Help for Haiti

The stories about Haiti's earthquake paint a dire picture of what the Haitian people are facing. Some accounts speculate that perhaps 100,000 people have lost their lives. As the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti isn't well equipped to cope with the fallout from the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck two days ago.

The most recent reports point out that, added to the challenge of finding survivors and getting food and water where it is needed, there is also the looming problem of untreated disease that could claim many more lives if proper nutrition and medical treatment are not available.

I traveled to Haiti on two different occasions about a decade ago to work with the Christian Mission of Pignon in the small town of Pignon on Haiti's north central plateau. The country I experienced was remarkably lacking in basic infrastructure. And with no resources to fall back on in times of emergency such as this, the suffering of Haiti's people will only be multiplied.

The United Methodist Church is gearing up to respond in anyway it can. I want to invite you to prayerfully consider making a contribution to the relief efforts in Haiti. The United Methodist Committee on Relief - or UMCOR - is already working to get needed supplies into the country. UMCOR has got a special advance fund set up to provide Haiti with immediate crisis relief. You can give an offering via UMCOR's online giving service at this link.

For anyone reading this post in the Durham, North Carolina, area, you should be aware that Epworth United Methodist Church has volunteered to serve as a clearing station for emergency relief supplies that will be sent to the MERCI station at Goldsboro this weekend. The specific supplies that are needed right now are related to triage care, so you'll need to contact the church to get that list before you start gathering donations. Epworth UMC is located at 4002 Hope Valley Road in Durham, and you can contact the church during the day by calling 919-489-6557. The church is asking that donations be brought either during normal business hours on Friday or during the morning on Sunday.

Other links:
-- Link to Haiti donation site for the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)

-- Link to Haiti donation site for the American Red Cross

-- Listing of UMCOR stories on the Haiti earthquake

-- Listing of news stores and blog posts at the main UMC website

-- Op/ed article on the earthquake disaster by Tracy Kidder, the author of an excellent book on Dr. Paul Farmer's work in Haiti entitled, Mountains Beyond Mountains

-- Link to the homepage of Partners in Health, which is the organization probably doing the best healthcare work in Haiti. Provides a way to donate to earthquake relief through PIH on the site