Haiti Hurricane Update

We’ve been collecting money for Haiti hurricane victims for several weeks now, and although we haven’t received quite the response that I had hoped for, we did raise $45. Since this isn’t really enough to make a dent in providing clean water, we’ve decided to donate the entire amount that we raised, plus our matching funds, to Yéle Haiti, the aid organization founded by musician Wyclef Jean. The money will be donated to their Haiti Storm Relief Fund.

Check out the powerful videos on the homepage of www.yele.org. I also have some pictures of the aftermath on my Flickr account.

“I’ve seen extreme poverty before, but I’ve never seen it coupled with a natural disaster.” – Matt Damon, speaking on the video on Yéle Haiti.

Those of you who know me know that I share a special connection with Haiti. My parents were missionaries there, and I spent many years there growing up.

Check out the Yéle Haiti website

We just sent 45 boxes of Katadyn Micropur Purification Tablets to Haiti to help provide potable drinking water for hurricane flood victims.

Much of Haiti has been inundated by recent hurricanes, causing contamination of many water supplies. A major concern right now is the outbreak of water-borne diseases like giardia and typhus. These water purification supplies will most certainly save lives by providing clean drinking water.

Our first shipment will go down on Friday, Sept 5. We’re sending enough to purify about 1350 liters (357 gallons) of water. We’d like to send more!

So let’s do it! We will match every dollar donated to buy more purification tablets. If we raise $1000, then we’ll match it for a total of $2000. That’s enough to purify about 4633 liters (1224 gallons). That’s enough to provide one week of clean drinking water for 350 people!

Why Haiti? Both Ryan and Bethany have spent significant time there – Ryan as a missionary kid and Bethany as a nurse. We still have family in Haiti. Despite the poverty, the land is very dear to us.

Thanks for donating!

Update: Now you can donate through our new Donor Tools page! https://haitiaid.donortools.com/

Update 2: Also check out the Haiti Aid Blog