The one year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti is coming up (January 12th). Almost half a million people were killed, but 1.3 million were left homeless. The world took notice and pledged $10 billion – yes, billion – in aid.
But, the problem is that almost a year later, Haiti is still a mess. Last October, there was an outbreak of cholera. The disease outbreak started near Port-au-Prince. Over 3,000 people were killed and within 10 weeks, the cholera outbreak, believed to be caused by drinking infected water, had spread to all of Haiti.
If you thought that all the monies raised, including that from the Hope for Haiti Now telethon, would help, think again. Less than $1 billion of the $10 billion pledged has been received. It is like it is with most disasters – right after they happen, they are on our minds and we are horrified and willing to donate. But, then as time goes on, we forget there is still suffering, maybe even forgetting we pledged money.
Americans alone pledged a half a billion dollars through 23 different charities for Haiti. However, ABC News did an investigation that showed that a lot of the money pledged and actually turned in, is still sitting in banks. The Red Cross said it raised a quarter of a billion for Haiti, but admitted it had only spent about a third of that.
Oxfam International issued a report that said that relief and recovery is almost at a standstill because of the Haiti government’s lack of action and the indecision of the donor countries. I know that relief is a long process. They need to make sure the people get the aid and the monies aren’t lost in the bureaucracy. But the fact remains that of the 1.3 million who were left homeless after the earthquake, 1.1 million are still homeless. Over 50 percent of the population doesn’t have access to clean drinking water.