Haiti Earthquakes

I was going to wait a little while longer to post. And it was going to be the pics I finally tracked down of The Journey of Homage. But there's so much going on in the world right now.

Just in case you missed it, there have been several significant earthquakes in Haiti quite near to the capital of Port-au-Prince. My understanding is that the devastation is simply... horrible. Imagine the dead and dying laying in the streets alongside the terrified and exhausted survivors because hospitals were wrecked and overloaded and the living were staying outside for fear of more aftershocks...

And just in case your imagination isn't that good, keep in mind that probably at least one of your Facebook friends, or a member of your church, or even a classmate or co-worker knows someone in Haiti. My heartfelt prayer go out to the people of Haiti and the people worldwide who know them.

Already there has been an appropriate outpouring of aid from many sources. Being who I am and doing what I do, of course, the first I became aware of is through the United Church of Christ. As the UCC's appeal puts it:

The need is massive.

How You Can Help:

1. Pray for the people of Haiti their leaders and emergency and humanitarian aid workers.

2. Please help the people of Haiti by sending gifts payable to your congregation marked for "OGHS – Haiti Earthquake Relief" with the request they be sent through your Conference office on to Wider Church Ministries.

OR

Send gifts, made out to Wider Church Ministries and marked in the memo portion "OGHS – Haiti Earthquake Relief" to Wider Church Ministries; 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115.

OR

Make a secure online donation to the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund.

The second came to me through a Connecticut based non-prophet angency called Handy Dandy Handyman, which is completely masterminded by a member of the Roman Catholic laity. HDHM introduced me to Father Rick Frechette. You can contribute to his charitable work in Haiti here if you click on "January 12, 9:06 PM Haiti’s newest tragedy. We need God’s help" under the heading "What's New?"
The third place comes to me through Dennis and Leslie, who have worked with International Medical Corps in the past. Dennis writes:

IMC is my favorite NGO; it's got an A+ rating from Charity Watch, meaning that more than 92% of its resources go directly to program activities. Some of you may remember them as the people who Leslie & I interned with in Sierra... Leone. They're good people, they work fast, and if you were wondering how to help out, here's a good place to start.

Unfortunately, there's also a lot of incorrect information bouncing around the internet, like this Twitter hoax that I've already seen careening around Facebook. I'm hoping that the information in this blog entry will be helpful to you. Please remember to always do the research before sending anyone your hard-earned money!

Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh Sander
011410