To Help Haiti, Don’t Donate to American Red Cross: Haitians

As U.S. President Barack Obama urged people to donate to the American Red Cross to help Haiti amid Hurricane Matthew, Haitians took to social media over the weekend to urge people to do the opposite, pointing to how the organization was accused of squandering more than US$500 million in aid to the country in 2010.

The woman also urged people to only give money to local Haitian groups. The post had more than 5,600 shares by Sunday evening. “4. Lastly, we Haitians are tired. We just want to make it through to tomorrow without another ignorant or sensational headline. Please be respectful of that,” the woman concluded in her post.

Obama asked on Friday for “all Americans to go the American Red Cross and other philanthropic agencies” to give money to help Haiti.

But Haitians have lost trust in the U.S.-based organization after a damning 2015 report by NPR and ProPublica showed how the ARC used more than US$500 million in aid for the 2010 earthquake to build only six of the promised 700 permanent homes.

“The Red Cross says it has provided homes to more than 130,000 people, but the number of permanent homes the charity has built is six,” the June 2015 report said. It also added that its investigation had “found a string of poorly-managed projects, questionable spending and dubious claims of success.”

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