40 days ago - on January 12th, 2010 - a magnitude 7 earthquake struck Haiti just before 5pm. The epicenter was only 25km from the capital city of Port-au-Prince. An estimated 3 million Haitians were affected - including more than 200,000 deaths, and over 1 million left homeless. Read more about the earthquake on wikipedia.
The world was quick to react and mobilise support. People donated millions of dollars in the days that followed, governments pledged support - and many non-governmental organizations, inlcuding Oxfam, sprang into action to pledge humanitarian relief for Haiti.
Because of previous work in the country, Oxfam had staff on the ground in Haiti, and was quick to organize and get to work and provide aid.
Water distribution by Oxfam - Oxfam water distribution Delmas 48 (former golf course)
In the rest of the world - fundraising started almost immediately. Here in Halifax, I'm sure there were at least 50 benefit events in the weeks following January 12th, and they're still going on. Oxfam Maritimes played a large role locally - and helped/supported many events throughout the maritme provinces.
On January 30th, Haligonia 4 Haiti, a livestreamed webathon and benefit show was one of these events. (Read more about the Haligonia 4 Haiti and the bands, musicians and artists that performed).
In the three weeks since the event - the re-broadcast footage as been viewed online more than 70,000 minutes in total, and is approaching 1200 viewed hours of replay.
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Many people came together for Haligonia 4 Haiti, donating time and money, performing, volunteering and raising awareness - a team of over 100 in total!
Thanks Again to the 70+ artists and musicians that performed - see the full list here
Thanks to all the volunteers that helped in planning - especially the Pogue Fado that made their space avaialable for the show, provided volunteer support, and helped in the fundraising.
Thanks to Christopher Daw and Music For Good for the artist support, his show experience and expertise, and especially during the broadcast.
Thanks to Doug Doucet of RCS Retail Construction Specialists for the equipment contributions and finanical support.
Thanks to the guests who appeared in video segments - including Shaun Majumder, CBC's Bob Fournier, Brian O'Neill from Oxfam Maritmes, and Mark Fried, an Oxfam worker on the ground in Haiti - who sent a video message he recorded in Port-au-Prince during the show.
And Thanks to Oxfam Maritimes for all their support - they were invaluable in the planning, took care of all the donations on-site and also brought their own team of volunteers to help ensure the event went well.
A special thanks to Pat Kipping - Oxfam's Senior Fund Development Officer for Canada's Eastern Region - who helped in all aspects of the event, did several live interviews during the show and helped to highlight the amazing work Oxfam has done in Haiti since the earthquake.
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