Digicel and Leading Mobile Phone Manufacturers Donate 50,000 Phones to Support Relief Efforts in Haiti

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti – Digicel, the largest mobile operator in the Caribbean and fastest growing operator in Central America and the Pacific, has come together with a number of leading mobile phone manufacturers to distribute over 50,000 handsets and credit worth more than US$2 million to a variety of non-Government and non-profit organisations in Haiti.

Thanks to the generosity of handset manufacturers LG, Alcatel, Nokia, Samsung, RIM, ZTE and SIM card supplier Gemalto, over 30,000 phones have already been distributed to over 150 organisations by Digicel. These include the International Organization for Migration (IOM) which assists in the management of camp sites housing displaced Haitians, WorldVision, Save the Children, Concern, Fonkoze, UNICEF, Partners in Health, Catholic Relief Services and Médecins Sans Frontières, to name but a few. Earthquake researchers, mobile health clinics and sanitation and shelter specialists have also received handsets and credit — as well as hospital and orphanage staff.

Digicel Group CEO, Colm Delves, said: “Since the magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti four months ago, a massive relief effort has been underway to support the people of Haiti. Thousands of volunteers from around the world have been working around the clock with a number of NGOs, and non-profit organisations. Given the sheer scale of the project to rebuild Haiti, being able to stay in touch with colleagues, as well as friends and family abroad, is vitally important.

“I would like to say thank you to our major handset suppliers for coming out to support us in our efforts to ensure that those who are working tirelessly to rebuild Haiti continue to enjoy the reliable communications which are critical to their work,” he continued.

Director of World Vision in Haiti, Franck Williams, said: “We are very grateful to Digicel and to the mobile phone manufacturers for this fantastic donation. With widespread infrastructure in Haiti still poor, and an influx in the number of aid workers, having reliable and efficient mobile communications is critical to the ongoing relief efforts ensuring that we can keep in contact with each other — and our counterparts — across the country.”

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.

As the single largest investor in Haiti with a total investment of over US$370 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 to date over US$800,000 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.