Most of us know by now that the Caribbean nation of Haiti has been devastated by an earthquake. Haiti is the poorest nation in the Americas and has been made even more destitute by this catastrophe. We have so little information about the number of casualties but it doesn't seem unreasonable to speak of thousands of deaths. In the capital, Port au Prince, at least one hospital, the presidential palace, the UN headquarters, and the Roman Catholic cathedral have crumbled. The head of the UN delegation died. A Canadian nurse who arrived only hours before the quake to work with a Christian organization was killed.
There is a strong Canadian connection with Haiti. Governor-General Michäelle Jean was born there and had an anxious night, attempting to reach family. There are more than 100,000 Haitian Canadians in the province of Quebec.
The United Church of Canada has already begun working with its church partners in Haiti. The moderator, Mardi Tindal, is inviting us to contribute to the United Church emergency relief fund. I hope your prayers will take the form of financial aid for this beleaguered nation. Read below about how the United Church responds to emergency situations.
http://www.united-church.ca/communications/news/response/how
The United Church of Canada has already begun working with its church partners in Haiti. The moderator, Mardi Tindal, is inviting us to contribute to the United Church emergency relief fund. I hope your prayers will take the form of financial aid for this beleaguered nation. Read below about how the United Church responds to emergency situations.
http://www.united-church.ca/communications/news/response/how
Thanks for the this information, David. What a catastrophe.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see that the nations of the world are mobilizing much more quickly than they did after the Asian tsunami. And that the Canadian government will be matching our contributions, dollar for dollar.
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