Nonprofits, Global Leaders Stay Committed to Haiti
The Salvation Army has so far distributed more than four million meals to Haitians since the tragic earthquake devastated the country.
Most of the meals have been passed out to some 20,000 people living in temporary shelters in Port-au-Prince. Other meals have reached small towns, churches and schools.
Packaged meals consist of rice, soy, freeze-dried vegetables with chicken flavoring and vitamins.
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An additional 7.3 million meals remain in the pipeline.
Support to get Haiti back on its feet continues to pour in more than 10 weeks after the 7.0-magnitude quake in January left some 230,000 people dead and a million homeless.
On Wednesday, countries around the world pledged about $9.9 billion in immediate and long-term assistance during the International Donors' Conference at the United Nations' headquarters in New York.
"Our goal is not to rebuild. It is to build back better," said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "A Haiti where the majority of people no longer live in deep poverty, where they can go to school and enjoy better health, where they have better options than going without jobs or leaving the country altogether."
Even before the Jan. 12 devastation, Haiti was considered the poorest country in the Western hemisphere.
The funds will go toward specific programs and projects under a newly developed action plan that Haiti's president, prime minister and government had been working on, according to Ban.
"As we move from emergency aid to long-term reconstruction, let us recognize that we cannot accept business as usual," he said. "What we envision today, is wholesale national renewal… a sweeping exercise in nation-building on a scale and scope not seen in generations."
While countries vow to provide long-term aid to the Caribbean country, non-profit groups continue to offer the support they have been for decades.
The Salvation Army has served in Haiti since 1950 and had 200 officers and staff there before the earthquake. Already established relationships allowed the Christian organization to more easily distribute food and other essential items as well as offer spiritual support.
