Devastation in Haiti – What Can We Do?

“One of the poorest and least developed countries in the world, Haiti in recent years has struggled with problems ranging from near-constant political upheaval, health crises, severe environmental degradation and an annual barrage of hurricanes, which killed an estimated 800 people and caused vast damage in 2008.

On Jan. 12, 2010, a massive earthquake struck Haiti, [reducing] much of its capital [city] to rubble. It was the worst in the region in more than 200 years, with thousands feared dead. The phsyical devastation created serious obstacles to delivering promised foreign aid…” (From NYTimes)

In response to this recent tragedy in Haiti, a friend of mine working down here in NOLA posted “It feels really sad to be in the middle of rebuilding one city and then reading about another one getting completely leveled. I’m trying to get work done, but I can’t stop thinking about Haitians today.”  I think he put into eloquent expression what a lot of us are feeling.

I urge everyone in the PCO family to think about how they can respond to this crisis – as they have already shown their capacity for great love by responding to the crisis in the Gulf Coast four years ago.  Christ calls us to reach out to our brothers and sisters in their times of need.

Out of many wonderful groups that are attempting to respond to this emergency, Partners in Health is one with which I have a personal connection, and one that I trust completely to do a good, efficient, and loving job of taking care of the people of Haiti.   I have received emails from them asking for our help, and they state that their greatest need right now is financial help.  Please consider looking into this really great organization and donating here.

Another really great way to help is through Christian-based groups , like the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (who also fund us!) and the United Methodist Committee on Relief.