Caribbean Net News (01/21/10): Guyana will be sending its first shipment of aid to the earthquake-devastated Haiti by the end of this week as contributions both cash and kind continue to pour in.
The National Committee for Haiti Relief (NCHR) on Tuesday reported that it has so far managed to raise more than GY$230m (US$1.15m), after local commercial banks and the Guyana Police Force combined handed over GY$17.5m (US$87,500) to the committee on Tuesday.
“We hope we can make the first shipment of commodities this weekend and we are making arrangements as we speak to send these items to the staging area. We believe the swiftness of our response matters and while this is going to be a long- term effort, we are committed to helping our sister country's rebuilding. In the long- term, we are keen on the immediacy,” Minister of Human Services and Social Security Priya Manickchand, who is heading the NCHR said.
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From the blogs:
The Soul Stealer: I sympathise/empathise with my brethren in Haiti. A place forgotten because they stood up to the greatest war mastermind and defeated his army. The audacity of France to ask the people to pay for their freedom after they won it . . . We here in Guyana should be safe because we are protected by the Guiana Shield (unless those bastards lied to us)...
Millennialz: With a public debt of over two hundred and ninety billon dollars, atrocious toilet facilities at Stewartville primary school and others, a poor irrigation system in the city, very poor waste management practice etc can the Government of Guyana really afford to give away a dime?
Guyana Gyal: I think about Haiti . . . whether we Caribbean countries ever do enough to help we Caribbean sister-territory all these years.
Kwesi Isles: While my heart goes out to the people suffering in Haiti I have truly heard and seen enough. I don’t know if that makes me cold but it’s the truth. As a result I’m hardly on Twitter, just scanning the newspapers and definitely not looking at television . . . But do I really have to be broken up every time I see or hear the word Haiti? I was feeling sorry for Haiti before the quake and that hasn’t changed. As some people are opining, the quake may have been the best thing that happened to the country. They were going nowhere very fast. Something I’ve always believed and voiced is that disasters are some of the biggest unifiers...
