Terrible Events in Haiti

It's unusual for me to blog during the week, but like many others I have been affected by the terrible eartquake in Haiti. Obviously I haven't been affected as in the true sense, because I wasn't there. I have been affected emotionally though.

All disasters like this have some impact on me because as a Christian I hate to see anybody suffering. However, this has hit me particularly hard. Let me explain. My absolute favourite place on earth to go on holiday to is the Domican Republic (Haiti's neighbour), the place is amazing, the people are so friendly and the rum very cheap!! Many people in the Dominican are from Haiti and many of them have relatives there. My wife and I have always felt a very special connection with this island, it is where we spent our honeymoon. We purchased some pieces of artwork which were either painted in Haiti or inspired by Haitian style, one of these takes pride of place in our living room, and the others are waiting to be hung.

The people in that part of the world have so little, but offer so much. As a rule they are so friendly and warm. The Dominicans and the Haitians are the same, with the exception that the Dominican have a little more and a slightly better quality of life, largely thanks to the tourist trade. Sadly, the Haitians have not had this benefit and their past oppressive governments still have lasting consequences to this day. The country is exceptionally poor, yet the people are somehow very strong, they have survived dictatorships and they will survive this latest tragedy.

But they need our help. If we all donated a little then the relief effort would be even better, and the people of Haiti could see how much the rest of the world care.

I only found out yesterday that the Anglican Catholic Church (my church) actually have an orphanage and mission in Haiti, in Port-au-Prince. It was destroyed by the earthquake, but by the mercy of God the children and the caregivers escaped major injury. According to the Vicar General in Haiti, Father Bien-Amie, many of the people of the parishes are still unaccounted for. We have all read the headlines and seen the images on the news, the likely consequences are devastating. These people have so little, and now it would appear that they have lost so much of that, yet we have seen them on tv singing hymns, etc....despite everything they still have faith, this must serve as an inspiration to us all.

I urge anyone reading this to do a couple of things. Please pray for the people of Haiti, for their friends and family, pray for the souls of those who lost their lives, pray that the suffering may be eased. Please also pray for all of our friends in the ACC, in particular for Father Bien-Amie and all of the priests there, that they may be given strength to help those in need. Pray for the caregivers and children at the orphanage.

Please also donate anything you can. You can make a donation through the Anglican Catholic Church website. Click on the 'News' link and follow the instructions www.anglicancatholic.org.uk The Anglican Catholic Church has launched a formal appeal, so please, please help!

I appreciate that some of us may have very little to give, but they have even less.

That website again is www.anglicancatholic.org.uk click on the 'News' link, and follow the instructions, donations can be made by cheque or postal order, or via PayPal. It is also worth mentioning that the ACC UK is a registered charity and you can also gift aid your donation, all of the details are on the website.