Gurteen community collects more than € 1500 for stricken Haiti

HUGE crowds of walkers took to the roads surrounding Gurteen for a walk to help stricken people in Haiti.

Dubbed Harps for Haiti, it was the brainchild of local women Mary O’Hara and Patricia McDonagh who said they were devastated to see what the people of Haiti are going through. Local GAA club Eastern Harps also assisted in organising the event.

Mary said: “The Haitian people are having a very tough time of it, following the wake of Hurricane Matthew and now a cholera outbreak.

“We saw their plight on tv reports and decided we wanted to do something to help them out.

“So we thought about planning a walk in the village to see how much money we could raise.

“The local GAA club, Eastern Harps, helped greatly too. There was an option of either a 5km or an 8km route and we were delighted with the numbers who showed up on the Bank Holiday Monday afternoon.

“I contacted Haven for Haiti and the money will be going to help those most in need there.

“It’s already over € 1,500 and people can still donate if they wish, so the figure should increase more,” Mary said.

“It was incredible to get that much money and we are so appreciative of everyone who donated money to the cause.

“Thanks also to those who took part in the walk, helped out on the day and all from Eastern Harps who made sure it was a success,” Mary added.

Sending a bit of hope from south Sligo across the Atlantic to the Haitians.

Gurteen people came out in large numbers for Harps for Haiti, an event organised by local women Mary O’Hara and Patricia McDonagh to help the plight of the Haitian people following a devastating hurricane. More than € 1,500 was raised and counting.