Digicel donates to Haiti’s National Football Team, Special Olympic

Digicel last week distributed care packs containing food, water, milk, T-shirts and medical supplies to 350 members of the Haiti National Football Federation and to over 100 members of the Special Olympics Association who have been living in campsites following the earthquake in Haiti on January 12.{{more}}

In addition, Digicel provided the Ministry of Health with Digicel parasols and T-shirts for its mobile vaccination clinics in Port-au-Prince. The vaccination clinics – which kicked off yesterday in the centre of Port-au-Prince – are planning to vaccinate the hundreds of thousands of people living in camps around the city over the coming days and weeks. Each person who is vaccinated will also receive a T-shirt from Digicel.

The President of the Haiti Special Olympics team, Jean Chevalier Sanon, commented: “Our school was badly damaged in the earthquake and we had to move all of our athletes to a campsite at a local church in Montrouis. Spirits have been quite low in the camp so we were delighted when Digicel arrived to distribute care packs to the athletes. Digicel has supported us through thick and thin since 2006 and I’d like to thank them for once again being there for us.”

Digicel Haiti Marketing Director, Tatiana Policard, commented: “We have been sponsoring the National Football Federation and the Special Olympics Association since 2006 and we are delighted to be able help them during this difficult time.

“I also have to applaud the Ministry of Health for setting up the mobile vaccination clinics and I’m delighted that Digicel has been able to support them in this initiative.”

Digicel has supported the development of football in Haiti since 2006 through the sponsorship of the national team and the 1st Division which comprises 16 clubs located throughout the country. As well as hosting two Digicel Kick Start Clinics in Haiti over the last two years, the Haiti national team was crowned winners of the Digicel Caribbean Championships in January 2007. Digicel has also sponsored the Haiti Special Olympics Association since 2006 and provided support to the teams when they competed in the Special Olympics World Games in China and through the staging of the annual Digicel-sponsored Special Olympics Games in Haiti.

Since the earthquake, Digicel has sent over 90,000lbs of provisions and 21,000lbs of medical supplies and antibiotics to help those whose lives have been devastated by the earthquake. In addition, Digicel has sent three vessels carrying more than 400,000lbs of equipment and supplies to Haiti.

As the single largest investor in Haiti, with a total investment of over U$300 million since its launch in 2006, Digicel has over two million customers in Haiti. The Digicel Haiti Relief Fund has donated US$5 million to NGOs in Haiti to support the relief efforts, and over US$600,000 has been raised by Digicel customers across the Caribbean and Central America through a text and voice donation line. Digicel also gave each of its two million customers US$5 in free credit – totaling US$10 million.