Technology aiding Haiti relief effort
Technology’s potential reaches further than as a means of entertainment and convenience.
It has become a tool to spur quick response to international disasters.
Just two weeks after the earthquakes that struck Haiti, countries worldwide are working fast to find ways to send food, clothing and medicine. Many people have donated $10 to relief efforts by texting “Haiti” to 90999 via cell phone.
Howard City sophomore Jeff Baird, a member of the IT Help Desk Support team, said technology has changed the way Americans respond to international disasters.
“(Technology) has (shaped) how fast and how much money we can raise in a time of need,” Baird said. “Everybody texts and it can be done so easily.”
Baird said not only is technology such as texting a faster way to communicate, but it prevents procrastination in projects.
“It’s the convenience and the readiness,” he said. “So that way nobody has to remind themselves to do it later.”
Millions by phone
According to CNN.com, at least 150,000 people have been killed and 194,000 injured since the earthquake.
More than 3 million people have been affected by the earthquake and half are homeless, including people who lived in the slums or in makeshift homes prior to the earthquake.
The United States sent $315 million in aid and, including donations from around the world, more than $1.12 billion has been poured into Haiti’s recovery efforts.
According to the National Red Cross headquarters, more than $30 million has been raised via text message to aid the people of Haiti.
Deb Birkam, executive director of the Central Michigan chapter of the American Red Cross, remembers when she started working for the organization 15 years ago and the only technology in her office was a computer (with no internet) and a fax machine.
“(Fax machines) were used to contact us for donations,” she said. “This is the first time we did donations via text, and it was successful.”
The Internet also is playing a major role in communication, Birkam said. Should another disaster strike, she said text messages would likely be used to solicit donations.
Macomb alumna Michelle Motley said she has thought twice about the daily blessings in her life after seeing the impact of the earthquake continue to unfold.
“We (as Americans) should show more gratitude for everything we have,” she said. “Some people don’t even have the daily necessities and yet we take ours for granted.”
For more information about the earthquake in Haiti and how to donate, visit redcross.org.
