Written by Alanna Morley (  Profile )
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Haiti, has had it's struggles. Its years of civil unrest, corruption and poverty have made it a challenge for its people to prosper. So when its government buildings and shanty towns toppled more than a week ago after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake, it gave its people an opportunity. Amidst tragedy, Haiti has a new beginning.
With the injured and death toll numbers changing daily, it is hard to imagine any person not suffering on that island in the Caribbean. The static images that roll out on the television to those more fortunate all over the world, have the ability to paint a bleak picture. But it also has the ability to inspire change. People, now equal in their suffering, have a chance to become a people united in healing, and Haitians have centuries of healing to do.
 Because a natural disaster is perhaps the strongest, most politically correct, method in causing the world to stop everything its doing, take notice and think or act on behalf of other people. Societies are forgiven their political stances, their religions views and their personal choices when it comes to devoting time and support to aid people in need. So long after the effects of the earthquake are over and houses can be rebuilt, and governments can be reestablished, we 'the modern world' have a duty to no longer let the real suffering of this third world country go unnoticed. We can no longer watch as 10% of children die from treatable diseases, or condone people earning less than $2 a day for survival. And, above all, we can no longer watch idly as a corrupt government prospers on the backs of its people.
The earthquake, though devastating, has created an opportunity that our societies cannot let it go unfulfilled. If we, given this chance, simply allow Haiti to regress and recoil back to the shape it once was then we have no business being there in the first place.
There are any wonderful charities, and organizations that have been established to help earthquake relief in Haiti. The following links of those charities that have been participating in Haiti long before January 12, 2010 and have established themselves as organizations rebuilding for the long term.
Yele Haiti
MINUSTAH
Oxfam
SOS Children's Villages
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