By Dylan Powell
When a 7.0 magnitude earthquake ripped through Haiti last year, I shared in the collective grief.
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The images coming back from that country were horrific and traumatizing. The response these images fueled was heartening, with the Canadian public donating more than $200 million in aid.
I remember organizing a bake sale just days after and being overwhelmed with support, quickly selling out and raising over $500 for Doctors Without Borders. I don’t think many people held any naive ideas about an overnight recovery, however, it was beautiful to see so many people feel so connected to this tragedy that they felt compelled to act.
One year later we mark the anniversary of that earthquake and, unfortunately, the situation in Haiti is still grim. The country has been struck with a massive cholera outbreak, political instability, a lack of funds reaching the ground, and only an estimated two per cent of the actual rubble from the earthquake has been cleaned up. To compound the issue, a lot of funding is drying up. For all those who felt compelled to act this past year, this is a call for you to continue your support.
This year there will be another bake sale in the Market Square of St. Catharines, Ontario and later that same day, Tuesday, January 11, we will be holding a benefit concert later at night with all proceeds going directly to the on-ground organizations, Haitian Women for Haiti and Dr. Jacque Denis Free Clinic, The Centre De Sante Saint Martin II in Port Au Prince.
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These funds don’t pay salaries. They will go directly to the lives of Haitian people. Done in concert with 100 Shows For Haiti, the Niagara Region will be working with grassroots efforts from around the globe to help keep the Centre De Sante Saint Martin II operating for free and keep hope alive.
While making a flyer for the event, I wanted to stress a triumphant Haiti, a country with a rich history that some are unaware of and that seems very distant from the current situation. Led by Toussaint L’ouverture, Haiti beat back three colonial armies, abolished slavery and established the second republic in the Americas (the first to abolish slavery).
Captured by the French in 1803, Toussaint offered this word of advice for a seemingly defeated Haiti; “In overthrowing me ,you have cut down in Saint Domingue only the trunk of the tree of liberty; it will spring up again from the roots, for they are many and they are deep.” Let’s do our part to help that tree grow.
Support 100 Shows for Haiti – Tuesday January 11th at the historic Mansion House on 5 William St. St. Catharines, Ontario. The Show starts at 7 p.m. and is $10 per persons, with proceeds going to Haitian relief. All Ages. Performers include: Matt Sajn, Jaimie Goddard, Eric Smith, Allie T, Jacob Bergsma, The Beautiful Women of Belmez. Bake sale earlier in the day at the Market Square.
(Dylan Powell is a resident of St. Catharines, Ontario and can be found dismantling the human-animal binary and promoting limitless compassion throughout the region. Powell, NAL will add, is a young and very passionate social justice advocate in our region, and we should be proud to live in this region among young, caring people such as he and his and her’s like.)
(Visit Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary on matters of interest and concern to you and all of us in our greater binational Niagara region.)
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