Haiti, was hit by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.  

A hospital and other buildings, including the United Nations headquarters in the capital of Port-au-Prince, collapsed. Hundreds of thousands are feared dead in the impoverished island, while many more are still missing. Bodies line the streets while many more are buried under rubble. 

Aid is slowly arriving, including rescue teams from South Africa, but it has yet to reach the thousands of desperate people as rubble on the roads is making it impossible for teams to reach them. Thousands of bodies have already been buried in mass graves. 

Many organisations, including the World Bank and world leaders, have pledged millions in relief aid. Desperation turned into anger as Haitians grew impatient while waiting for relief. A few days later many had not had anything to eat nor drink since the quake hit, and the death toll continues to rise.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

The South African government says its assistance to Haiti will be approached in three phases – the search and rescue phase (in partnership with the Department of Health, Vodacom, Netcare and Discovery, through Rescue South Africa); sending forensic pathologists to help identify bodies; and lastly, humanitarian aid, in partnership with NGOs such as the Gift of the Givers.

Those wanting to assist can contact George Kilian, head of the National Disaster Management Centre on 012 334 0667, or e-mail him at georgek@ndmc.gov.za 

Give a Haiti relief charity gift to a Facebook friend:

When you give a charity gift on Facebook, you are buying a specific item needed on the ground in Haiti. There are several new gifts in the Facebook Charity Gift Shop, including:

Water for Haiti from Oxfam