help Haiti.

By now you've probably heard about the earthquake. At first I thought, "oh, 7.0 earthquake, that's not good." Then the fact that it happened in Haiti began to sink in. The ONE campaign puts it better than I can.

Disasters like this one are especially devastating when they strike places that are already struggling to provide the most basic of services for its population. With weak government and private sector institutions, and with uncertain security conditions, Haiti is the poorest, least developed country in the Western Hemisphere, and the majority of Haitians live in poverty. The sheer scale of poverty in the country means that the government has limited capacity to meet even the simplest needs of its people, let alone address a disaster of this magnitude. Haiti’s lack of development — which translates into a lack of government capacity for emergency preparedness — magnifies the impact of this tragedy. In addition to creating a very real and immediate humanitarian tragedy, this earthquake and the struggle to navigate its aftermath will be an enormous setback to the hard-won gains that Haiti has achieved in recent years in securing a more stable environment and fighting poverty.

We live in a land of plenty and have the opportunity to give. I urge you to practice sacrificial giving as God calls us to do.

Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup — where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?

James 2:14-17 (The Message)

We plan to give via World Vision: they have been working in Haiti for the past 30 years and set up a fund specifically to respond to this crisis. (Charity Navigator gives World Vision 4 stars and 87% of the money they raise goes directly to the programs — fiscal responsibility is a high priority.) Click on any of the links to donate.

World Vision is rushing emergency supplies to thousands of people left homeless by the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti yesterday. It is reported that up to 3 million people have been affected and current estimates indicate as many as 100,000 are feared to be dead or injured. Your help is needed now!

"We would be very concerned about a quake of this magnitude anywhere in the world, but it is especially devastating in Haiti, where people are acutely vulnerable because of poor infrastructure and extreme poverty," said Edward Brown, World Vision’s relief director.

World Vision has worked in Haiti for 30 years and has some 370 staff members on the ground. World Vision is distributing emergency survival kits — including food, water, blankets and tents — to provide immediate aid to affected children and families. We are also providing emergency health services to the injured.

Your prayers, and your support, are crucial right now. It is only because of friends like you that we can meet the urgent needs of Haiti's earthquake survivors.

The people who live in Haiti already have suffered so much from poverty, disease and unrest. Please pray for children and their families who have been affected by this disaster, and for World Vision's staff as they provide emergency relief in the days and weeks ahead, and over the coming years as they rebuild. Pray that God will bring hope out of despair as He builds a new Haiti from the rubble.