Good to Know: Help for Haiti Continues

By Desiree Parker Sunday, February 07, 2010

It’s amazing to me – in a wonderful way – how much folks are committed to helping out victims of the Haiti earthquake. Not just on a national level (though I bet most of us tuned in to watch Hope for Haiti), but on a local level, too.

I’ve shared the story about John Piggott, who plans to use his amazing skills as a runner to help the victims. Click here to learn more about John and how you can help him help the people of Haiti. Here are a few more stories about people in our community reaching out to lend a hand.

WYDaily did a few stories about two William and Mary students, Landon Yarrington and Jonna Knappenberger, who were in Port-au-Prince when the quake struck. When they returned, they both were aching to find some way they could continue to help those they left behind – and they’ve figured out just how to do it.

The couple has teamed up with the group William and Mary Supports Haiti, which is a new umbrella organization looking to get targeted relief efforts underway to survivors. They’re working with the University of Fondwa, Sonja Ayiti, SOIL and Partners in Health to provide whatever local support they can.

Senior Mallory Johnson expressed her group’s goals very eloquently in a recent press release: “Delivering food, water and shelter couldn't come at a more crucial time for the victims of the January 12 earthquake, but need in Haiti goes deeper than immediate humanitarian aid.

“Disaster relief efforts do nothing for the entire generation of Haitian youth whose education, for instance, won't be addressed until the triage process of the leading international organizations finally recognize this and other social and cultural concerns as needs. Only a holistic approach to the situation in Haiti can begin to return a sense of normalcy, and the best way to achieve this is to support grassroots organizations which already have working relationships in many of the hardest hit communities.”

This is a good point she makes, and one that Yarrington and Knappenberger made when they returned – groups already on the ground in Haiti are better equipped to deliver aid, and one of the best ways to help is not to jump on a plane and fly over there, but to focus your attention on one area and find out specifics about what’s needed.

WMSH intends to help native-run groups specifically, which I think is a neat idea. “Supporting groups that are Haitian-led and Haitian-staffed not only guarantees that the aid process is on Haitian terms and according to Haitian needs, but also ensures the rights of the Haitian people to participate in and ultimately control what is going on around them,” Johnson said.

“Such social and cultural sensitivities are essential to honoring the dignity of the Haitian people as we do our part to make sure life goes on in the aftermath of this catastrophe, and given the large budgets of most international groups, where the modest contribution of WMSH could only partially fund the salary of an aid worker or other overhead expenses in the US, supporting Haitian groups is also the best way to make a meaningful impact on the recovery efforts.”

One of the Haitian groups WMSH is working with is the University of Fondwa, which is the first rural university in Haiti. W&M aims to work with the university as a sister school to help them rebuild and continue offering Haitians the chance at further education.

University faculty and administrators will support students’ efforts and provide teaching and learning opportunities, according to Drew Stelljes of the college’s community engagement and scholarship office. He serves as the faculty advisor for WMSH.

"This student-led effort is part of what makes William and Mary a unique learning community. What a better way to celebrate her birthday than with a coordinated effort to help, to teach and to learn,” Stelljes said. “Our founders would be proud."

Want to Help?
WMSH is selling T-shirts from the office of community engagement and scholarship in Blow Memorial Hall. Call 221-3263 for more information. The group has a Web site that is now up and running. Click here to get to it.

Other ways to help Haiti
Local nonprofit Network Williamsburg is teaming up with AMF Williamsburg Lanes for Hearts for Haiti, a charitable bowling event on Saturday, Feb. 13.

For $5, folks can get shoes and bowl for two hours. Of that amount, $4 will go directly to relief efforts in Haiti, and $1 will go to Network Williamsburg. That dollar will go towards helping the organization offer free continuing education workshops, networking events, collection drives, corporate fundraising events and more for 68 local nonprofits.

Bowl times are 8 until 10 a.m. or 10 a.m. until noon. You can play by yourself, with a group or with your family.

There will be raffles and contests all morning, and the highest-scoring student group will win a free two-hour extreme bowling party.

If you know of other charitable things going on for Haiti, let me know! Email me at desiree@wydaily.com.