Haiti is a country in the Caribbean sea that is located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles. The Caribbean island of Haiti has a history full of lively beauty and agonizing tragedy. Its culture is a blend of European and African traditions stemming from the French colonization of San Domingue. Its population is almost entirely descended from African Slaves.

Haiti was once one of the wealthiest colonies in the Americas but it is now one of the poorest countries, with more than half of its population living below the poverty line.

That is due to economical and political issues.

Unfortunately, natural disasters are quite common in Haiti. Geographically, Haiti’s location is what makes it so susceptible to hurricanes and earthquakes. Not only is it located within the Caribbean Sea, an area that is ridden with the world’s worst hurricanes, but the country also sits on a fault line between the North American Plate and the Caribbean plate which is the cause of all the earthquakes that have tormented the country for centuries.

In the early hours of August 14, 2021 at 8:29 am, the southwestern area of Haiti was hit by a 7.2 earthquake in the mountains between the Nippes Department and Sud Department. The earthquake violently shook Haiti. This quake was very shallow, which is the reason it caused a lot of damage.

The magnitude of the earthquake severely damaged several cities, burying people in the rubble of collapsed buildings. This has overwhelmed hospitals tremendously.

The death toll of the quake has grown to 2,207, with 344 people still missing.

Just when the people of Haiti thought the worse was over, Tropical Storm Grace rolled across the country on Tuesday, August 17, 2021. Just 3 days after they were hit by the devastating quake. A brutal storm with drenching rains and powerful winds afflicted the island.

The storm hit as thousands of people dug through the rubble looking for loved ones. Many of them scrambled for shelter after the earthquake destroyed their homes.

Haiti is in desperate need of help during these difficult times with government resources low and inflation high, Haiti can use all the help it can get.

Donate to These Organizations for Haiti Relief:

Haiti relief efforts are still ongoing. These are some organizations that have a long-standing track record of providing services on the ground, mostly all Haitian-led.

The Capracare provides Haiti relief drives and services. They created their charitable organization to give the people of Haiti the skills to build sustainable health care. Founded in 2009, Capracare is well versed in earthquake emergency response and has experience with the Haiti earthquake of 2010, the cholera outbreak, Hurricane Sandy, mosquito-borne outbreak, shutdown of the Haitian government, and covid-19 pandemic. You can donate to them at  www.capracare.org/donate.

Another great organization that is known as the Haitian Global Health Alliance, is Gheskio. Gheskio is a world-class research, treatment, and training institution that serves more than 600,000 patient visits annually. They created a campaign that is helping with Haiti  relief in the midst of the earthquake. You can donate here, https://www.gheskio.org/donatenow/.

Black-owned crowdfunding website, Black Money Builder, is another platform making efforts to provide Haiti relief. Their crowdfunding campaign Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund has a goal of $10,000. These proceeds will assist non-profits in providing emergency relief, water, food, medicine, and shelter. You can help donate towards Haiti Relief here:
https://www.blackmoneybuilder.com/campaign/haiti-earthquake-relief-fund/

Last but not least, Hope for Haiti is a trusted organization working to reduce poverty in Haiti and is focused on providing support and partnership for the Haitian people.

They have experience in emergency services and response. Their Haiti relief efforts include a Haitian-led team of doctors, nurses, and program managers who have been on the ground helping with the earthquake. You can donate here https://hopeforhaiti.com/.

Haiti has withstood mother nature’s wrath for many centuries and yet hope is still not lost within the country. The strong citizens of this beautiful country continue to strive for a country well-prepared for disaster. It’s not one’s choice of where they are born and to many, this island in the Caribbean is where they call home. With continued efforts of providing aid to Haiti, the country may be more equipped to hold out against disasters in the future.