HAITI - A Challenge

Earthquakes can be devastating, debilitating & demotivating. They can test the best in us – our strength, our patience, our compassion & our love. They are horrific, heart-wrenching natural spectacles – thrusted upon us by no fault of our own. They destroy our buildings, our schools, our hospitals, our homes, but above all, they break the human spirit –the constant fighter, the Ninja warrior, the core of all human growth, progress &  development.

Haiti Earthquake 2010 is one of these human miseries – which we collectively face today as a human race.

On Jan 12, 2010 Haiti was hit by a earthquake, a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake. Its epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, approximately 25 km (16 miles) west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater had been recorded. As of Feb. 12, an estimated three million people were affected by the quake; the Haitian Government reports that between 217,000 and 230,000 people had been identified as dead, an estimated 300,000 injured, and an estimated 1,000,000 homeless. The death toll is expected to rise. They also estimated that 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas. It is one of the poorest in the Western Hemisphere. This has made the conditions in Haiti even worse. Following the quakes, thousands have been rendered homeless, sleeping in the streets of Port-au-Prince. According to the International federation of the Red Cross – more than 3 million people need emergency aid. Witnesses described dazed survivors wandering the streets holding hands amid choking clouds of dust, as powerful aftershocks continued to rock the city.

Many countries responded to appeals for humanitarian aid, pledging funds and dispatching rescue and medical teams, engineers and support personnel. Communication systems, air, land, and sea transport facilities, hospitals, and electrical networks had been damaged by the earthquake, which hampered rescue and aid efforts; confusion over who was in charge, air traffic congestion, and problems with prioritization of flights further complicated early relief work. Port-au-Prince's morgues were quickly overwhelmed; tens of thousands of bodies were buried in mass graves. As rescues tailed off, supplies, medical care and sanitation became priorities. Delays in aid distribution led to angry appeals from aid workers and survivors.

Aid is still needed. A single cent, a single rupee counts – it can bring the life back on track for the survivors. We understand that it’s not enough – but it still is important, it does make a huge difference, it does bring a smile back on a few faces, if not all.

Miseries no doubt are devastating, debilitating & demotivating, yet they are universal, unifying & uniting.…………