SCIAF’s Haiti earthquake appeal
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An injured child receives treatment (Photo: Reuters/Eduardo Munoz, courtesy of www.alertnet.org)
SCIAF is appealing for urgent donations to help millions of people following a massive earthquake in Haiti.
The Roman Catholic charity is working with partners in the country to provide first aid, food, water, blankets and temporary shelter but more emergency aid is desperately needed.
The devastating 7.0 magnitude quake – the worst to hit the country in over two hundred years – struck on Tuesday evening (January 12), completely destroying large areas of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince.
Hundreds of thousands of people are feared dead and thousands more have been badly injured. Rescue teams are battling to free survivors trapped beneath piles of rubble. Many families are sleeping in the streets and it is thought that up to 3 million people may have been affected by the disaster.
SCIAF Chief Executive Paul Chitnis said: “SCIAF has launched an emergency appeal to help us provide urgent supplies of clean water, sanitation and temporary shelter to thousands of people in the disaster zone. We would urge the public to give whatever they can to help us get immediate support to those most in need.
“SCIAF is extremely concerned about the situation on the ground which has left many dead, thousands injured and potentially millions in urgent need of emergency aid.
“Haiti is already the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere and home to one of the world’s largest slums, the Cité Soleil. It is beyond comprehension that this tragedy should affect people already existing on the margins of society.
“As more details emerge from Haiti, it is becoming clear that a great deal of long term support will be needed to help the country make a full recovery from the disaster.”
SCIAF has worked in Haiti for over 20 years. It is speaking to its partners in the country to establish how it can best support the continuing relief operation. It will also be providing emergency aid through Caritas Internationalis – a global network of Catholic aid agencies – which sent an emergency response team to Haiti within 24 hours of the disaster.
• Full story at SCIAF.
