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The Disaster of Haiti
(by Gary Godfrey - January 25, 2010)
The Disaster of Haiti
You’ve heard that kids say the darndest things.
But have you heard that kids do the darndest things?
Case in point. On Saturday, January 16, children who live on Nottingham Avenue in Shrewsbury, Mo. hosted their fourth annual Cocoa for Haiti hot cocoa stand.
A year ago, the kids raised more than $200. This year their total was $4,332.50.
“They were just amazed,” commented Angie Bolino, who volunteered to organize the stand. “Two thousand dollars came from a single donor, and the remainder of donations were $2, $5, $10 and $20 donations. The kids were so excited about the huge donation, they were ready to go the entire day.”
All the proceeds went to the Hands Together, www.handstogether.org.
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George Clooney’s “Hope for Haiti Now” telethon, reported on January 23rd it has raised more than 58 million dollars to date — a new record for donations made by the general public through a disaster-relief telethon, according to MTV.com. The preliminary figure includes donations made via phone, online and mobile, and does does not include donations by corporations and large private donors, or iTunes sales figures, all of which are still being calculated. "Hope for Haiti Now" will continue accepting donations for six months via the following methods:
Online: www.hopeforhaitinow.org
Phone: 877-99-HAITI
Text: Text "GIVE" to 50555
Mail: Hope For Haiti Now Fund, Entertainment Industry Foundation, 1201 West 5th Street, Suite T-700, Los Angeles, CA 90017
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According to the USAtoday.com website The 3,654-passenger Independence of the Seas -- one of the world's largest cruise ships -- went ahead with a scheduled call along the relatively unaffected north coast of the country on Friday.
There were mixed emotions of the cruise ship’s quickly return. "I agree with them bringing in relief efforts, but not sure any visitors are warranted in Haiti right now," Cruise Log reader elitetravel says in a Cruise Log post. "I can't imagine sitting on the beach, drinking a margarita and laughing it up while people are suffering so much in that country."
Writes another Cruise Log reader, PamelaMurphy: "I am scheduled to be on a cruise starting Jan. 31 that is stopping in Labadee, (and) I feel I do not want to be there nor do I belong there at this time ... Haiti is now a land suffering from death and destruction of a huge magnitude."
This week’s bottom line: There are two big forces at work, external and internal. We have very little control over external forces such as tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, disasters, illness and pain. What really matters is the internal force. How do I respond to those disasters? Over that I have complete control.”
Other quotes on disaster
“We are often dismayed to find that even disasters cannot cure us of our faults.”
“How many disasters do we need to unite humanity”
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