Haiti Emergency Relief Fund | One Day's Wages

On January 12, 2010, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck the country of Haiti, just 10 miles from the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince. There have been at least 13 aftershocks with magnitudes above 5.0, according to the USGS. At least one major hospital was destroyed, and the city of Port-au-Prince is particularly vulnerable to damage due to its high population density.

Haiti ranks as one of the least developed countries in the world, and has an approximate population of 10 million,with most citizens living below $2 per day. According to the World Food Program, more than half live on less than $1 per day – in extreme global poverty. A series of major hurricanes in 2008 left the country with soaring food prices and major flood damage.

For most of us, a typical workday is just 8 hours. For the people of Haiti, their lives drastically changed in just one moment. How can we use our 8 hours of work – our One Day’s Wage – to offer compassion and support to Haiti that will far outlast our workday today?

One Day’s Wages has committed $5,000 from our General Giving Fund to aid in the relief efforts and we hope through our ODW network, we can raise significantly more. We’re inviting the ODW community to consider donating a day’s wages or any amount to the fund. 100% of donations (minus transaction costs) will go directly to the emergency and disaster relief efforts in Haiti and to support families and communities affected by the earthquake.

ODW is proud to partner with World Concern who not only have an excellent reputation for their humanitarian work, but also have a strong presence in Haiti. While we’ve known about World Concern, our “interview” (the night of the earthquake) and research of their work in Haiti gave us great confidence in this partnership. They have worked in Haiti since 1978 and work with about 125,000 people. The majority of their staff are local Haitians that know their people and culture. Their offices in Port Au Prince is still standing and they are doing disaster and emergency relief work right now.

ODW will keep this fund open until March 31, 2010, but will disperse funds to World Concern as each $1,000 USD is raised. As always, we’ll report back to our community of donors how the funds are being used on the ground and upon availability, will provide stories, photos, and videos.

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photo from NY Times