Bermuda is continuing its support for earthquake-ravaged Haiti with schools and businesses still making large donations to the Red Cross and other charities.
Warwick Academy students have raised $1,000 to help a school in one of Haiti's most important nature reserves.
The money will be used to renovate the Formon School, located in the Macaya National Park, an area of Haiti home to an array of threatened and endangered species.
The students raised the funds through sponsorships during their recently completed Duke of Edinburgh's Silver Award programme. The 29 students completed a 30-mile, three-day expedition as part of the annual youth programme and decided to donate the proceeds to the Haiti relief effort.
The Formon school is located in an especially impoverished and isolated part of Haiti. It is the only school within a six hour walk of this section of the Haitian countryside.
And the school has come under new pressure to take on displaced students. Refugees have flocked to the area since the Caribbean island was devastated by an 8.8 magnitude earthquake last January. The students have come to the area along with the influx of earthquake-displaced refugees seeking a new life in the countryside.
Because the area where the school is located is home to so many threatened and endangered species, several international organisations are working to ensure the school continue to operate. It is the hope of these organisations that if residents of the area are educated they will be better able to manage natural resources and preserve their surrounding environment.
And local mobile service provider CellularOne just presented a cheque to the Bermuda Red Cross relief effort for $12,000. The cellular phone retailer raised the funds through their SMS/text campaign with most of the money coming directly from customers.
"Our customers have really demonstrated the power of giving with their response to assist the Haitian earthquake victims," said CellularOne Chief Operating Officer Frank Amaral. "I am proud of and equally grateful to our customers for their generosity and support in this time of need."
According to Director of the Bermuda Red Cross Ann Spencer-Arscott Bermuda has donated $1,093,869 so far to the Red Cross for Haiti.
"There are still a lot of cheques coming through," she said. "We are waiting for one for $20,000 that will take us up to over $1.1 million."
