Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Prime Minister: Haiti Needs Help To Rebuild



MIAMI -- Will the goodwill of thousands of South Floridians who are raising tons of food and supplies for Haiti's Hurricane Ike survivors ever reach the people who need them?

Local 10's Calvin Hughes recently visited Haiti and then sat down with the new prime minister and U.S. ambassador to get some answers.

More than a week after the fourth destructive storm to hit Haiti in the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, Haiti's government is still only guessing about how many people are affected. Resources in Haiti are so limited that the government does not even own a helicopter.

Haitian Prime Minister Michele Pierre Louis told Hughes that, "We were not prepared," for the storms. She said her country needs everyone who can to help Haiti rebuild.

Not even two weeks into her new job, Louis is facing a calamity that is sure to cripple her country for decades to come.



If not for the United Nations and the U.S. military, Louis said, thousands of Haitians could go hungry and homeless.

Floodwaters from Hurricane Ike wiped out six major bridges.

Local 10 saw firsthand how U.S. Marines delivered dozens of boxes of food in the storm-ravaged city of Port de Paix.

A young man begged through a wire fence for the Local 10 crew to help him get a bag of rice.

Before the hurricanes hit Haiti, the country was deep in the clutches of a food and fuel crisis.

The U.S. ambassador to Haiti encourages monetary donations to the impoverished nation. For information on how to make sure your donations get to the people of Haiti, click here

Source: DayLife.Com - Local10.Com

No comments:

Post a Comment