A Sarnia nonprofit that supports community development in Haiti is working to help those impacted by a massive earthquake that hit the country.
As of Monday morning, the death toll was around 1,300 and thousands more were injured following a 7.2-magnitude earthquake Saturday morning.
Rayjon Share Care Executive Director Heather Smith said the organization knows that the Haitian people need help right now.
"Rayjon's not going to be directly involved in disaster relief effort -- we just don't have the resources or the staff on the ground to do that. So, what we're doing is working in partnership with other organizations -- we have a lot of wonderful connections on the ground in Haiti including in that area."
A list of the organizations leading relief effort can be found on the Rayjon website, to let people know some of the best ways to get involved with helping out.
Smith said Rayjon has been in touch with all of its staff and partners in Haiti and that she's happy to report that they are all safe.
"The bulk of the damage was in the southwest in the Les Cayes region. Thankfully, the areas where Rayjon is working have really not been hit by the earthquake at all. They felt the tremors, but there hasn't been severe damage in any of the areas where we're working."
Smith said Rayjon is supporting a malnutrition centre in the northern region, which also provides education primarily for women who are the heads of their households.
"We're also working in the southwest in the Saint-Marc region where we're supporting community development through adult literacy, microcredit and business development, education for primary students, and working in partnership with the Haitian women's federation there."
Smith said all of their programs are continuing as normal.
