Members of the South Korean Disaster Relief Team make their way down a street as they search for survivors in destroyed buildings in downtown Port-au-Prince where widespread looting is taking place, Monday, six days after an earthquake measuring 7.0 hit the Haitian capital. / Korea Times |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff Reporter
Donations from individuals and social organizations are pouring in for Haiti earthquake victims.
More than 165 million won had been collected through portal site Naver's social contribution service, "Happy Bean," as of Tuesday afternoon. The site connects personal and corporate donors to social organizations and welfare centers.
Some 20 organizations have opened a donation page for Haiti, including Good Neighbors and Compassion Korea. Internet users were asked to donate what they could from 100 won to more than 30,000 won.
Lee Su-jin, a university student, said it is easy to donate though the service. "Instead of eating lunch today, I donated 50 beans, worth 5,000 won, to Compassion Korea through the Happy Bean service," she said.
"There are many collection points created for Haiti relief and I chose a large NGO which is trustworthy."
Good Neighbors has collected more than 700 million won. According to the NGO, about two thirds of individual donations came online.
"Many are willing to give to Haiti victims this time. In the 2004 Tsunami or 2005 Pakistan earthquake cases, we collected some 200 million won in two months. However, the Haiti quake relief fund reached 200 million won in only two days of individual donations," Yoon Bo-ae, a representative of Good Neighbors, said. "Donation methods have diversified and Koreans are much more accustomed to the culture of giving."
The NGO sent its first and second batches of rescue teams to Haiti last week and are preparing a third team.
"Haitians are in a very dangerous situation as they have been left on the streets after their dwellings were ruined by the earthquake," Yoon said. "We will start a nutrition program and a posttraumatic stress disorder clinic in regions for pregnant women, babies and children as soon as possible in addition to basic rescue programs."
Celebrities also joined the Haiti relief cause. Cha In-pyo and Shin Ae-ra, known for their volunteer work, have contributed 100 million won to Haiti through Compassion Korea, a local unit of the international child sponsorship organization. They are already a parent sponsor of a 10-year-old girl in Haiti and wished for the safety of their "daughter" there.
"Many people in Haiti are dying and have been injured by this sudden disaster. It is a painful situation. It was not something that we could have prevented. However, if we cooperate, we can prevent further casualties," the couple said through Compassion Korea.
They also advised people to pick a trustworthy organization to donate to. "Contributions are very important, but it is also very important to give to the right charity such as NGOs to make sure the donations go to the right people."
meeyoo@koreatimes.co.kr
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무디스, 스페인·伊·포르투갈 신용등급 강등
