What Does One Wheelchair Mean to a Kid In Haiti?

This video of a boy trying out a wheelchair from Can-Do org's Project Haiti speaks for itself.



Can-Do org

I Walk for Love: raising money for Haiti

When '09 grad Jordan Dibb couldn't find a job after applying to 1200 places, he decided to try to help out Haitians. After non-profit organizations turned down his help, he took the advice of someone who said to him when he asked how he could get to Haiti :"you can walk".

Dibb partnered with Action Against Hunger, a non-profit that works in over 40 countries to provide food and clean drinking water. Together with the organization, Dibb plans to raise $100,000 in charity money for Haiti and the relief effort.

Calling his project "I Walk for Love", Dibb has set up a web page where you can follow his journey that starts on March 27, 2010 as he walks from Minnesota to Florida. You can also find links to donate there.

The urgency of the needs that continue in Haiti can not be more succinctly stated than this:

There are 1.2 million children under the age of 5 in Haiti. Over half of these children suffer from malnutrition.

Good luck , Jordan.

[visual image: On the left are footsteps that extend from the words "I walk for love" to "Taking steps for Haiti" to "From Minneapolis MN to Miami FL" ]

Haitian orphanage for children with disabilities: Mercy & Sharing Orphanage

The Mercy & Sharing Orphanage in Haiti houses 106 children, 70% with disabilities. They've applied to accept another 100 and have the room for them. The need is critical since it's one of the few places that accepts children with disabilities. Please watch the video below to see what kind of work they do.



I also found this blog post from a student who visited there in 2008 talking about (back then) the need for wheelchairs and other medical equipment. Erin saw children who weren't able to get out of bed because there were no wheelchairs, children who needed surgery for contracted limbs, and a lack of basic equipment. Her group organized donations from various companies and brought disposable diapers, among other things.

The need for medical equipment and other items will only increase now. Organizations providing such equipment are already working hard to get it to Haiti. We need to continue to support those organizations.

If you would like to directly support the orphanage's work with these children, please go to their site for more information. You can choose to sponsor a disabled child.

More groups helping amputees in Haiti

Please see article here, list is reprinted below.

via msnbc.com

Some groups aiding quake victims:

Handicap International: Co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for work with land mine victims, the agency conducts 250 programs in 60 countries. The group has been working in Haiti since 2008.

Amputee Coalition of America: Provides resources and education for amputees in the U.S. and around the world.

Healing Hands for Haiti: Aid agency has worked for more than a decade providing help for 800,000 disabled Haitians.

Physicians for Peace: Provides medical education and training in developing countries, including Haiti.

Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics Inc.: U.S. largest supplier of devices. Sites nationwide are accepting used crutches, braces, wheelchairs and prosthetics.

American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association: National trade association of manufacturers and suppliers of braces and artificial limbs.

Prosthetics Outreach Foundation: Helps amputees in the developing world gain mobility.

Legs for All: LeTourneau University program that helps clinics in developing countries produce inexpensive, durable prosthetics locally.

Limbs for Life Foundation: Helping re-establish prosthetic supply and distribution for Haiti in the Dominican Republic.

via msnbc.com