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In response to the devastating earthquake in Port-au-Prince on January 12, 2010, the Legatum Foundation seeded the Haiti Earthquake Recovery Fund which was established and managed by Geneva Global. 40,000 lives have so far been impacted, from an initial investment by Legatum of USD $100,000.
 Legatum’s funds were directed toward the provision of Tough Stuff™ solar kits, comprising solar panels, lamps, radio connectors and cell phone chargers, to 8,000 homeless families. Cathay Pacific transported the kits free of charge from Hong Kong to Miami. The kits were then shipped to Port-au-Prince, where they were delivered to three partner organisations: Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), Concern Worldwide, and Mission of Hope, for distribution. As of this writing, ADRA has distributed 5,000 kits to families living in a tented camp on the grounds of the National Adventist University; Mission of Hope has distributed 1,000 kits through local community-based organisations; and Concern Worldwide is planning to distribute 2,000 kits on La Gonave Island, just off the coast of Port-au-Prince, where the population swelled by 25% since the earthquake. Concern will distribute the kits to the most remote areas of the island that are without electricity.
Legatum set up a matched grant through the online giving website Razoo and additionally, by working with Geneva Global and the Philadelphia Foundation to create a matched fund. Contributions to the fund have allowed Geneva Global to make rapid impact grants to four organisations working in earthquake recovery.
Fund Progress
In sum, the Haiti Earthquake Recovery Fund has resulted in over USD $250,000 in grants to highly effective, locally-based organisations expected to benefit more than 50,000 people, including:
- 2,900 receiving critical medical care
- 7,900 given food support
- 8,000 families provided with solar kits
Survivor Story
"I was in the house when the earthquake came. I ran out quickly with my baby and the house fell down and my husband was killed inside. It was very sad to see him underneath dying. Blood was running like water out of the blocks. I cried for two reasons, I lost my husband and I lost everything. Since the earthquake I have been sleeping on the ground; we made a little tent with clothes. I am very scared of the rain, as the roof is just cloth and the baby will get wet. I have no light. I have nothing".
- Mirasile Maloi Pierre (27) & baby Ricardo (8 mths)
 Geneva Global Program Director Warren Lancaster found Mirasile living in a makeshift shelter (with walls made of little more than bed sheets) with her infant son. "She was in one of these camps, and telling us how she had nothing", Warren explains. "[I] gave her one of these lamps and solar panels and showed her how it worked. She thanked us, but she didn't seem too excited to have it.
That night we actually connected the lamp to the frame of her tent and turned it on, and the whole place lit up! She was so excited. She jumped to her feet and kissed me on the cheek! So you can see that just having light makes such a difference to someone who would otherwise be living in the dark".
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Overview
The Legatum Foundation responds to human disasters in the early phase of the emergency and looks to address acute need in an innovative way. It was immediately obvious to our advisers following the earthquake that shelter and security would be the primary needs. To add value to the distribution of weather-proof temporary shelter material by the international relief community, Legatum decided to provide 8,000 1-watt, extremely robust and durable solar panels and a rechargeable LED room light to displaced and homeless families.
It was soon apparent, however, that although mobile telecommunications networks were still operational, poor people were struggling to recharge their mobile phones: stalls with car batteries were demanding USD $1 per charge in the temporary camps, an added burden to people who had lost everything, and most of whom had previously subsisted on less than USD $2 per day. To enhance the impact of the solar kit, mobile phone connectors were included (thanks to the combination of funds received via the online donation website Razoo, and from the Geneva Global Haiti Recovery Fund hosted by the Philadelphia Foundation), allowing displaced people to charge their phones and make contact with friends and relatives. The grant from Legatum was further enhanced by Cathay Pacific Airways who donated free airfreight of the kits from Hong Kong, and by Convoy of Hope who provided additional logistical support.
This co-operative intervention produced multiple solutions: a safe light source, especially for mothers caring for children; security for women and girls in a situation of particular vulnerability; and a durable alternative lighting and phone charging capacity that helped to restore vital communications.
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