January 26, 2010
Harding students work to provide immediate shelter for Haitians
SEARCY, Ark. — In an effort to provide hope and comfort to the people
of Haiti, the Harding University student body is implementing a
project called “Tents and Tarps.”
As a result of the Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake, many people in
Port-au-Prince are left either without a home or with a fear that
inevitable aftershocks will take their homes away. Because of this
damage and fear, a large portion of Port-au-Prince’s population now
lives in “tent cities” that are beginning to grow in public parks,
soccer fields and anywhere there is room.
However, according to a survey trip done last week by Harding
professor Dr. Mark Elrod and freelance photojournalist Phil Holsinger,
these “tent cities” are often made up of nothing more than sticks,
ropes and cloth sheets.
After being made aware of the need for shelter, particularly with the
coming rains, Harding Student Association President Bryan Clifton and
others drafted the idea for “Tents and Tarps.”
“Our objective at Harding is to have a tent and tarp sent to Haiti for
each member of the Harding undergraduate student body,” Clifton said.
The Arkansas school, which is working with other universities to raise
the funds to purchase the tents, has a goal of providing at least
4,500 tents to the people of Port-au-Prince.
“One tent will provide shelter for one Haitian family,” Clifton said.
“Many times, that includes up to 20 people.”
The students are collecting all money, as well as accepting donated
tents, to send shelter to Port-au-Prince by Feb. 1, 2010. Harding is
working with numerous organizations and companies in order to get the
best prices for tents and shipping.
For more information, contact Bryan Clifton. To donate money to “Tents
and Tarps,” visit www.harding.edu or www.tentsandtarps.org, which
should be up and running by 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26.
Others in the Harding community are also working to send aid to Haiti.
Associate professor Dr. Joli Love, a soprano, will present “High Cs
for Haiti,” a benefit vocal recital featuring classical selections by
Gounod, Strauss, Mozart and others. Dr. Arthur Shearin, professor,
will join her in a duet, and Dr. Scott Carrell, professor, will
accompany on the piano. Donations and supplies will be collected in
plastic buckets at the event and then shipped to Haiti. For more
information, contact the music department at 501-279-4343.
Graduate students in the Physician Assistant Program and the College
of Pharmacy are also collecting donations and supplies to assemble
family buckets and hygiene bags for the people of Haiti. The deadline
for donations is Thursday, Jan. 28, at 9 a.m. For more information,
contact Susan Grace at 501-279-5501.
Update - January 30, 2010
On Tuesday, students at Harding were told of a desperate need for
shelter in Haiti. Only five days later, a crew purchased and drove 200
tents from the Dominican Republic to Haiti for immediate and specific
distribution to families. By the time this report is given, 200 tents
and tarps will provide safe, dry shelter for hundreds of people. This
is just the beginning. Because of partnerships with Haitian natives,
Sonlight Children's Home, Manna Global Ministries and Harding
University, we have been able to avoid aid bottlenecks in ports and on
the roads to provide people with immediate shelter.
Aid efforts organized by students and faculty in the College of
Pharmacy and the Physician Assistant Program collected a generous
amount of item donations and more than $1,100 in monetary
contributions. More than $800 has been used to purchase additional
buckets and hygiene items, and the remaining $300 will go toward the
purchase of shelter through Tents and Tarps. A donation of $50 will
provide shelter for one family in Haiti.
