Sean Penn’s JP/HRO to demolish National Palace in Haiti

Two and a half years ago, a massive earthquake devastated Haiti, leaving much of the nation in ruins, including the National Palace. As the country struggles to rebuild, the expense for complete demolition of the palace would be too much for Haitian’s government to shoulder.

Actor Sean Penn and his relief organization, J/P HRO are stepping in to help. J/P HRO is a Haitian Relief Organization Penn established following the earthquake on January 12, 2010. According to the Haitian government, Penn offered assistance in demolition of the National Palace at no cost to the government. J/P HRO will provide engineers and equipment to do the work, which is scheduled to begin in the next 10 days and should last two months.

According to the J/P HRO website the organization is:

…dedicated to saving lives and bringing sustainable programs to the Haitian people quickly and effectively. Following the devastating earthquake of 2010 J/P HRO began working immediately on the ground to make an impact in Haiti.

J/P HRO works with both government and non-governmental agencies to deliver immediate results where the need is greatest. Principle efforts include providing emergency medical and primary care services, delivering badly needed medical equipment and medicine, rubble removal facilitating community regeneration, management of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, distributing food and water purification systems, improving communication systems, and developing housing and education facilities.

The goal of J/P HRO is to help lift the nation of Haiti out of poverty and give the Haitian people a better life.

Learn more about J/P HRO in this video:

J/P HRO has accomplished a number of things in Haiti since the 2010 earthquake:

• 8,000 patients are seen by J/P HRO medical programs every month
• 1,194 healthy babies have been delivered with zero infant mortalities
• 280,000 cubic meters of rubble has been removed
• 100 metric tons of Cholera supplies have been delivered throughout Haiti
• 24/7 Emergency Medical Response Services have been provided for all Haitians
• 411 kids from the camp are receiving a free education at J/P HRO’s Ecole de L’Espoire, a Haitian-operated primary school in Petionville Camp
• 959 unsafe homes in Port Au Prince neighborhoods have been demolished
• 10,000 people have been given access to clean water through distribution of water filters and buckets
• 12,500 tents have been distributed to Haitian families

In the days immediately following the earthquake in Haiti, the world seemed to stop turning and everyone focused their attention on the devastation. Relief organizations around the world flew in to help with the rescue and recovery efforts, countless volunteers took time off from work to travel to Haiti to help. In the two and a half years since the earthquake, life has returned to normal for most people around the world. But for Haitians, the earthquake isn’t a distant memory — they continue to live in the aftermath of the devastation. Penn and his organization are dedicated to helping Haitians for the long haul. Their primary goal: To build a new Haiti for a new generation.

Change is going to come of this earthquake.

-Sean Penn

To learn more about how you can help the efforts of J/P HRO in Haiti, click here.

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