Batswana Ignore Plea To Help Haiti

By Frederick Kebadiretse
Staff Writer | Monday January 25, 2010 00:00

 

BRCS  disaster management coordinator, Kgomotsego Motlopi said on Friday that only the Anglican Church in Gaborone and one company have reacted to the call for help.

The Anglican Church has promised to solicit funds from members while the unnamed company has donated a cheque. But so far, no individual has come forward to offer help.

Motlopi said the only response they get from individuals are from those who want to travel to Haiti to help the earthquake victims. She explained that this will be expensive for BRCS which is a non-profit organisation. She said that perhaps people are reluctant to come forward and help with funds because they think only large sums of money would be accepted.

She said they accept any amount, as it will contribute significantly to helping the people of Haiti. 'Any amount of money will make a difference. We are not only asking for donations from companies, individuals are most welcome to help as well,' she said. She urged Batswana to respond to pleas of humanitarian help as everyone in the world is vulnerable to disaster, and next time it can be Botswana in need.

Motlopi said that though the response to their plea for help is slow, they are not daunted and they are trying other avenues to source funds. Last week the Botswana government pledged P1 million in aid to Haiti after a call by the UN for members of the international community to help Haiti. The Caribbean nation was hit by an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale almost two weeks ago. More than 100,000 people are feared dead and the toll continues to rise everyday. Last Wednesday an aftershock measuring 6.0 hit the capital Port-au-Prince fuelling fears of an increase in the number of casualties and making it even more difficult to distribute aid and help the injured.