Why I Was Too Busy to Help Haiti
Will You Have to Tell Your Children This Story?
I have been busy. Life is busy. It is for us all. School, work, kids, bills, troubles, trials, and tragedies plague us all. So, I did nothing. I sat and waited for others to do, until I could do it no more. Our hearts have become hardened. We are weary of hearing of every tragedy and those who desperately need our help. Tired of it all, life's burdens, until one day we think, could this be us? How, oh so easily, it could be! Don't close your eyes and ears to the cries of those who are so desperately in need.
How bad is it really? Over 70,000 bodies have been collected so far. Unofficial estimates of the death toll are around 200,000. The smell of death covers Haiti. The vehicles drive around the dead bodies and nobody looks. People are hungry. Gunshots ring out in the air. Looters are stealing rations. Hospitals struggle to treat all the wounded. Haiti is not a rich country. Haiti is a nation of nine million people. Eighty percent are barely surviving. Surviving will become an additional struggle with the added burdens of the recent earthquake. Millions are at risk from lack of food, water, medicine, and shelter. The government and industry of Port-Au-Prince have been almost completely destroyed. Half of the population of Haiti are under 21 years of age.
Your help is desperately needed. Can you take a moment to help? If you can only spare a few dollars, give it. If you can only donate clothes and food, donate it. It will make a difference. You will be helping. Several charitable and worthwhile organizations are available for you to donate to including The American Red Cross, Mercy Corps, Habitat for Humanity, Salvation Army,Doctors Without Borders.
There are many, many more. Many individual communities are taking up donations and supplies through local churches and donation centers. It matters not what or where you give, but that you give. Don't be left to explain to your children one day why you did not help the people of Haiti when they were so desperately in need. It may be your turn next...
Sources:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/01/haiti_earthquake_how_to_help_a.html
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2010-01-18-haiti-airdrops_N.htm?csp=34
Published by Janet Hunt - Featured Contributor in Business & Finance
Janet Hunt is a freelance writing professional specializing in business and finance. She has published articles for such online publication sites as Demand Studios, Associated Content, and various other onli... View profile
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65 Comments
Post a CommentNice perspective and well-written, Janet.
Excellent job putting this devastation into perspective.
You took this tragedy down to a gut-level. If anyone refuses your plea, they must be made of stone. Love you for this.
Beautiful! My little one donated a couple of dollars at school and proudly wore a hat to her class.
You said what so many of us are thinking. What a beautifully written article!
I don't think anyone sitting in their warm house, even if they are horrified at the images they see on television, can fully comprehend the pain and heart ache people are feeling in Haiti or how terrible it REALLY is. But I agree with Len Slade below, too, that there are a lot of people in the US that really need help, too, death and despair being their every day life. While I'm glad people are rallying to help Haiti, I just wish that same sentiment and enthusiasm could be used to help those who need it in the US.
Excellent article Janet
Really great informative article on such a sad subject. Thank you!
And by writing this article, you did something wonderful, Janet! I'm already hearing people say, 'I'm tired hearing about Haiti'. It doesn't go away.
Very moving article, Janet!