Haiti Devastated by Earthquake - ACN Pledges €500,000
Haiti has been devastated by an earthquake that hit the island on Saturday 14 August. It is believed that over a thousand people lost their lives. ACN has pledged an emergency package of €500,000 to help the people of Haiti.
By ACN Staff
Earthquake devastation in Haiti. (Credit: P. Baudelaire Martial - CIFOR)
On Saturday 14 August, Les Cayes, Haiti, was hit by a devastating 7.2 magnitude earthquake. A total of 1300 people lost their lives in the earthquake. At least 5700 people were injured. This is according to information released by the Haitian civil protection agency on Monday 16 August. In response to this disaster Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has announced a €500,000 emergency aid package to Haiti.
Earthquake devastation in Haiti. (Credit: J-COM)
The executive president of ACN, Dr. Thomas Heine-Geldern, expressed his concern about the wider situation in Haiti:
“We have received some heartbreaking accounts. After all the political conflicts the country has suffered since 2019 and barely a month after the assassination of the President of the Republic, Jovenel Moïse, in early July, in the midst of the wave of violence and abductions that are afflicting the country and on top of the news reaching us of droughts and lack of water that have already plunged the rural population in still deeper poverty – on top of all this, the earthquake on Saturday has now inflicted on thousands of families a situation worse than all the rest. It is an impossible situation, and the people are in total shock.”
Dr. Heine-Geldern gives more details about impact of the earthquake:
“The quake, the epicentre of which was some 100 miles (160 km) from the capital, has mainly affected the south of the country, especially the dioceses of Les Cayes, Anse-á-Veau and Jeremie. The earthquake has disrupted the only access route to Jeremie, so that we have less information about this part of the island. But we know that it has also been badly affected.”
Dr. Thomas Heine-Geldern. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)
ACN has been in contact with our Church partners in Haiti. Dr. Heine-Geldern provides more details:
“At the same time, we are relieved to be able to report that our project partners have denied certain rumours, such as the one reported in some media to the effect that the Bishop of Les Cayes, Cardinal Chibly Langlois had been gravely wounded and buried under the rubble. The bishop’s house in Les Cayes has been totally destroyed, but the Cardinal himself was able to escape in time.
We are conscious of the great efforts made by the Church to offer signs of hope to the people in their desperate situation, after so many natural disasters and in the midst of the violence and extreme poverty. So at this difficult time we cannot abandon this Church, which is fighting to support its people. Moreover, we are filled with consternation at the news of the hurricane which is approaching the coast. We plea to you to pray for the country, to pray for all those who have lost their loved ones, those who have been wounded and those who have lost everything. May Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, Patroness and Protector of Haiti, bring them all support and consolation.”
ACN has been active in supporting the Church in Haiti. If you would like to help us provide emergency relief, please consider donating. You can select Haiti as the destination for your donation at the link below. Please keep Haiti in your prayers.