Hello All,
If you listen to the Life on Fire podcast, you may already know that Tanya and I support various organizations that assist the poor and suffering in Haiti. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and is constantly plagued with natural disasters due to its location on the globe. This held true for a disaster that struck yesterday evening.
Around 5pm EST a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck the capital city of Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area. This was followed by several aftershocks of over 5.0 . This has resulted in the entire infrastructure of the country collapsing. Government buildings have crumbled to the ground, hospitals and schools are in rubble and because the phone and electric lines are down, nobody knows exactly how many people are injured or dead.
The Red Cross is putting out a request for assistance as is Food for the Poor and the Haitian Health Foundation. All of these organizations have a history of providing quality aide to Haiti, not just in disaster situations, but, on a regular basis. These organizations provide food, medicine and educational resources to Haiti.
As bad as things were in Haiti prior to this quake, things are significantly worse now. Roads are completely blocked by the rubble from buildings and from landslides, hindering rescue efforts. At this point, we all need to take an “all hands on deck” mentality. Sending food, water, clothing, school supplies and medicine is not going to help at this point. The supplies will take months before they reach Haiti through these charitable organizations. The best bet at this point is to give money to these organizations.
Tanya and I both agreed that we should take some money out of our savings to do some extra donations to support Haiti in this crisis. We aren’t bragging about this, just stating that we feel that it is very important to help the people of Haiti during this time of crisis.
God calls us to provide food for the hungry, clothing for the naked, and shelter for the homeless. In this extreme disaster situation, we need to do whatever we can as God’s people to help restore peace, security and order in Haiti. We have no idea how many families have been devastated by this disaster and how much even a small amount of money will help. Don’t forget that organizations such as Food for the Poor and the Haitian Health Foundation have relationships with food and drug groups that provide low-cost solutions to help Haiti. Even $5 can make a HUGE difference.
So please, I beg of you, give something to help the people of Haiti. They need monetary support for relief workers, food, shelter and clean water more than ever in this time of crisis. Keep in mind that when you give to these organizations, it may not seem like much, but it truly changes lives and helps people.
Below are donation links to the three organizations listed above. Tanya and I donated to Food for the Poor and to the Haitian Health Foundation as these groups provide more aid per dollar than the Red Cross does. However, the Red Cross does have more resources to get people out to Haiti quickly so, you may want to donate to them as well. All of these are non-profit organizations and are tax deductible.
Thank you for your kindness and help!