As you probably know, a 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti, basically destroying the country. The situation there was extremely bad even before, but now hospitals are down, there’s no water and no food for a very big part of the population and no way to receive medical treatment; it’s estimated that there are between 100.000 and 500.000 deaths. I will NOT go into further details (which you can find here), I won’t post any heartbreaking photos (unbelievable ones here), and won’t post videos (one here); if you want more, you should just google it, you won’t get it from me. WHY ? Because just knowing doesn’t change anything.
Instead, I’m gonna tell you what you can do to help, which is what you should do; or at least what I know.
Pick up your phone and text. “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross, or “YELE” to 501501 to donate $5 to Yele Haiti (Wyclef Jean’s foundation). This is probably the easiest and most useful thing you can do.
Even if you don’t have money, you can help just as much (if not more). If you live in a big city, there’s probably a place where people can donate clothes, food or medicine that will go in Haiti. If you don’t, you can just gather some people, friends and such, make a big package and send it. I’m not really sure how fast it will get there, and you might want to avoid sending food if it takes too long. Just ask the local post office, they’ll explain.
Donate more! C’mon, I know some of you are in the full half, and nobody got poor by giving. The Red Cross (as pretty much always) mobilized to help; you can donate via their website, so you don’t have to text more messages.
If you live near Haiti, or know any people that do, you really need to look at this tracking form !
That’s about all I was able to find out. You can still help, no matter when you read this! Just don’t let it get by. If you don’t believe me, just listen to Letterman.
Dr. Andrei Mihai is a geophysicist and founder of ZME Science. He has a Ph.D. in geophysics and archaeology and has completed courses from prestigious universities (with programs ranging from climate and astronomy to chemistry and geology). He is passionate about making research more accessible to everyone and communicating news and features to a broad audience.
