Haiti

BACKGROUND STORY
some facts:

• Haiti is located on the second largest Caribbean island, which it shares with the Dominican Republic 
• The official languages are French (only spoken fluently by 10 percent) and Creole
• The most practiced religions are Catholicism, Protestantism and                  Voodoo
• Life expectancy is 52
• The infant mortality is 76 per every 1,000
• Haitians do value education, but have trouble affording it- only 20 percent make it to the secondary level
• Haiti has a long history of political turmoil

recent events:

2008: riots, food and gas prices increased, four tropical storms and hurricanes

2010: a 7.3 magnitude hurricane hit Haiti with full force, the worst in 200 years. This disaster resulted in an estimated 230,000 deaths and $11.5 billion in damages and reconstruction costs.

Haiti is an impoverished, third world country that has had one devastating event after another. Most of the citizens struggle to put food on the table and send their children to school and do not have the resources for much of the recent technology. http://www.haiti.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=68&Itemid=90

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1982.htm

http://articles.cnn.com/2010-01-14/tech/cashmore.haiti.earthquake.relief.technology_1_social-media-twitter-and-facebook-text-haiti?_s=PM:TECH




However, during these times of crisis, technology is what helps save Haiti. After the serious earthquake of last year, millions of Americans sent a text that would transfer ten dollars towards a Haiti donation fund. The word of the damages and suffering spread rapidly through twitter and facebook, urging people to support the cause... and it worked. The red cross raised more than 4 million dollars in donations through texts alone. Technology has brought a new level to charity.