Haiti Earthquake Updates

February 2, 2010

Thanks to God’s enduring abundance, expressed through the overwhelming generosity of United Church members across Canada, donations for the church's Haiti Appeal as of February 1 surpassed the half-million dollar mark and now total more than $543,000! Words cannot express the gratitude we feel toward God and the people of God’s church, people of all ages and walks of life who have so richly given of their time and money to help the people of Haiti.

As reported in earlier updates, we are continuing to keep in close touch with United Church partners in Haiti to assess and respond to their needs. We are also working closely with sister Canadian churches under the banner of Canadian Churches in Action (CCA) to complete an application to the Government of Canada (CIDA) for matching fund status. Late last week we received the information and details we needed from ACT Alliance (Action by Churches Together) to develop a proposal. When we receive an affirmative response from CIDA, we will be able to respond more fulsomely in support of Haitians' efforts to begin the difficult and challenging task of reconstructing their lives.

To date, the United Church has shared $60,000 with its partners in Haiti and $100,000 with the ACT Alliance.

ACT staff on the ground in Haiti have worked around the clock, in very difficult circumstances, to assess needs and gather the accurate data needed for the most effective aid interventions. The United Church will continue to channel funds both through ACT and directly to Haitian partner organizations.

ACT Alliance staff in Haiti report that, in areas where they have been working, food is moving, clean water is running, and Haitians have shelter. ACT photographer Paul Jeffrey has visually documented some of ACT's work. His narrated sequence of still photographs can be viewed on YouTube.