Watching the disaster unfold in Haiti a year ago I was moved to do something in order to make some kind of difference.
We already sponsor two children in Kenya and Sri Lanka through Plan UK and my first thoughts were to call the charity. However, I was informed that due to the chaos on the ground following the massive earthquake it was not possible to do this yet. At this stage I made a donation to Plan's work in the region.
The earthquake, which measured 7.0 on the Richter Scale, is believed to have killed more than 230,000 people and left millions homeless.
Charities such as Plan, the Red Cross. UNICEF, ActionAid and many others continue to work in the Caribbean nation which is suffering from problems with it's water supply, healthcare and sanitation.
I have visited the Dominican Republic, which shares the Hispaniola island with Haiti, and that is certainly poor but at least it has tourism to support its residents, who are some of the happiest people I've ever met. It is hard to imagine the poverty and misery of the Haitians.
Plan contacted me to say I could sponsor a child and a few days later I received a picture of a very serious looking young girl called Love in her best posh frock. My children have written to Love and sent her some pictures. We are excitedly awaiting her reply.
If you are able to please spare a thought for children like Love. There are lots of charities you can support who are still out in Haiti.
