The earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010 resulted in widespread loss throughout the country and displaced many families from their homes.
While the Canadian Red Cross, one of the country's leading charity organizations, has provided assistance on the ground to those in need, it has also helped people living in Canada locate missing relatives through its finding family services.
How can finding family services help people in Haiti?
Since the earthquake, the Canadian Red Cross has worked to provide more than 7,500 families with homes, more than 19,000 families with safe shelter solutions and has enabled 2,089 families to find rental accommodations through cash grants.
In addition to these efforts, the Canadian Red Cross, working with the Haitian Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross, coordinated activities to re-establish connections between Haitians and their relatives living in Canada.
The importance of restoring family links
When emergencies and disasters strike, families are often separated when they need each other most. Not knowing the faith of a missing loved one can affect a person's ability to recover and rebuild their life, highlighting the importance of restoring these links.
The Canadian Red Cross offers programs for individuals who have lost contact with immediate family members due to natural disasters, armed conflict, migration and other emergencies. With Red Cross Messages, the Canadian Red Cross allows loved ones to stay in contact even when traditional postal service has been interrupted.
How you can help
Re-establishing connections between family members who have been separated by emergencies and disasters is one of the most important goals of the Canadian Red Cross.
With your support, the Canadian Red Cross can continue to provide services that facilitate the reunification of families and allow loved ones to maintain correspondence with one another even in areas where other forms of communication have broken down due to conditions in the country.
To make a difference today, please donate online or at your local Canadian Red Cross office.