Haiti

nojunkmaill

Hi

I am looking into travelling to Haiti to help out some way following the earthquake.

Does anyone know any charities / organisation who can help with this / organise this.

I only know of Haven and it seems you need to raise €4000 to go on the trip.

I don't know if this is a lot or if it's acheivable.

I really want to go in the next couple months so €4000 seems a little steep.

Anyone any ideas?

Thanks.

mikedragon32

This isn't really a travel query. I'm moving it to Volunteering.

kellya37

Hi

I am really interested in going to Haiti to volunteer as well. I did a bit of research and the only thing I can find is Haven. I want to go in october and you have to raise 4,500!! : ( I contacted Concern and they are not accepting volunteer applications yet.

Does anyone else know of any other organisation taking on volunteers.

Thanks

spinandscribble

You have to consider the costs involved in volunteering and the need for well trained volunteers.

4k is achievable, I raised 3k in a term while in final year in college thanks to organising events and asking local businesses for donations. took me three months i think. that money was then given to a charity i had plans to work for in south east Asia as a donation in thanks for them allowing me to work there at my own expense*. You need to consider would your help be worth 4k for the short amount of time you're there or 4k going to the charity.
i was unable to actually volunteer there, due to commitments that sprung up, something I'm hoping to correct in the next few years.
I applaud you for taking the time to want to work as a volunteer but 4k sounds pretty reasonable considering it seems to include all costs (except vaccines) to you as the volunteer and maybe some of the cost of the building supplies. If you dig a bit deeper you may find grass roots organisations in Haiti willing for you come help them but it'll be at your own cost and unlike haven they won't arrange much if not anything for you.

http://www.havenpartnership.com/html/biw.html
found this.

So basically 2k goes on you the volunteer, flights everything included, no expense to you the individual (except vaccines).
The other 2k goes on building supplies.

These type of one week charity work traveling is a way for charity organisations to fund their work. You'll find some charities across the world willing to let you work without a donation but only if you sign up for working months generally. If you have a specific interest in helping Haiti than traveling then i'd suggest donating money or fundraising instead of using 2k of money raised to send yourself there. If you want to travel and volunteer then look towards spending more time abroad with a small grass roots organisation that needs help and is willing to forgo donations for months of man power.

http://www.globalvolunteernetwork.org/haiti/
this group are looking for international volunteers willing to cover their own costs except for a small application fee of 350.

Cannibal Ox

I know that people wanting to help out in Haiti comes from a good place but I think it isn't a good idea. I'd be very skeptical of how anyone who isn't a trained and experienced development worker could do anything in Haiti that a Haitian couldn't do themselves. I think, and I don't mean to be rude, a company like Haven is to all intents and purposes stealing the work that Haitians should be allowed to do themselves. The money is there, there are people there, and the work that a 'normal' volunteer does isn't anything so exceptional that a Haitian couldn't do it themselves.

If you're a trained and experienced professional, like a doctor, with experience working in developing countries, by all means go ahead. But if you're just going to build a house, I really think it's a bad idea.