HURRICANE/TROPICAL STORM IRENE RELIEF

From Episcopal News Service come reports of damage in the Eastern United States from Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene.

Katie Mears, Episcopal Relief & Development manager for its U.S. disaster program, said Aug. 29 that the amount of damage from Irene "seems to vary widely from place to place."

"Some people were able to stay in their homes and are now just waiting for the power to come back on; others were evacuated and are returning to try and salvage what they can from their flood-soaked homes and businesses," she said in a press release.

"We are still in the very early stages of assessment and planning in partnership with local dioceses," said Mears. "I have been in contact with a number of the diocesan disaster coordinators from impacted areas, and they will be working with diocesan leadership to see what needs to be done and how churches can help."

Here's the link to Episcopal Relief & Development, to donate to help with hurricane relief.

US Hurricane Relief

Gifts to this fund will enable Episcopal Relief & Development to support the hurricane response efforts of dioceses in the United States. In the wake of these events, we partner with local dioceses and churches to provide essential supplies such as food, water and medical care to those in need. Donations to the US Hurricane Relief Fund at this time will assist dioceses impacted by Hurricane Irene.

HAITI - ONE YEAR AND ONE DAY AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE

From the AP via the Miami Herald:

The air was choked with memory Wednesday in this city where everyone lost a brother, a child, a cousin or a friend. One year after the earthquake, Haitians marched down empty, rubble-lined streets singing hymns and climbed broken buildings to hang wreaths of flowers.

The landscape is much as the quake left it, thanks to a reconstruction effort that has yet to begin addressing the intense need. But the voices were filled with hope for having survived a year that seemed to get worse at every turn.

"We've had an earthquake, hurricane, cholera, but we are still here, and we are still together," said Charlemagne Sintia, 19, who joined other mourners at a soccer stadium that served as an open-air morgue after the quake and later housed a tent camp.

The Haitian government estimates the number of deaths at 316,000. Bodies are still being found in the rubble, so the number will go higher. Approximately one million people remain homeless.

The people of Haiti still need our help. I give through Episcopal Relief and Development, because the organization has low overhead, and the donations go where they are needed, to help those who need help. Also ERD pays local people to do the work of cleaning-up and rebuilding.