We had a wonderful event last night, which we’ll share with you soon.  But we wanted to write a quick note about Haiti.

For those who have never been to the island of Hispanola, half of the island is the Dominican Republic and the other half is Haiti.  I have spent some time in the Dominican Republic, and have seen the devastation that occurred there from a tropical storm two years ago.  Because the country has such extreme poverty, many structures are less sound, incomes less resilient, and farms less supported by government help in these times.  It was a devastating blow to the country’s poor.

Haiti is much more impoverished.  I met several Haitian refugees in the DR, who worked in the sugar cane fields.  Without potable water nor proper sanitation and barely roofs over their heads, they were still better off in the DR than they would have been in Haiti.  And they had dreams, just like the rest of us, of good jobs and education for their children, as well as hopes for simple, basic human rights and dignity.

Last night there was a devastating earthquake with its epicenter near the capitol, Port-au-Prince.  I can only imagine what a severe earthquake could do to the people of Haiti.  Already more than 50% of Haitians live on less than a dollar a day.  The full effect of the 7.0 earthquake will not be known for a while, but the Red Cross has estimated it to have affected upwards of 3 million people.  That is one-third of the population of the country.

Across the country, Parliament, hospitals, businesses, homes, and schools have collapsed.  Our hearts are with the people of Haiti today.

What You Can Do

Donate Funds

The Haiti Relief Fund has a list of organizations accepting donations.

UPDATE: From your cell phone, simply text “Haiti” to 90999, and it will automatically donate $10 to the American Red Cross (how easy is that?  Your phone company takes care of the rest – and takes no $$ from the transaction) or donate directly via Google to the charity of your choice.

Invest In the Future of Haiti

We are working with our partner, Oikocredit, to find out where you can invest there.  While donations are incredibly important right now, investments in the future of Haitian businesses – to help them rebuild in the aftermath – is going to be incredibly important as well.  We’ll let you know as soon as we find out how to do this. UPDATE: You can make an investment to Oikocredit’s funds in Haiti directly here.

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