Children in need – Relief for Haiti, making a significant difference together!
The earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010 has caused untold suffering. The exact number of victims from the catastrophe still cannot be determined. The Otto Bock Foundation has launched the fundraising campaign “Children in Need – Help for Haiti” in order to provide medical-orthopaedic care for as many seriously injured children as possible and subsequently assure their future mobility with prostheses, orthoses and wheelchairs.
Harrowing images went out to the world from the capital Port-au-Prince while the interior of the island remained completely inaccessible, so that the extent of damage can only be surmised. Providing immediate assistance proved very difficult in this situation. The people of one of the poorest countries in the world had to wait a long time for help from other nations. Assistance was slow in coming because the transport infrastructure was also destroyed.
We do know that many of the seriously injured are children. The Otto Bock Foundation wants to care for them in cooperation with its partners who are active in the region wherever conditions allow for purposeful, effective aid. This appears to be an immeasurable challenge. But previous initiatives of the Otto Bock Foundation after the flood of the century on the Elbe in 2002, the tsunami on Christmas 2004 and the 2008 earthquake in China have shown just how much can be done with pragmatic dedication following such natural disasters.
“Even though we may not be able to help each and every child, any donation helps to give another child a chance. Active, intelligent, purposeful assistance has to be the number one priority for our activities,” said Professor Hans Georg Näder in his appeal to the public. He is the chairperson of the board of trustees for the Otto Bock Foundation, which was founded by his father Dr. Max Näder in 1987.
