Clinton - Bush Message ... Remember, Celebrate Haiti
An old Chinese Proverb once said “If you give a man a fish you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish you feed him for a lifetime.” On Tuesday January 12th, 2010 Haiti experienced a devastating 7.0 earthquake.
The epicenter was 12 miles west of Port-au-Prince near the town of Leogane. Some 3 million people were affected and up to 250,000 died from what is considered to be the third largest earthquake in history. Aftershocks averaging 4.5 or greater continued to rock Port-au-Prince and a number of settlements throughout the region some two weeks later.
Countries from around the world mobilized humanitarian aid for the nearly 1 million Haitian people surviving without homes. It was because of this catastrophic event that President Barack Obama asked former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton to lead a major fundraising effort to help the people of Haiti recover. This meeting resulted in the creation of the Clinton / Bush Fund.
Their organization initiatives empower Haitians with the ability to rebuild their country via grants, investments for long-term reconstruction and economic expansion. The efforts are intended to foster a diversified and competitive Haitian economy, leverage a national entrepreneurial spirit through inclusiveness and environmentally conscious ways that enable Haiti’s people, businesses and communities to prosper. The country still has a long way to go in providing for its population and stem the reported “exodus” of thousands of Haitians to Brazil and other countries in the Americas.
As the world remembers and celebrates the two-year anniversary of this horrific earthquake, many will be honoring those who died as well as those still struggling to keep faith and rebuild. The Clinton / Bush Fund along with its partnerships with various non-profits and for profit organizations encouraged students from around the world to participate in the “Celebrate Haiti Poster Project.” The project brings youth, parents and teachers together to learn all they can about Haiti and to share what they have learned about the country’s people and history with others
The Celebrate Haiti Poster Project is one of a number of such activities that can be found through the “Kids Helping Kids” outreach program. In addition, the poster project recognizes the strong resilience of the Haitian people and encourages the world community to “Remember and Celebrate” Haitian victories and perseverance. Through its efforts to assist the people of Haiti, it could be said that the Clinton / Bush Fund subscribes to the notion that it’s better to teach someone how to do something than to do it for them, thereby improving the odds for long-term sustainability and success.
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