Comparing Volunteer Activities in Haiti and Japan

By: Savannah Turner

One year ago, an earthquake struck a small country in the Caribbean Sea. Haiti was completely devastated by the earthquake.

Once again, three months ago, a huge earthquake occurred. The Tohoku earthquake and tsunami put Japan in a very troubled state.

About two months ago, a few others and I took a fieldtrip to Mercy Corps. We experienced an interesting interview and gathered lots of information. “When the earthquake happened in Haiti, what kind of volunteering went on?” They gladly explained it to us.

After the Haitian earthquake hit, Mercy Corps came to the rescue! Because of the weak government they have, Haiti could not help themselves with essentials. More specifically, Mercy

Corps helped the Haitians by bringing water and food. Shelter was also a top priority.

Comparing this to Japan, there are big differences. Japan is a developed country so they have a very strong government. So much is different from Haiti that Japan didn’t need the help of Mercy Corps. Only a few employees from Mercy Corps were sent to help in Japan.

Even now, there are people helping down in Haiti. Haiti and Japan are two very diverse countries but both had a huge amount of damage and people that were willing to fight through it. That is the attitude that they both have in common.

Thank You!