Sean Penn joins the continued humanitarian efforts.

Six months later, how are things in Haiti? The truth is, I hardly hear about it in the media anymore. I recently saw my friend Anthony Lappe, who just got back from working on a film in Haiti for PBS. He said nothing has gotten better there, and in fact the level of devastation is mind blowing. 1.5 million people are still homeless. And with hurricane season right around the corner, sustainable relief efforts are more important than ever. Sean Penn is one of the heroic public figures who is changing people’s lives through a relief organization he co-founded after he was first struck by the disaster’s scale.

“In our case, we came down with the idea of spending two weeks and trying to help out,” Penn said in an interview on CBS’s The Early Show. “There’s something that takes over and it’s really an obligation because you see the strength of the people who have never experienced comfort, and the gifts that that can give to people like myself and to our country and culture. You see the enormous gaps.”

You can watch a great video about Sean’s involvement here:  http://bit.ly/bBxDg3

Activist movie stars aside, what can YOU do to help?

Several of TILE’s nonprofit partners are still out there on the front lines of this epic humanitarian crisis… here are some details:

Global Fund for Children
In the aftermath of the massive earthquake that shook Haiti, GFC responded by immediately assessing the needs of their partners on the ground and sending emergency grants to these grassroots organizations for rebuilding. We are now in the process of assessing long-term recovery and renewal needs.

charity: water
Charity: water has been on the ground in Haiti since the earthquake hit – they are currently working to to ensure 14 villages have clean water. Their work in Haiti is with Partners in Health in Haiti. PIH just published a 6 month report that you can view here:  standwithhaiti.org/six-months

ACCION
With the help of ACCION, the micro-finance arm of Haiti’s largest bank (“SOGESOL”) was able to raise $700,000 for grants for 2,000 of their poorest clients. With these funds, Haitians have been better able to repair damages to their businesses and homes.

Tags: earthquake, haiti