By now, most of you have heard, read and seen the stories and images of utter devastation and heartbreaking loss caused by the massive 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti on Tuesday. Survivors’ tearful on-camera cries for help bring us to tears, and we are reminded how connected we all are.
And we must respond. If you haven’t done so already, make a cash donation or, if you’re on a college campus, chances are there are student initiatives to organize relief efforts. And let’s heed the call to action by one of our ethnic community’s great role models: Dartmouth President Jim Yong Kim. Kim is also co-founder and former executive director of Partners in Health, a nonprofit organization that supports health programs in poor communities worldwide. For over 20 years, PIH has provided medical services to the poorest Haitians and is one of the main organizations on the ground right now treating injured quake victims. The group’s other co-founder, Paul Farmer, who is a close friend of Kim’s, was appointed in August as deputy to former President Bill Clinton, the United Nations’ special envoy to Haiti.
Given these close ties to the Haitian people, Kim, now in his capacity as the president of an Ivy League university, is mobilizing his campus to respond. And as we listen to the news of how difficult it is to get aid to victims because of the lack of infrastructure in the poor country and the buckled roads, Kim suggests donating to Partners in Health. The group’s clinics, northeast of the quake’s epicenter, are well-prepared to respond and tend to victims’ needs, Kim said in an interview with The Dartmouth, the university’s campus newspaper.
“I can tell people that if they donate to PIH, more than 95 percent of their donations will go to earthquake relief,” Kim told the newspaper. “[PIH has] very low overhead.”
Kim also told the paper that he sees no conflict of interest between his active involvement with Haiti’s relief efforts and his college post.
“I am president of Dartmouth College but I am also a human being,” Kim said. “I don’t think anyone expected me to come to the job of president of Dartmouth College and give up my humanity in doing so. My humanity dictates to me that I try to help and respond.”
And let our humanity dictate how we respond. Please act fast, as the needs are urgent. To donate to Partners in Health, visit: www.standwithhaiti.org.
And here’s a link to other relief efforts: http://www.networkforgood.org/?source=YAHOO&cmpgn=NEWS.
