Kiwanis Club of Toronto Caribbean hosts fundraising campaign for Haiti

BY PAUL JUNOR

The Kiwanis Club of Toronto Caribbean has been active in improving the quality of life for individuals in the community for many years. They are dedicated to improving the lives of children one community at a time. Each community has different needs, and our members are empowered to pursue creative ways to serve the needs of children, such as fighting hunger, improving literacy, and offering guidance.

It currently meets every third Friday of the month at 7:00 pm virtually (via Zoom) however pre-COVID their meeting place was at the Consulate General of Jamaica, which is located at 303 Eglinton Ave E. near Yonge & Eglinton.

On Sunday, November 6^th, 2022, the Kiwanis Club of Toronto Caribbean released a media advisory regarding a fundraising campaign that it will be involved with for the month of November. It will culminate with a live online telethon event on Saturday, November 26^th, via JAMM-X. The press release states, “This is all with the intention to ship medication and clean water supplies to Haiti in order to help with the looming cholera epidemic which is threatening the lives of 1.4 million children.”

There has been international media attention that has focused on the living conditions of Haitians for the past few weeks. After the 2010 earthquake which resulted in the loss of about 200,000 lives, the subsequent outbreak of the waterborne disease, cholera resulted in the death of 10,000 people and illness among 820,000. Due to the increasing security crisis from gang violence, which has spread across the country, Haiti’s government has requested a specialized armed force “to quell the violence, and Canada is leading the delegation.”

Furthermore, cholera was never present in Haiti until it was introduced in 2010 when U.N peacekeepers from Nepal, improperly allowed latrine sewage to get into a tributary of the Artibonite River. Since officials reported the presence of cholera on October 2^nd, 2022 there have been over 6,800 suspected bases and 100 deaths.

Cholera is easily treatable if detected early, but causes serious problems if no treatment is applied. Jeanty Fils Exalus, speaking on behalf of Haiti’s Health Ministry states, “Cholera is gaining ground. We have to mobilize way more resources.”

I interviewed Sharon Barnes-Simmonds, President of the Kiwanis Club of Toronto Caribbean regarding the fundraising campaign, and she provided me with updated information. She told me that the campaign is a joint venture between the Haitian consulate and the Jamaican consulate. Global Medic is an important partner and they will donate the clean water tablets and other supplies as well as hygiene kits, which will be trucked to Florida and then airlifted by the US Army directly to Haiti.

The Kiwanis Club will pay for the trucking costs to get the supplies to Florida. Sharon advised that Health Partners International of Canada (HPIC), which is the only charity licensed by Health Canada to handle donated medicines, have agreed to help as well. They will provide the medication kits at hugely discounted costs to the Kiwanis Club.

The Vibe-A-Thon on Saturday starts at 10 a.m. and ends at 10 p.m. will feature four JAMM-X DJs, Rosie Murray, Marcus Ouija, Bigg G, and Mix Master Magic.

Donations can be made via Etransfer to kctorontocaribbean@gmail.com or via PayPal at https://lnkd.in/eqP-5eA2 and is being collected up to the end of the month however the campaign officially ends on Giving Tuesday, November 29^th.