VOA标准英语2010年-Sierra Leoneans Support Victims of Hai

Six weeks after an earthquake devastated¹ Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, Sierra Leoneans have come together to contribute to recovery efforts.

Popular Sierra Leonean musician and producer, Jimmy B, wrote a song for Haiti.  He performed it at a benefit concert held in Freetown recently to raise money for relief efforts in the Caribbean island nation.

Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world.  But Naasu Fofanah, organizer of the Haiti benefit concert, says that is no excuse.

"We organized this benefit concert, the first reason is for the Haitian people to know that regardless of the fact that we stand alongside them on the human development index, that is not an excuse, poverty is not an excuse for us not to empathize with their situation," Fofana said.

Twenty Sierra Leonean artists performed for free, including popular political rapper Emmerson and the Liberian songstress Miatta Fambuleh.  The U.N. Peacebuilding Mission donated logistical support for the event.

Even though tickets cost less than three dollars, the concert has raised a total of $8,500 and donations are still coming in thanks to a text message service that allows people to donate mobile phone credit to the cause.

The money will go to support two Haitian organizations working on relief efforts.

The non-profit organization, One Dome² At A Time, set up by Haitian-born rapper Won-G builds low-cost earthquake and hurricane-resistant homes in Haiti.

The other recipient³ is Lamp for Haiti, an organization providing basic healthcare and humanitarian⁴ aid in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince.

On January 20, Sierra Leone's president Ernest Bai Koroma sent $100,000 to Haiti for victims of the earthquake.

 

1 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

2 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

3 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

4 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。