International Red Cross in Haiti

Overview:

As one of the world's leading institutions of charity, the International Red Cross immediately leaped into action to help out Haitian citizens in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake. The Red Cross is specially equipped to provide humanitarian relief for regions that have been effected by natural disasters, from hurricanes and tsunamis to earthquakes and wildfires. In the six years since the incident first happened Haiti in 2010, the Canadian Red Cross has been actively participating in relief and recovery efforts. The Red Cross has distributed more than 14400 tons of supplies to the nation and supported nearly five million Haitians in need.

The Numbers:

-Have assisted over 19,000 families with safe shelter solutions

-Provided over 300,000 families with door-to-door cholera prevention information

-Trained over 400,000 people on how to prevent and make interpersonal violence less severe

-More than 1 million relief items distributed

-More than 230,000 people received medical care at a Red Cross facility

-More than 19,000 families have received safe shelter solutions from Canadian donations

-More than 420,000 people have been reached through violence and abuse prevention efforts

-300,000 families received door-to-door cholera prevention information

The Canadian Red Cross:

-Provided 2.5 million liters of water to 230000 people

-built 7500 homes in Jacmel and Leogane

-Treated 2300 Haitians for Cholera

-Canadian Red Cross raised $222 million and spent $190 million on humanitarian assistance

-In addition to providing long-term shelter to families left homeless by the earthquake, they have provided over 19,000 families with safe housing solutions such as shelter kits and tents.

-Canadian donations have also funded an additional 9, 400 housing solutions for families through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

-$94 million has been allocated to developing housing accommodations

Health Care

-The Canadian Red Cross has implemented an integrated health program in the southeast area of Haiti. The $35 million program improves the availability and use of quality services for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH)

-Some of the activities include working to rebuild the Saint-Michel departmental hospital in Jacmel that was damaged during the earthquake. The Red Cross rehabilitated four clinics, training health care professionals and local community volunteers, health awareness programming, and strengthening institutional capacities of the Ministry of health regarding planning, management, and evaluation.

The American Scandal – Road Block to Success

-The US Red Cross managed to raise $500 million which was meant to help rebuild Haiti following the 2011 catastrophic earthquake. Despite making so much money they only managed to build a meager six homes in the country, according to a joint investigation by the news outlets Pro Republica and NPR. The notable US charity organization declared it had supplied homes to more than 130,000 people, but the actual number of permanent homes the group has built in all of Haiti is six.

-The Red Cross allegedly assisted 4.5 million Haitians to get back on their feet

-The PM of Haiti said that 4.5 million people weren't even affected by the earthquake

-Only the US, no other branch of the Red Cross was involved in this.

The Canadian Red Cross’s Response

To assure those who donated to the Canadian Red Cross the organization stated shortly after the unveiling of the American scandal that $190 million out of the $222 million donated by Canadians have been spent on humanitarian aid. "The majority of our projects have completed," said Nathan Huculak, a spokesman for the organization. He added that the remainder of those funds were designated for future endeavors in the country. The Canadian Red Cross says 2.5 percent of funds contribute to overhead costs, but Huculak said all donations are filtered into separate accounts to assure money doesn't suddenly disappear.

Contemporary Canadians: What They Could Have Done

There isn’t much different that could have been done. The Canadian Red Cross made $222 million through donations. That’s a lot of money. They could have donated more I suppose, but I’m sure the Canadian Red Cross was very happy with the amount they made.