The island nation of Haiti is in crisis, after a massive earthquake — 7.3 on the Richter scale — hit the capital city of Port-au-Prince. The most impoverished country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti was already in dire straits. The country had already suffered four successive hurricanes in 2008 and was also trying to rebuild in the face of the ongoing food crisis. As the crisis continues to unfold, the need for humanitarian support is ballooning. You can help.
WHY has partner organizations that have been doing stellar work in Haiti. While these organizations work more often on the long-term solutions to hunger and poverty in this area, they are responding to the crisis at hand.
- Yéle Haiti — Yéle Haiti is a foundation started by Grammy-Award winning musician, producer, social entrepreneur and Haitian Goodwill Ambassador Wyclef Jean that is changing thousands of lives in this poor but optimistic nation. Yéle Haiti's mission is to create small-scale, manageable and replicable projects to contribute to Haiti's long-term progress in the areas of education, health, environment and community development. The organization was one of the beneficiaries of the 2009 Imagine There's No Hunger campaign, a partnership between WHY and Hard Rock International. Yéle is accepting donations online at www.yele.org. You can also donate by texting YELE to 501501 to donate $5 from your cellphone.
- Grassroots International — With several partners on the ground in Haiti, Grassroots International has set up an "Earthquake Relief Fund for Haiti" to support their partners during and beyond the crisis. Grassroots International works with four main groups in Haiti including the Haitian Platform to Advocate Alternative Development (PAPDA) and the Platform of Haitian Human Rights Organizations (POHDH). PAPDA was one of the beneficiaries of the 2008 Imagine There's No Hunger campaign. To read a letter from the Director of PAPDA, click here.
- Seeds for Haiti — Seeds for Haiti is a project that helps families avoid impending famine, resulting from crop loss from natural disasters. It also works on longer-term sustainable development projects.
