Within 24 hours of the severe earthquake that rocked Haiti on January 12, 2010, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a 220-person team of rescuers, disaster-management experts and medical personnel. Many Israeli governmental and non-governmental organizations joined in the difficult work of treating physical and psychological wounds and getting the island country back on its feet.
Five years later, Israeli humanitarians are still on the ground helping Haitians rebuild their lives and communities.
“Today, on the fifth anniversary of the earthquake, we remember the victims and renew our commitment and dedication to helping the survivors,” IsraAID Director Shachar Zahavi said earlier this month.
IsraAID: The Israel Forum for International Humanitarian Aid is always one of the first relief groups to respond to disasters across the globe. Its policy is to stay on the ground after the emergency to create and implement an infrastructure of programs to rehabilitate the affected community, leaving only once those programs are functioning in the hands of local residents trained by IsraAID.
That’s why you’ll still find IsraAID workers in Japan, for example, nearly four years after a deadly earthquake and tsunami. They are also currently assisting in areas of crisis including Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, the Philippines, China, Hong Kong and South Korea. (via Israel21c)