Damage caused by January's earthquake in Haiti ____________________________________________________________________________________ Estimates of the financial damage caused by January's earthquake in Haiti have climbed with the death toll estimates The New York Times cites a report that "estimates that the cost could be between $7.2 billion to $13.2 billion, based on a death toll from 200,000 to 250,000; earlier estimates had hovered around $5 billion." Haitian citizens are slowly coming to grips with the destruction that upended so many lives in such little time, but U.S. forces are beginning to wind down despite increasing need. Amid all of this, the needs of one group of Haitians in particular are in peril: those with disabilities. The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities stated that Haitians with disabilities - or those who became disabled in the wake of the earthquake - must not become "the forgotten ones during the emergency response and the reconstruction of the country." As Dale Buscher points out in his excellent op-ed in the Huffington Post, "People with disabilities are often overlooked, neglected and forgotten in disaster relief and humanitarian response. Yet they are among the most vulnerable of the affected, particularly if they have lost their traditional caregivers-extended families and neighbors." Indeed, in a country in which every citizen has become vulnerable, those with disabilities become even more vulnerable: when hundreds of people clamor for food aid, Buscher notes, the "likelihood of people with disabilities getting anything is remote." Likewise, temporary shelters, schools and other services must be made accessible to those with disabilities. Buscher observes that though "those living with disabilities were underserved in Haiti prior to the earthquake and were often shunned and stigmatized," efforts to rebuild the country offer "an opportunity to amend past neglect and discrimination and assist persons with disabilities to live richer, more dignified lives." My hope is that they harness the potential of the disabled community and realize that, just as everyone is vulnerable to a natural disaster, everyone deserves the opportunity to contribute to society. [url=http://www.mobility.co.uk/]Mobility Scooters[/url]