Haiti: Businesses also step up to help

Corporations are also mobilizing for Haiti. Orange/France Télécom, EDF, GDF Suez, Sedif, Crédit Agricole, Société Générale, Air France, and Air Caraïbes are providing both financial aid and essential services.

The telecommunications group Orange /France Télécom announced free calls to Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake. The company is assisting in restoring local communications and has launched a platform where, for one month, every SMS sent to the following three organizations—the Red Cross, Secours Catholique, and Secours Populaire—will trigger a €1 donation to the contacted charity. ” *Since January 15, we have already reached €315,000* “, stated Jean-Bernard Orsoni, Head of Communications at Orange.  » In 2004, following the tsunami, the group raised more than €3.8 million ».

For its part, EDF has announced a €250,000 financial grant for the reconstruction of the island. To facilitate emergency relief efforts, EDF experts stationed in Martinique and Guadeloupe traveled to Port-au-Prince to assess the damage to the electrical grid. The group has already dispatched 16 generators. which enabled the restoration of power to the Sacré Cœur hospital in Port-au-Prince as well as to the French Embassy, noted Capucine Leroux, Communications Manager at EDF. *We are committed to a spirit of solidarity and support whenever a crisis of this magnitude arises*. ” The NGO Électriciens sans Frontières is currently preparing to deploy teams of EDF employees—members of the association—to provide field support (logistics and network).

GDF Suez not only provided €100,000 in emergency relief, but its three internal NGOs also mobilized, even traveling to Haiti to deliver medical and school supplies, rehabilitate electrical facilities, and improve the drinking water network. The Syndicat des Eaux d’Ile-de-France shared this same goal, awarding €100,000 to the French Red Cross to address water supply issues. Sedif had provided similar assistance during the tsunami.
Banks Société Générale and Crédit Agricole have each pledged one million euros to local NGOs. Société Générale has declined to provide further details regarding its communication strategy or the transparency of its donation. ” *We do not want to seek self-promotion through this approach*, explains Astrid Brunini, Head of Communications for the group. ” *Many initiatives are being undertaken internally, such as our employee donation drives, but we wish to remain discreet*.”

Among the donors, the airlines Air France and Air Caraïbes have also introduced special repatriation fares for Haiti.

The list will undoubtedly grow, especially if, according to Jean-Max Bellerive, the island’s Prime Minister, it will take five to ten years to rebuild.