinn are leading a team that is affording many of the children affected by the earthquake and other disasters in the area the opportunity to get the education that they might not, otherwise.
Hope for Haiti
Founded by humanitarian JoAnne Kuehner, Hope for Haiti is another nonprofit that is contributing to providing educational opportunities for children in the rural areas of Haiti. This long-running project has been going for over three decades, but the recent earthquake has affected their operations greatly.
Aside from helping education in their local areas, Hope for Haiti has also been supplying emergency kits to locals in the aftermath of the earthquake and continues to help in distributing crucial goods like water, wheelchairs, antibiotics, and other first aid supplies.
CARE
A worldwide organization that is helping vulnerable people in over 100 countries through a variety of projects, CARE is active in Haiti through their 2X MATCH: Haiti Earthquake Emergency webpage. This project aims to help Haitians gain financial backing to regain security in their lives, as well as to make sure that every family has food security.
CARE also focuses on the protection of women and girls, with specific efforts being spent on preventing gender-based violence, as well as water, shelter, and, amidst the ongoing pandemic, preventative measures against the spread of COVID-19.
GOLD Haiti
GOLD Haiti is a community effort led in Utah, headed by Jean Francois Bassette, that has been active since 2019. This is an online effort that aims to offer access to education for young boys and girls in Haiti. GOLD Haiti aims to help by collecting one-time conditions that can then go on to help a child attend school as well as have access to daily meals.
The above examples are not all of the nonprofit organizations that are currently active in Haiti, but they do cover some of the biggest and most active organizations that are actively looking for help and donations at this time.
The people of Haiti still require help, months after the massive earthquake that hit in August. If you can, consider lending or giving what you can to any of the organizations named above.