The American Red Cross does not have a great track record when it comes to its relief efforts in Haiti.
Last month, a magnitude 7 earthquake struck the island five miles from the town of Petit Trou de Nippes, at a depth of 10km — rocking the country.
Haitian Americans, supporters of the island and members of the Haitian diaspora are desperate to ensure that all donations intended for the country’s relief efforts end up in Haiti — and not in the ARC’s stashbox.
“Donate to HAITIAN ORGANIZATIONS ONLY! Please! Can’t stress this enough. Haiti Based ONLY,” Haitian-American comedienne Jessie Woo tweeted. “DO NOT DONATE ANY MONEY TO THE RED CROSS REGARDING HAITI.”
Haiti’s government criticized the organization following the devastating 2010 quake as six months following the natural disaster, just 2% of the country’s promised aid had been received.
The Red Cross received almost half a billion dollars in donations.
“We will not repeat the same things that were done in 2010,” Prime Minister Ariel Henry said on Monday. “A lot of donations were made to the country, and a lot of money was spent without seeing the impact.”
ProPublica and NPR investigated the claims, and in its 2015 report, they found that the organization has built just permanent homes — despite its claims that they had built at least 130,000.
“Like many humanitarian organizations responding in Haiti, the American Red Cross met complications in relation to government coordination delays, disputes over land ownership, delays at Haitian customs, challenges finding qualified staff who were in short supply and high demand, and the cholera outbreak, among other challenges,” the charity said at the time.
The Red Cross refused to provide details on how the money had been spent.
“Five hundred million in Haiti is a lot of money,” former Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said in the report. “I’m not a big mathematician, but I can make some additions. It doesn’t add up for me.”
You can find a list of organizations to donate to here.
CapraCare is currently on the ground supporting the hospitals.
