Haiti update

I wanted to share some amazing and heart-wrenching photographs Boston.com’s Big Picture posted recently from Haiti.  One week after the 7.0 earthquake struck the impoverished nation, aides are struggling to keep up with the demand for water, food and medical attention.  Looting and violence has led to more deaths as Haitians fight to get what little aid is available.

As bodies continue to turn up and rescue workers flood in, the unthinkable happened: a 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck 35 miles northwest of Port-au-Prince today.

Fox News reports last week’s earthquake killed an estimated 200,000 people, injured 250,000 and left 1.5 million homeless.  It is unknown what kind of damage this morning’s earthquake left.

The need for donations is stronger than ever. Tune into Friday’s Hope for Haiti Now telethon at 8pm on several networks, hosted by George Clooney.  Don’t forget about Yele Haiti and the Red Cross, who have been instrumental in collecting donations to aid the suffering nation.

Earthquake Tragedy Connects People via Social Media

As more bodies are recovered from the rubble and medical aids from around the world rush in to treat injured Haitians, the ebb and flow of Tweets crying for help and sending prayers has been consistent.

“I guess the only way I can help Haiti is by creating awareness,” said kuto101 in a Tweet this morning. Kuto101, among hundreds of other Twitter users have used the social networking platform to encourage donations and to link viewers to up-to-the-minute information available online. The site is especially being used to rally people around the world to help one of the poorest countries recover from the devastating 7.0 earthquake that shook the nation on Tuesday.

A Cnn.com article today said, “With few phone calls going through in the Caribbean nation in the aftermath of Tuesday’s 7.0-magnitude quake, people were driven to texting, social networking sites and other online communication.”

Twitter feeds can been seen with users begging for loved ones in Haiti during the disaster to confirm if they are alive or if others know of their whereabouts. Countless users are also promoting links to donation websites. Last night, as I watched feeds pour in with “Help Haiti” as a key word, I came across this one I found particularly amusing but motivating: Only1EricaMena: “If your ass can call into #American Idol then you can text “Yele” to 501501/”Haiti” to 90999.”

I thought to myself, how true?! I will sheepishly admit that I had American Idol on in the background as I surfed the web for earthquake updates.

Then I texted “Yele” to 501501.

While I’ve always been somewhat annoyed at the way many people use Twitter (i.e. “I’m eating a banana now” – who the hell cares!??!), this is an instance where I find great value in the social networking site. Some person from some part of the world who I wouldn’t know from a hole in the wall somehow convinced me it was worth it to donate my $5 to help others in need…all because I saw his/her Tweet.

That is powerful!

There have been several other tweets and retweets promoting the ways you can text to donate or visit websites. Yele is the website hip-hop artist and Haiti-native, Wyclef Jean, created as a support system for Haitians. Since the earthquake hit, the site is focusing solely on relief efforts and providing real-time information about the disaster. The site enables people to donate online or through text.

Another widely spreading hub for donations is the Red Cross via texting to 90999.

Tracytuttle re-tweets @britishredcross: “We have now raised 1 million for the #Haiti Earthquake, thanks to all our supporters!” Here’s the link where people can donate. On the American Red Cross Twitter page, they have pledged to raise $10 million to the relief efforts.

Aside from the small donations people from around the world are contributing as I write this, big name celebrities are stepping in to contribute in a big way. Lance Armstrong has posted on Twitter and been retweeted over 600 times to link to his Livestrong blog donating 250,000 to Haitian relief efforts. This site, similar to countless others formed since word of the tragedy spread, also enables site visitors to unite donating money.

According to an LaTimes blog entry, celebrities all over the world are donating to relief efforts and using Twitter to encourage followers to do the same. Alyssa Milano and Christina Applegate are aggressively tweeting updates and donation requests to their followers, while MC Hammer spreads the news and Rainn Wilson sends prayers on Twitter.

News organizations have been linking into sites posted on Twitter and updates are traveling at unfathomable speeds. Cnn has an iReport link on their site that connects people to others they’re looking to reach. Horrific and at times disturbingly graphic pictures are posted by iReport visitors with “discretion advised” labels.

A New York Times blog, The Lede, linked to an NPR interview today from Melinda Miles, who runs the air group Working Together for Haiti, who is encouraging people to continue donating to expedite these relief efforts.  She told NPR she has been getting calls from Americans longing to help, but she emphasizes the best way to do so is through donations. The need for volunteers will come once much of the chaos has been organized into different relief groups with particular focus areas.

In such a tragic time where an estimated count of over 100,000 people may have lost their lives, we’ve seen a tremendous outpouring of those wanting to help. We’ve also seen people publicizing how grateful they are to be alive. Here’s a tweet from last night I thought was particularly poignant: Mizzomark: “I’m going to bed very grateful for what I have…Because as the Haiti quake shows us all…Life can change fast”