The Red Cross received the majority of donations sent to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, adding up to half a billion dollars. Yet, a recent investigation shows that the Red Cross only built 6 out of the thousands of homes it promised to build. When Red Cross officials were asked to explain the programs to which they allocated the donations, they declined to comment in most cases. This article explains all the areas where the Red Cross went wrong, and why.
Part of the article is below. Click HERE for the full text.
How the Red Cross Raised Half a Billion Dollars for Haiti and Built Six Homes
Justin Elliott and Laura Sullivan, ProPublica
June 3, 2015
THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF CAMPECHE sprawls up a steep hillside in Haiti’s capital city, Port-au-Prince. Goats rustle in trash that goes forever uncollected. Children kick a deflated volleyball in a dusty lot below a wall with a hand-painted logo of the American Red Cross.
In late 2011, the Red Cross launched a multimillion-dollar project to transform the desperately poor area, which was hit hard by the earthquake that struck Haiti the year before. The main focus of the project — called LAMIKA, an acronym in Creole for “A Better Life in My Neighborhood” — was building hundreds of permanent homes.
Today, not one home has been built in Campeche. Many residents live in shacks made of rusty sheet metal, without access to drinkable water, electricity or basic sanitation. When it rains, their homes flood and residents bail out mud and water.
The Red Cross received an outpouring of donations after the quake, nearly half a billion dollars.
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