Call for Prayers and Donations for Haiti!

As most of you have probably heard, Haiti's capital city, Port-au-Prince, was hit almost directly with a 7.0 magnitude earthquake yesterday afternoon. In the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, shoddy construction is the norm. And in a city of over 2 million people, the devastation is mind-boggling vast: the death toll soaring over 100,000 is expected, as piles of bodies grow on every street; many, many people are still trapped under piles of rubble, waiting to be saved before it is too late, including many children underneath what used to be their schools; there have been so many thousands of people injured that there are not even remotely enough health professionals to treat them; many tens of thousands of people are now homeless, including many children, who are filling up makeshift orphanages as quickly as they are created; and those who survived are scrambling to find potable water and enough food to not perish in the aftermath. It is woefully grim, through and through.

Through the grace of God, the human family is intensely compassionate and cares for its own, and the spirit of generosity and love is pouring in from all corners of the globe, but much, much more is definitely immediately needed. I have listed some charitable organizations below (from msnbc). If you can afford to spare any money, please do so. You can even text a donation on your cell phone. But if not, at the very least, I beg you pray for the victims, especially all of those still trapped under the rubble, that they be rescued before it's too late, particularly the dear children. God be with Haiti as they deal with the worst catastrophe in their history.


Please contact the organizations below right away:

Action Against Hunger, 877-777-1420
American Red Cross, 800-733-2767
American Jewish World Service, 212-792-2900
AmeriCares, 800-486-4357
Beyond Borders, 866-424-8403
CARE, 800-521-2273
Catholic Relief Services, 800-736-3467
Childcare Worldwide, 800-553-2328
Direct Relief International, 805-964-4767
Doctors Without Borders, 888-392-0392
Feed My Starving Children, 763-504-2919
Food for the Poor, 800-427-9104
Friends of WFP, 866-929-1694
Haiti Children, 877-424-8454
Haiti Marycare, 203-675-4770
Haitian Health Foundation, 860-886-4357
Hope for Haiti, 239-434-7183
International Medical Corps, 800-481-4462
International Rescue Committee, 877-733-8433
International Relief Teams, 619-284-7979
Lutheran World Relief, 800-597-5972
Medical Teams International, 800-959-4325
Meds and Food for Kids, 314-420-1634
Mennonite Central Committee, 888-563-4676
Mercy Corps, 888-256-1900
Operation Blessing, 800-730-2537
Operation USA, 800-678-7255
Oxfam, 800-776-9326
Partners in Health, 617-432-5298
Rural Haiti Project, 347-405-5552
The Salvation Army, 800-725-2769
Samaritan's Purse, 828-262-1980
Save the Children, 800-728-3843
UNICEF, 800-367-5437
World Concern, 800-755-5022
World Hope International, 888-466-4673
World Relief, 800-535-5433
World Vision, 888-511-6548

Yele Haiti, 212-352-0552 Wyclef Jean's grassroots org (Text Yele to 501 501 to donate $5 via your cellphone)

Also, you can simply text "HAITI" to "90999" and a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross.



Links:

The story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34829978/ns/world_news-americas/?GT1=43001

How to help: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34835478/ns/world_news-haiti_earthquake/