Harry Potter Alliance celebrate Helping Haiti Heal’s fifth anniversary

by · January 27, 2015

The Harry Potter Alliance is celebrating the fifth anniversary of its hugely successful Helping Haiti Heal campaign.

Five years ago, the Harry Potter Alliance joined forces with the likes of J.K. Rowling, Hank and John Green, Maureen Johnson, and more in an extremely successful effort to contribute to humanitarian relief in Haiti, in the wake of a devastating earthquake that killed at least 220,000 people, injured another 300,000 people, and left around 1.5 million people displaced and vulnerable.

With strong support from members, Helping Haiti Heal managed to raise $123,000 for Partners in Health, allowing the organization to send five cargo planes of essential medical supplies to the Caribbean country. The five planes were named Harry, Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore, and DFTBA, in honor of the heroes and concepts that inspired organizers and donors alike.

Nixon Boumba, a citizen of Haiti who works for American Jewish World Service as an in-country consultant, wrote the following in this Washington Post article:

Haitians are not benefiting as fully as they should from this global aid. Despite billions of dollars earmarked for Haiti, nearly 100,000 people still live under plastic tarps in displacement camps. Poverty has worsened all around the capital: more beggars on the streets, an increase in teen pregnancy, and more people turning to sex work. A cholera epidemic has wrought further devastation, killing thousands; the CDC and others have suggested the strong possibility that cholera was brought to Haiti by United Nations peacekeepers, the very force tasked with stabilizing the country. In truth, a great deal of the ‘redevelopment’ has gone to help the rich and powerful, not the impoverished and displaced people who need it the most.

The relief effort helped people on the ground deal with an immediate crisis, but it couldn’t fix or bypass problems that existed before the crisis occurred. Fixing political and economic inequality requires more than money. It requires a long-term investment of time and energy into research, advocacy, and sustained action. It requires the leadership of people who truly understand the complex cultural factors at play.

The Harry Potter Alliance has come a long way since 2010, and its list of accomplishments continues to grow. The fandom’s unwavering support makes all of these victories possible. Recently, it has compelled Warner Bros. to commit to ethical cocoa sourcing for all Harry Potter brand chocolate, raised over 200,000 books and built libraries for communities in need, worked with low-wage workers and their advocates to shift the cultural narrative surrounding the Hunger Games, and so much more.

You can read the full press release below.

Press Release

Harry Potter Alliance celebrates fifth anniversary of Helping Haiti Heal campaign

Five years ago, the Harry Potter Alliance joined forces with fandom heroes J.K. Rowling, John and Hank Green, Maureen Johnson, and more in a very successful effort to contribute to humanitarian relief in Haiti, in the wake of a devastating earthquake that killed at least 220,000 people, injured another 300,000 people, and left around 1.5 million people displaced and vulnerable.* With strong support from our members, Helping Haiti Heal raised $123,000 for Partners in Health, allowing the organization to send five cargo planes of essential medical supplies to Haiti. The five planes were named Harry, Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore, and DFTBA, in honor of the heroes and concepts that inspired organizers and donors alike. This was a huge moment for the Harry Potter fandom and Nerdfighteria. It set the stage for a very productive friendship between the two communities, and it also set a high standard for future charitable collaborations in fandom. Most importantly, the efforts made an impact on the ground in Haiti.

Looking back, I feel a deep sense of pride and affection for the version of the HPA that existed in 2010. I'm still completely blown away by the effort of Melissa Anelli, who deprived herself of sleep for days to ensure that our campaign was ready in time for launch. Dozens of volunteers and friends of the HPA pitched in. Wizard rockers, young adult authors, and other fandom artists provided perks and entertainment, offering their original work to a worthy cause. I spent the majority of the campaign glued to my computer, watching the numbers climb to heights I'd simply never anticipated.

That affection for the HPA of 2010 has not faded, and I remain extremely proud of Helping Haiti Heal as one of our organization's first large-scale accomplishments. However, I think that it's important that we balance our celebration of Helping Haiti Heal's fifth anniversary with an acknowledgment that things are still deeply unstable in Haiti. As of September 2014, over 85,000 people remain displaced. Over 8,000 people have died of cholera, with an estimated 706,000 cases occurring since the original outbreak in October 2010. Nearly 5,000 schools were damaged or destroyed by the earthquake. Political instability has prevented approximately 13.5 billion dollars in aid from being maximized for the benefit of Haitian citizens in need.

Nixon Boumba, a citizen of Haiti who works for American Jewish World Service as an in-country consultant, wrote the following in this Washington Post article:

Haitians are not benefiting as fully as they should from this global aid. Despite billions of dollars earmarked for Haiti, nearly 100,000 people still live under plastic tarps in displacement camps. Poverty has worsened all around the capital: more beggars on the streets, an increase in teen pregnancy, and more people turning to sex work. A cholera epidemic has wrought further devastation, killing thousands; the CDC and others have suggested the strong possibility that cholera was brought to Haiti by United Nations peacekeepers, the very force tasked with stabilizing the country. In truth, a great deal of the "redevelopment" has gone to help the rich and powerful, not the impoverished and displaced people who need it the most.

No doubt, our relief effort helped people on the ground deal with an immediate crisis, but it couldn't fix or bypass problems that existed before the crisis occurred. Fixing political and economic inequality requires more than money. It requires long-term investment of time and energy into research, advocacy, and sustained action. It requires the leadership of people who truly understand the complex cultural factors at play.

On the fifth anniversary of Helping Haiti Heal, I feel a mixture of pride and discomfort. I don't want to celebrate this anniversary too hard. I feel it would be disrespectful to the people who are still suffering. I urge you all to find ways to help organizations that are still working on the ground in Haiti, fighting against corruption and working to put power into the hands of Haitian citizens. Partners in Health and American Jewish World Service are great places to start.

We've come a long way since 2010 and our list of accomplishments continues to grow in exciting, unpredictable ways. Your support makes all these victories possible. Together we have compelled Warner Bros. to commit to ethical cocoa sourcing for all Harry Potter brand chocolate, raised over 200,000 books and built libraries for communities in need, worked with low-wage workers and their advocates to shift the cultural narrative surrounding the Hunger Games, and so much more.

What will we accomplish next?

Sincerely,

Matt Maggiacomo

Executive Director

The Harry Potter Alliance

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