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Haiti Appeal

As news of the devastation caused by a major earthquake continues to pour out of Haiti, MRDF has sent £20,000 and launched an appeal that will provide emergency relief and long-term support to the survivors.

Over 50,000 people died when the earthquake, measuring 7 on the Richter Scale, and several powerful aftershocks struck Haiti on 12 January. There are fears that the death toll could reach 200,000.

The disaster has left millions of people without food, water or shelter and completely destroyed the frail infrastructure of the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. Over half of the country's schools were destroyed, as well as the presidential palace and other government buildings. The UN has called the Haiti earthquake the worst disaster it has ever faced.

Through our emergency partner, Action by Churches Together (ACT) International donations to our appeal will provide food, water, blankets and tents to thousands of people. The appeal will also fund counselling services and water and sanitation engineers, who will construct water purification systems and latrines that will help in the fight against cholera and other water-based diseases. We have already sent £20,000 to ACT to help facilitate this work. We are also channelling funds to the Methodist Church appeal, which is supporting long-term rehabilitation work in the country.

MRDF Director Kirsty Smith said: ‘This earthquake has caused major devastation to a country that was already battling extreme poverty. Key services and institutions have been totally destroyed. This appeal will help thousands of people deal with the immediate and longer term needs in the aftermath of this catastrophe.'

If you would like to pray for Haiti please click on the link to download a Prayer for Haiti PowerPoint.

A Prayer for Haiti PPT 2342 KB

To fully view and adapt the PowerPoint presentation for your own use, re-save it to your own computer by right-clicking the link and selecting 'Save Target As...'

Or you may prefer to use the prayer below:

Lord of all compassion,