See Beyonce’s Humanitarian Trip to Haiti in Exclusive Video
Singer visited the struggling country's only children’s hospital.
— -- Beyoncé’s reach is global, and she’s now using her influence to highlight Haiti, the Caribbean nation that continues to suffer since it was devastated by an earthquake five years ago.
Last month Beyoncé visited Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, and while there, she went to Saint Damien Pediatric Hospital, the only children’s hospital in Haiti.
The hospital is funded exclusively by private donations and provides high-quality care to the poor, charging patients a small fee.
Beyoncé met with doctors, cancer patients and newborns in a specialized intensive care unit, one of only a few such units in the impoverished country.
Exclusive video of the superstar at the hospital shows her wearing a T-shirt to bring awareness to her charity, Bey Good, which raised money for the hospital. The t-shirts are now available for sale with all proceeds going directly to Saint Damien Pediatric Hospital.
Beyoncé held hands and laughed with the children there, and posted several images of her trip on Instagram.
Beyoncé’s efforts bring awareness to St. Damien, said Dr. Jacqueline Gautier, the hospital’s executive director.
“We need to raise money and gain all attention we can gather ...,” Gautier said.
Beyoncé’s visit was part of a United Nations humanitarian effort.
The magnitude-7.0 earthquake Jan., 12, 2010, left as many as 300,000 people dead and leveled Port-au-Prince.
Today, 40 percent of Haiti’s population is unemployed. Thousands of people are still living in temporary, post-earthquake camps and cholera – a gastrointestinal infection that can be spread through the consumption of contaminated water and food – is an epidemic.