Haiti disaster strikes personal chord with Vol State student
Jesse Smith
Issue date: 2/1/10 Section: News
Jan. 12, a 7.0 earthquake struck Port-au-Prince, Haiti literally destroying the country. Thousands of buildings, homes and lives were lost.
Worry is in constantly in the air of Haiti.
"Many victims could die from wounds that under normal circumstances would be easily treatable; a lack of food and clean water raises concerns over disease outbreaks," according to www.cnn.com.
The American Red Cross is providing much needed assistance.
As of Jan. 28 "The organization has committed more than $67 million to assist the earthquake survivors in Haiti. The American Red Cross is currently focusing on three areas through its emergency responders and partners:
1. Sending food to those in need, including 3 million pre-packaged meals and funding for World Food Program efforts that will enable them to feed up to 1 million people for a month.
2. Providing clean drinking water, including 3.5 million liters distributed to date in 68 settlements. Each day, the Red Cross is distributing enough water for 100,000 people.
3. Distributing shelter items, such as blankets, tarps, sleeping mats and tents, to families who have been left homeless," according to http://www.redcross.org.
Frantz Massena, a Volunteer State Community College student, was born and raised in Haiti. He gave a personal account of the devastation in Haiti at the VISA Club meeting on Thursday, Jan. 28.
Massena was nine years old when he, his mother and his siblings came to the United States. In addition to hearing the news about the devastating earthquake, Massena also found that some of his family still living in Haiti had lost their lives.
Massena had planned to make a visit to Haiti and his family this summer, but he is now torn about his decision. He wonders if he should go visit his family or send the money he had for his trip to assist them.
"I really want to go back. And my intentions for going back have somewhat changed. I want to help as much as I can." Massena shared.
It may seem that a little donation or a contribution wouldn't go very far or make a big change but that is not the case.
"People think that it's out of their reach to help, but it's not," said student Tayler Swanner.
A little will go a long way. Everything helps and anything can make a difference.
Worry is in constantly in the air of Haiti.
"Many victims could die from wounds that under normal circumstances would be easily treatable; a lack of food and clean water raises concerns over disease outbreaks," according to www.cnn.com.
The American Red Cross is providing much needed assistance.
As of Jan. 28 "The organization has committed more than $67 million to assist the earthquake survivors in Haiti. The American Red Cross is currently focusing on three areas through its emergency responders and partners:
1. Sending food to those in need, including 3 million pre-packaged meals and funding for World Food Program efforts that will enable them to feed up to 1 million people for a month.
2. Providing clean drinking water, including 3.5 million liters distributed to date in 68 settlements. Each day, the Red Cross is distributing enough water for 100,000 people.
3. Distributing shelter items, such as blankets, tarps, sleeping mats and tents, to families who have been left homeless," according to http://www.redcross.org.
Frantz Massena, a Volunteer State Community College student, was born and raised in Haiti. He gave a personal account of the devastation in Haiti at the VISA Club meeting on Thursday, Jan. 28.
Massena was nine years old when he, his mother and his siblings came to the United States. In addition to hearing the news about the devastating earthquake, Massena also found that some of his family still living in Haiti had lost their lives.
Massena had planned to make a visit to Haiti and his family this summer, but he is now torn about his decision. He wonders if he should go visit his family or send the money he had for his trip to assist them.
"I really want to go back. And my intentions for going back have somewhat changed. I want to help as much as I can." Massena shared.
It may seem that a little donation or a contribution wouldn't go very far or make a big change but that is not the case.
"People think that it's out of their reach to help, but it's not," said student Tayler Swanner.
A little will go a long way. Everything helps and anything can make a difference.
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