Haiti Revisited

The herculean global effort to aid the people of Haiti continues. In my previous blog on the earthquake catastrophe on Haiti, I referenced Catholic Relief Services (CRS) as one of the many aid groups lending huge support to the island. But CRS is everywhere where there is a human need on a massive scale. The present suffering of the afflicted in Haiti is an everyday occurrence for the people in Africa, Central America and Asia. And CRS is there too! As an update on CRS's continuing effort in Haiti, I include the following report from the frontlines:

"CRS has provided food to more than 100,000 people in Port-au-Prince, many of whom are gathered at the city's largest camp run by CRS. Just days after the earthquake that killed an estimated 200,000 plus people and left as many as a million people without shelter, CRS turned a Port-au-Prince golf course into one of the first formal camps for the homeless, delivering food, water and hygiene materials to some 40,000 people. To date, CRS has raised more than $38 million for its emergency response. Donations have come from all groups within the United States and the world. For all the donations CRS has received, CRS is extremely grateful."

"As the weather clock turns on the island, the rainy and hurricane season begins soon. With no shelter for thousands, CRS has ordered 20,000 temporary shelter kits and planning for more. CRS and its medical teams continues to treat 300 people per day. They are starting to see a gradual change from acute wounds to more waterborne illnesses, such as diarrhea and typhoid."

The news of Haiti may be on the back pages of the papers and in our minds but the need persists to help our island neighbors. When John Paul II visited the United States in 1979, he retold the parable of the rich man and Lazarus; how the rich man enjoyed life and ignored the dying man, Lazarus, at his door. John Paul alerted the crowd at Yankee Stadium and said, "Lazarus is at your door, it is the Third World."

CRS has been working in Haiti for 55 years and will be there helping others for years to come. CRS will not abandon the needy.

Your help is urgently needed. Please donate large or small. Every dollar helps.

How to help: telephone 1.877.HELP.CRS; online www.crs.org

Thank you.