Over the past two weeks, a lot has been said about Haitian earthquake via the media, the blogosphere, and people discussing the issue. Ever since that horrific day on January 12th, the world has been reporting on the aftermath and seemingly mobilized behind Haiti. Wyclef Jean and his non-profit Yele Haiti co-hosted a “Hope for Haiti” telethon on Saturday, January 23, 2010. The biggest & most influential celebrities such as George Clooney, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Bono, Meryl Streep, and Matt Damon either made appearances or performed at the event.

I believe that this was a positive event even though some of the celebs may have only been there for photo ops or to promote their new albums. And of course, there are the accusations & rumors that Wyclef Jean has profited personally from his charity Yele Haiti. These are the items I wanted to point out, because, I knew these types of things would happen. In my personal blog, The Loudest Pen Ever, I posted a very angry rant on this situation, because, I knew that the Haitian earthquake was another one of those “tragic” world events. Don’t get me wrong, what has happened to the Haitian people is a severe tragedy and no one deserves to die a painful, horrific death. So when I say another one of those “tragic” world events, I am referring to people’s reaction to it. The first month or so, the event is all over the news, everyone is donating, and everyone is really passionate.

Then the second month comes and donations begin to slow, news media coverage lessens so it becomes placed into the back of people’s minds. Then by the third month, it’s almost as if it never happened. Sure there will be people who are genuinely passionate that will stick with the issue for years to come, but what about the rest of the world? Will they still care? Will they still remember? I encourage people to not forget. I encourage people to remember the people of Haiti in their dreams and with their wallets…in April. Yes, you read right, April. Three months from now (when I predicted that no one would care) still tweet about Haiti, post a follow up blog, and tell others what you are STILL doing to help Haiti. Don’t just discuss it now because it’ll get your website more page views,  you might pick up some Twitter followers, or because its what’s happening NOW. Do it because you care out of the goodness of your heart. After all, that’s the reason you gave in the first place, right? So if that’s the case, then, you should have no problem continuing to focus on this issue.

The purpose of this article is to help people become & most importantly STAY aware. I’ve linked organizations below that are actively helping with bringing relief to the victims of the 7.0 earthquake in haiti, and hopefully will continue to help with the revitalization of the country.  That way when the next tragedy happens it won’t just be something we discuss in the news, and forget about when the next big event happens. Never forget because the survivors most certainly will not.

For more information on legit charities that are helping with Haiti’s earthquake relief, check out Charity Navigator!

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