Nurses and doctors from the University of the Dr. Aristide Foundation (UNIFA) respond to the 2020 earthquake. Credit UNIFA

On August 14th, 2021, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake rocked the Southern Peninsula of Haiti. Over 2,200 people were killed, more than 12,000 were wounded, and hundreds of thousands face food insecurity and were left without shelter. 

Thanks to your generous contributions to the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund (HERF), we have been able to provide significant support to grassroots organizations in Haiti as they continue to provide relief to Sid, Grandans, and Nip—the three main departments impacted by this horrific disaster.

This past year, we also witnessed the horrific images at the U.S.-Mexico border, with border patrol officers whipping Haitians who were trying to enter the U.S. What has gone under-reported is that 10,000 of those Haitians who were at the border have now been sent back to Haiti with no resources, adding to the already critical humanitarian crisis in the country. 

In the midst of these crises, HERF has continued with our on-going work supporting Haiti’s grassroots democratic movement, the only force capable of addressing the issues of economic injustice, political repression and terror, corruption, and the ravaging impact of climate change that have led so many Haitians to flee the country

The Haiti Emergency Relief Fund has stood with the popular movement in Haiti since our inception in 2004, following the coup that overthrew the democratically elected government of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. We maintained our solidarity through the deadly earthquake of 2010, the joyous return of President Aristide in 2011, the stolen elections of 2015 and 2016, and the devastation unleashed by Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and the recent 2020 earthquake. 

Your donations to Haiti Emergency Relief Fund go directly to grassroots organizations in Haiti that are helping people in hurricane-ravaged areas access water, food and shelter, and reconstructing their lives. Here are just a few examples of the work you have helped sustain and grow:

• You have helped support mobile health clinics and literacy campaigns in Haiti’s poorest communities. 

• You have aided the work of women’s agricultural cooperatives and peasant groups throughout the country. 

• Your donations have supported the work of the University of the Dr. Aristide Foundation (UNIFA) which, since its reopening in 2011 has graduated 523 doctors, 116 nurses and 43 physiotherapists. Now, UNIFA is embarked on its biggest project ever—the building of a teaching hospital in a country with only one trained doctor for every 3,000 Haitians.   

• Your funds have aided the growth of independent community-based media, so critical to a society where the rich control almost all sources of information.

And so much more!

All of this work embodies the determination of Haitian grassroots organizations to meet the needs of their people throughout this crisis and beyond. We hope your solidarity will continue as well. 

The Haiti Emergency Relief Fund has no paid staff and no overhead. Each and every dollar we raise goes directly to Haitian organizers on the ground. Please help us keep the spotlight on the people of Haiti.

We Thank You!

Haiti Emergency Relief Fund Board of Directors 
Walter Riley, Attorney at Law, Co-Chair
Sister Maureen Duignan, O.S.F., Co-Chair
Seth Donnelly, Educator and Long-Time Haiti Solidarity Activist
Nia Imara, Astronomer and Artist
Pierre Labossiere, Co-Founder, Haiti Action Committee
Marilyn Langlois, Human Rights and Community Advocate
Robert Roth, Educator and Co-Founder, Haiti Action Committee