Kwantlen community responds to the crisis in Haiti
With the recent events in Haiti, the KSA has been putting together last minute efforts to help the third world country and its people. They are trying to raise money that they intend to donate through World Vision.
By Natsumi Oye [Current Events Bureau Chief]
With the recent events in Haiti, the KSA has been putting together last minute efforts to help the third world country and its people. They are trying to raise money that they intend to donate through World Vision.
Last Tuesday the Richmond campus turned an event that was planned to be a free breakfast into an opportunity to raise money by exchanging cereal for optional donations. The fashion students at Richmond campus pitched in as well last Tuesday by giving out baked goods in return for donations, according to Reena Bali, the Richmond KSA campus director.
Between the breakfast day and bake sale on Tuesday, and the sale of the leftover baked goods on Wednesday, the Richmond campus has raised around $700, Bali said.
There has also been the random student who has come into the KSA offices to donate, according to Bali.
The KSA is accepting donations in their offices and at member services until Friday.
The Richmond campus will be hosting a licensed event on Wednesday in the conference centre. The money raised through alcohol sales will go to Haiti as well, instead of back into the KSA budget, Bali said.
“It was just a random thing we decided to do because we didn’t have time to properly plan it out,” said Bali of their efforts to collect donations.
She is hoping that the KSA will match the money they raise, but said that they have to see how much they collect and then they have to go through council to see if they will pass a motion to match it.
Bali encourages students to donate to the cause. “Any amount of donations makes a difference,” Bali said. “Even if it’s 25 cents.”
All of the KSA efforts are in light of the fact that the news keeps getting worse and worse for the people of Haiti and those who had the misfortune of being there when the massive earthquake hit on January 12th.
The earthquake, which was 7.0 on the Rictor scale, has claimed the lives of an estimated 200,000 people and affected the lives of 3 million, according to the United Nations. There was an aftershock last week that was a 5.6 on the Rictor scale, which is the largest aftershock the earthquake has had yet.
Countries around the world have responded, offering money and aid to help Haiti and it’s people deal with the tragedy, but is it enough?
The UN has reported that they may never know what the actual death toll in Haiti is, according to the washingtonpost.com. The KSA is certainly doing their part to try to help out the people of Haiti, as is the government of Canada.
Canada has committed 2,000 military personnel to be sent out to help in Haiti, according to thestar.com. They have also put together a program to encourage individual Canadians to donate.
The program is set up so that the government will match any donations up to a total of $50 million made to a registered charity up until Feb. 12th, according to the governments website.
Canadian charities and organizations are accepting donations that will go specifically to the relief efforts in Haiti. Red Cross and World Vision are two main charities that you can donate through. There has been approximately $40 million in donations that the government will match as of last Tuesday, according to the Winnipeg Free Press.
Donors are being warned to look out for illegitimate charities though. The best way to make sure that money being donated is in fact going to Haiti and the relief efforts is to make a donation through a registered charity. For Kwantlen students and staff, they can bring their donations to the KSA offices. All money contributed through the KSA will be donated through World Vision.
