For two weeks now Haitians have been receiving donations from all the corners of the world. On Jan. 12, 2010, an earthquake hit this Caribbean country, killing up to 200,000 people. Nearly three million were affected, and two million more are now starving.
The governments of numerous countries of the world and celebrities responded to the UN call to help the victims. Haiti recently received nearly 500,000 euros raised through a charity game played by the world soccer stars in Lisbon. The charity game was organized by the Portuguese club Benfica. It played against the combined team of the world’s most famous soccer players, among them Anatolii Tymoshchuk, Ukrainian halfback of Munich Bayern FC, and Zinedine Zidane, UNDP Goodwill Ambassador and a 1998 world champion. Over 51,000 spectators came to see the game, paying 10 euros per ticket. The game ended in a tie – 3:3.
“Coming to the stadium, the people made a great deed. I am very glad that we have made our own contribution to help Haiti,” the website champion.com.ua quotes Zidane as saying.
A personal charity action was organized by a seven-year-old boy from London, Charlie Simpson, who decided to raise 500 pounds to help the victims. With the help of his parents, he set up a page on a special website JustGiving which offers an opportunity to everyone eager to raise money for charity. There he wrote: “My name is Charlie Simpson. I want to do a Sponsored Bike Ride for Haiti because there was a big earthquake and loads of people have lost their lives. I want to make some money to buy food, water, and tents for everyone in Haiti.”
Then he sat on his bike and cycled around the park, located near the Simpsons’ house. Covering eight kilometers, the boy returned home and started following the figure change on his web page. At this moment he has raised 135,000 pounds ($220,000).
This way of charity activity has been known for a long time in Great Britain: you should announce that you raise money for some good cause fund, and sympathizers donate to your account as much money as they can. UNICEF has expressed special gratitude to the young Londoner “on behalf of many children of Haiti” and noted that the money he has raised will go to the special fund for Haitian children that have suffered from the quake.
International organizations have also responded to the UN call to help Haiti. So, the World Bank has given 100 million dollars as an emergency grant to overcome the aftermath of the devastating earthquake. On its part, the UN has, too, allotted 10 million dollars. Furthermore, the World Bank reported that it would send a mission of its experts to Haiti to work jointly with the local authorities and foreign partners and assess how much money the country needs to restore its infrastructure.
Ukraine has made its contribution, too. Apart from sending humanitarian aid, two crews of Ukrainian helicopters Mi-8MTB are working on the territory of the Caribbean state.
The international Golden Foot Organization, which annually names the soccer player of the year, did not stay aside of the problem, either. Its website is holding an online auction of signed T-shirts from European soccer stars. All the money raised from the sale of these soccer memorabilia will be sent to the earthquake relief fund.
A number of American show business stars took part in fundraising. After Madonna sent 250,000 dollars to Haiti and the charity foundation of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie contributed one million dollars, other actors and musicians announced that they were going to support the victims of the catastrophe. The US National Football League, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League have donated 3.5 million dollars to the earthquake relief. Sammuel Dallamber, an NBA player and Haiti native, made his personal donation of 100,000 dollars. The athlete also appealed to NBA fans to follow his example.
