PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The people of Haiti are working to recover from an earthquake that devastated their island over the weekend, killing more than 1,300 people and injuring at least 5,000 more. Worried loved ones and the Haitian community in Philadelphia are finding ways to help.
Josephys Dafils, who runs the nonprofit Haitian-Americans United for Change, said the COVID-19 pandemic, the recent assassination of Haiti’s last president and now a major earthquake are devastating for a country that has already been through so much.
"You have one problem, another problem and now you have this major problem on top of it," said Dafils, who was born in Haiti.
"It’s very tough. It’s mentally draining."
Dafils said people he has contacted on the island are holding on to hope during a time that has seen many of them lose their homes, businesses and schools, and caused a lot of people to sleep on the streets.
"The hospital was not running properly in the first place," Dafils explained, "so now you have all these people who need help, and it’s even worse."
Dafils said when Haiti was last devastated by an earthquake in 2010, much of the food and medicine that was sent stayed locked in customs for months. When it was released to people, it devastated the local economy by putting local stores out of business.
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He added a lot of money that was given to organizations never made its way to the people, and they are working to change that this time.
"We have to find a way to get ourselves together, and help with the Haitian leaders and other non-profits in Philadelphia to see what’s the best course of action and what we learned," Dafils shared.
He said that later on this week, they hope to have a plan of action to help the people in Haiti.
CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this story, Josephys Dafils' name was misspelled.