A month after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Saskatchewan residents are still helping out.
Today it was announced a delegation of Saskatchewan residents is going to Haiti in order to help in the relief effort. The seven person team, called Western Canadian Relief for Haiti, will leave Saskatchewan on March 5th to assist a Canadian relief agency. Members of the team are paying out of their own pockets.
Among those going is Carlos Petit-Homme, who was born and raised in Haiti and now works for the Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation. Saskatchewan Roughrider and Regina City Councillor Chris Szarka is also going. He is a certified construction and carpentry specialist.
The team will be living and working within a 12-acre tent city where they will help up to 5,000 refugees a day. Their jobs will include working at hospitals, handing out food and water and setting up tents and beds. The team will also help to ensure Haitians are able to sustain themselves in the long term.
Everyone in the province has joined together to help Haiti. Inmates from across Saskatchewan have raised $2,300. The money came from their own trust accounts and from money they raised from their work assignments. Vernon Adams is an inmate at the Regina Correctional Centre, and he understands how important it is to help those in need.
“These kids are crying,” he said. “People are starving and all that. Well, I’m going to live today, so why can’t I just give a little money here if it’ll help in some way.”
Sandra Reid from the Salvation Army was pleased with the donation.
“It was definitely an unexpected surprise for me, especially the amount that the inmates donated,” she said. “That was extremely generous of them.”
In total, Saskatchewan residents have donated about $2 million.
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