PWRDF Responds to Haiti Earthquake

Action By Churches Together

Hundreds, maybe thousands, of people were buried alive when a major earthquake struck Port-au-Prince, the capital of impoverished Haiti on Tuesday. The magnitude 7.0 quake sent panic-stricken people into the streets. Offices, hotels, houses and shops collapsed, and people were screaming “Jesus, Jesus”, not knowing where to run. The presidential palace lay in ruins, and many churches have been destroyed. Members of ACT Alliance are already in place, assisting those affected by the earthquake. The ACT Secretariat in Geneva is coordinating the relief operations of its members, and more details will follow in the coming hours.

Massive destruction
The city is without electricity, the telephone network has broken down. The UN headquarter has collapsed. People are sitting in the streets with nowhere to go. The office of ACT member Christian Aid was destroyed, but staff were unharmed and are now responding to the emergency.

John Nduna, the General Secretary of ACT Alliance expresses condolences with the affected families and with UN and other organizations that have lost their people in the buildings.

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, also expresses condolences and solidarity with the people of Haiti. “Once again they have experienced the great burdens of anguish, damage, and death because of a natural catastrophe. They have already carried many burdens of political instability and poverty,” Fykse Tveit says.

Hit again
In 2004 more than 3,000 people died because of Hurricane Jeanne which passed over the northwest city of Gonaives. The same area was hit again in 2008 when four tropical storm systems passed through the region. In 2004 political instability led to the ousting of the President Jean-Baptiste Aristide.

Make a Donation

On-line
At the CanadaHelps website.

By Phone
For credit card donations contact
Jennifer Brown
416-924-9192 ext. 320
1-866-308-7973
Please do not send your credit card number by e-mail or fax.

By Mail
Please make cheques out to "PWRDF", mark them for "Haiti earthquake".

and send them to:
The Primate's World Relief and Development Fund
The Anglican Church of Canada
80 Hayden Street
Toronto, Ontario M4Y 3G2

PWRDF Donations Contact:
Jennifer Brown jbrown[at]pwrdf.org
416-924-9192 ext. 320
1-866-308-7973

PWRDF Humanitarian Response Coordinator
Naba Gurung
416-924-9192 ext. 321
ngurung[at]pwrdf.org