The presidential palace collapsed.† Countless homes and businesses were reduced to nothing more than piles of bricks and dirt. Hundreds of thousands are dead ó those fortunate enough to live are left to make sense of the devastation.† These are just a few of the images that have come from Haiti in the past few weeks.
ìI found out about it on the day it happened, but I didnít understand the severity of it until I looked at the pictures,” said Matthew Miller í11.† ìItís just surreal.”
The 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck on Tuesday, Jan. 12 at 4:53 p.m. local time, about 10 miles west of Haitiís capital of Port-au-Prince.† Already scarred by a history of political turmoil and a poor economy, Haitiís infrastructure simply collapsed, burying its people beneath the rubble.† The Haitian government estimates that approximately 200,000 are dead, 250,000 are injured and 1.5 million remain homeless.
ìWhat has happened to Haiti is devastating,” said Nicole McFarlane í13.† ìImagining the massive number of people that have lost their lives or their loved ones and basically everything they own or everything they knew is scary.”
The severity of the devastation has triggered an outpouring of global support.† Japan has sent over $330,000 in emergency supplies and a medical team, while Italy has airlifted in a field hospital that can treat 150 patients a day. The United States has pledged $130 million in aid, according to USAID, and has already delivered over 90,000 pounds of aid and supplies.
ìMoney and medical supplies are the first and most top priority,” said Nancy Anderson, director of the Wellness Center.
Response from the college community has been active, growing rapidly since the disaster occurred.† CaribConnect, a student-run group that promotes the education of Caribbean culture, rallied a number of campus groups together at a meeting on Tuesday evening.† Attendees included representatives from The Wooster Volunteer Network, Global Engagement Network and Black Students Association.
ìI sent out a Facebook message to friends saying, ëI donít know what we can do, but I want to do something,í” said Matthew McNaughton í10, vice president of CaribConnect.† ìAnd now itís grown to talks with lots of organizations.”
In order to raise awareness, events during this past week have included tabling in Lowry, the showing of a documentary on Haiti entitled ìThe Road to Fondwa”, and Professor of Economics James Warnerís brave decision to let students shave his head.
Future fundraising events are being developed to further the Collegeís support. One foreseeable event looks to be a Beans and Rice Dinner, in which students will donate a portion of their meal swipes, in a similar fashion to the Soup and Bread program.† Red Cross donation cans and additional money donation buckets will also begin to appear throughout the campus.
ìIt is heartening to see the caring and committed response of the campus community to the destruction and loss of life in Haiti,” said Anne Gates, Director of International Student Affairs.† ìIn the midst of this tragedy, we have an opportunity to make a positive contribution to the lives of others in our global community.”
To find out how you or your campus organization can help with the Haiti relief effort, please contact Anne Gates, Assistant Dean and Director of International Student Affairs (agates@wooster.edu) or McNaughton, Vice-President of CaribConnect (mmcnaughton10@wooster.edu).