The Facts: Haiti and its people recently experienced an unfathomable natural disaster that decimated the already frail infrastructure of an impoverished nation. Student Government in unison with a host of other campus organizations has started the Howl for Haiti campaign in an effort to raise funds for Haiti relief.
Our Opinion: Students should fully support the Howl for Haiti campaign and remember the catastrophe the earthquake has inflicted in the present and the challenges it will present into the future.
A 7.0-magnitude earthquake ravaged Haiti last week in one of the largest natural disasters in recent history. On a scale unseen since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, Mother Nature viciously unleashed her wrath on Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince.
In the aftermath, the United Nations, U.S. and many other governments and non-governmental organizations have attempted to provide relief to a country that has historically experienced overpopulation and impoverishment – even before a natural disaster.
At N.C. State, Student Government has spearheaded a project in coordination with Stop Hunger Now – a Raleigh-based humanitarian organization, which specializes in food relief – to fundraise and contribute a small part to a multi-faceted international relief effort.
A $50,000 donation by University students may not sound like much in the wake of multi-million dollar pledges from the U.S. Government and Red Cross, but it is part of the larger process of getting involved. In any case, it is far from a token gesture and represents real sacrifice on the part of students.
Student Body President Jim Ceresnak opened a major phase of the Howl for Haiti fundraising campaign Wednesday with a 30-minute Brickyard vigil in honor of the victims of the disaster.
The event spoke to the stark human tragedy of the event, but was also able to raise $540 in a mere half-hour. It’s not going to rebuild every school, home and hospital in Port-au-Prince, which faces a monumental task of rebuilding and is in further turmoil after a 5.4-magnitue after-shock on Wednesday, but it is a sign that students care.
However students choose to give to the effort, whether it’s in time, donations or something completely different, it’s important the campus community takes a moment to address its call to service and ask what it can do to help.
The aid cannot stop with Howl for Haiti, though. Rebuilding a country from the foundation is a long and strenuous process. Students must keep Haiti in their field of scope longer than a week or month; they must continue to think about this rebuilding process for years to come. Relief in the aftermath of Katrina was overwhelming and filled with compassion, but many people to this day are displaced from their homes or have been reduced to a squalor lifestyle.
They must not be forgotten. The Howl for Haiti must be supported fully by campus organizations and students alike, yielding an opportunity for the campus to strengthen its commitment to community and the spirit of giving.’
