In the wake of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, international efforts have focused on rescuing trapped Haitians, providing medical aid, drinking water and food, and other much-needed help. Organizations such as the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the International Medical Corps, and Doctors Without Borders have all taken up an active presence in the country. According to the organization’s website, Doctors Without Borders, “provides independent, impartial assistance to those most in need.” Within the last two weeks, their work in Haiti has included treating a wide variety of injuries, performing critical operations, and constantly dealing with the plethora of basic needs of quake victims and survivors.
University High juniors Nina Foushee and Laura Van Slyke have planned a fundraiser for Doctors Without Borders’ efforts in the aftermath of the earthquake. Originally planned for January 23, the event has been moved to the 30th due to the rain that Tucson and much of southern Arizona experienced in the last week. The goal of the “Haiti Relief Bonfire Pasta Dinner,” is to “raise funds for Doctors without Borders, but also to educate people about what is occurring in Haiti while building a kind of community around a cause,” said Nina Foushee. “I want us all as American students to keep Haiti and the plight of underdeveloped nations in our minds,” she said. The plans for the fundraiser include a fire outdoors, plates of noodles, and a prize for the highest donation collected and brought in. According to Ms. Foushee, although this one action is a “tiny drop in a bucket… the important part is to keep trying.”
It is hoped that this event will not just raise money, but will make people think a little harder about what it means to continue awareness of the plight of others after the initial aftershock of a tragic event. “When a tragedy happens (whether personal or large-scale) people pay tons of attention to the victims of it initially and then quickly just forget about it,” said Ms. Foushee.
This Saturday night, around a campfire, UHS students will not just be roasting marshmallows. They will be pitching in and joining the global response to an act of nature that has had drastic effects.
For more information:
Contact Nina Foushee or Laura Van Slyke or visit http://doctorswithoutborders.org/
Great idea! I wish there had been posters or flyers advertising this event, though. I would have gone if only I had known that it was taking place, especially considering that we students are not offered many chances to aid the victims of natural disasters.
Why give Haiti soooo much money and then just walk away? The US gov is only getting half of the job done. They should be teaching Haiti how to economically support themselves and strengthen their government. As the saying goes “Liberals help people who cant help themselves, Conservatives help people UNTIL they can help themselves” This ties in well with the saying “God helps those who help themselves.” Plus, the government, UN, and other countries are giving plenty of money already, so this has little point except to your conscience if you have one such like this.
I wonder if we’ll give Chile as much aid as Haiti….
Not only do we not have the ability or economic glut to entirely revamp/ build another countries economy, our job is not to play mother country and attempt to restructure yet another country, but rather do what we can to help now. While i agree that ‘throwing money’ at a problem is not a lasting solution, mocking students who are making an effort to do what they can to help doesn’t any good whatsoever. Students aren’t raising money to just to stroke their ego or feed their conscious and sleep better, for your information, the fundraiser raised 680 dollars that will be put towards good use. That’s 680 dollars towards medical supplies that could save multiple lives, think about that, that has “a point”. Also, it is entirely irrelevant if other countries are “giving plenty of money already”- that’s a red herring, we can’t just shift responsibility upon other countries, every dollar counts. If even five schools had this exact same event, 3,500 dollars would be going towards medical supplies, food, rebuilding etc. and that’s alot more than sitting at a computer and gripping will do. If you want to “help people help themselves”, try caring first.