VOA: Information Lifeline for Haitians During Deadly Hurricanes
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PRESS RELEASE -
Washington, D.C., September 8, 2008 - The Voice of America's (VOA)
Creole service is providing vital news and information about relief
efforts to people in Haiti, where deadly hurricanes have left hundreds
dead and thousands without food, water and shelter. "We have loyal and
dedicated listeners in Haiti, and we're doing our best to make sure
they are kept informed about the humanitarian situation with
interviews, news bulletins and call-in programs," said VOA Director
Danforth Austin. VOA's stringers in the affected areas have filed
on-the-ground reports on the devastating hurricanes that began when
Gustav hit the Caribbean island August 26. Washington-based VOA
staffers have kept abreast of developments with interviews of U.S. and
Haitian officials, including key relief officials such as Haiti's
Agriculture Minister Joanas Gue. "Our stringer in Gonaives is in a
shelter, and he has described the situation. There is no food and water
and everything is very expensive," said Ronald Cesar, chief of VOA's
Creole service. Gonaives, a hard-hit town in the North, is one of the
areas cut off from overland access because of storm damage. U.S. aid
officials have pledged a total of $10 million in relief assistance,
some of which will be delivered by helicopters based on the USS
Kearsarge, now based off the coast of Haiti. VOA's Creole service
broadcasts three 30-minute programs daily to Haiti. The programs are
aired by 12 affiliate stations, including several with nationwide
reach. Additionally, VOA broadcasts on shortwave. Surveys show more
than half of all Haitians listen to VOA programs weekly. The Voice of
America, which first went on the air in 1942, is a multimedia
international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. Government
through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts more than
1,250 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming
every week to an estimated worldwide audience of more than 134 million
people. Programs are produced in 45 languages. For more information, call the Public Relations Office at (202) 203-4959, or e-mail askvoa@voanews.com.
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