Homeless man gives food for Haiti

Another moving moment for him was the call he got from a visually impaired woman from La Brea who asked that organisers send a volunteer to her home to collect her contribution.

“A lot of people have been touched and so instead of saying Haiti I am sorry, we are saying, sorry we can’t help more than we are,” Baksh added.

On October 23, the first of eight 40 foot containers filled with items including water, toiletries and non perishable items is expected to leave these shores for Haiti. The estimated value of the items stuffed into the containers cost between US$10, 000 to US$15,000, Baksh said. There is an eight day transit time estimated from Trinidad to here to Haiti as the container is transhipped through Jamaica. Each week, he explained, one container is expected to leave Trinidad for the poverty stricken island.

The corporate community has responded well with one hardware dealer promising to fill a container with building material, Baksh went on to say. “We are just sending the container to him and he will do the documentation and get it out.” One week ago, following the destruction of Haiti by Hurricane Matthew, the charity drive was initiated by San Fernando Mayor Kazim Hosein and the San Fernando City Corporation in conjunction with members of the volunteer network.

Baksh added: “The leadership the mayor provided has created a platform for people to show their goodness and we have a lot of good people in Trinidad.” Hosein himself has hailed the success of the charity drive and praised Baksh for his volunteerism.

“It was his brainchild,” he said.

Because of the tremendous response the organising committee has had to set up new donation centres and recruited more volunteers.

Items most needed are non-perishable food items, drinking water, clothing, medical supplies and basic medicines, and building materials.

No cash donations will be accepted and the committee is seeking donors to cover the shipping costs to Haiti which can range between US$1,700 to US$2,300 and can be paid directly to the shipping company when the time comes to send the containers out.