Earthquake Update – What Do We Do?

Ways to Partner , , , , , , , , , 17 Comments

Tom here, I’ve spent about 90% of the last 6 hours glued to my computer as I’ve been attempting to find out how things are going at God’s Littlest Angels and also attempt to grasp the severity of what’s going on there.    Here’s a couple of things I know at this moment:

  • This is without a doubt the biggest natural disaster that has ever hit Haiti.
  • While God’s Littlest Angels has been spared the worst of it, many of their families and many many of the rest of the people in Haiti are not so fortunate.
  • At the time that we’re writing this, the full extent of the damage isn’t known because it’s too dark to see.   But let’s put it this way, in downtown Port Au Prince, the Presidential Palace, the Parliament Building, the Justice Building, the UN Headquarters and the US Embassy have all either collapsed or experienced substantial damage. That’s like the White House, the Capital Building, the Supreme Court Building, The Senate Office Building and the Smithsonian all getting wiped out in Washington DC.
  • If the buildings in downtown Port Au Prince couldn’t withstand an earthquake of this magnitude, imagine the poorly constructed homes that the majority of Haitians live in.    They don’t stand a chance.

I’ve already had a lot of people ask me, “Hey Tom, what can I do to help?”   Well, here’s the plan.   Let me explain:

  • As the GLA board, we had informal long range discussions at our board retreat in November about how we wanted, over the next number of years, increase the opportunities that we would have to be able to help the community and improve the lives of more Haitians.
  • We never anticipated that we’d be presented the opportunity to help in such a drastic and historically awful situation and so soon.
  • But God has not just opened up an opportunity for us to help, He has literally thrown open the doors and is pushing us through them.

The people in Haiti need our help and because the need is so great and so urgent, we are launching what we’re calling our 1000 x 1000 campaign.

What’s the 1000 X 1000 Campaign?  It’s pretty simple:

  • We want to find 1000 people anywhere in the world who are willing to raise $1000 each to help the people in Haiti.
  • Will GLA use all of the money for themselves?    Nope – because they’ve survived pretty well.   There will be additional expenses that they’ll have, but relatively minor compared to the others down in Port Au Prince.

But this is a huge opportunity for GLA to be the Hands and Feet of God in Haiti.

How awesome would it be for GLA to be able to come to the aid of so many others?

How awesome would it be for GLA to be able to help other missions in Haiti make a difference in the lives of the Haitians who already suffered so much and now had to live through this?

So, as you read this, can you help us?   Can you go ask 10 of your friends to donate $100?

It’s that simple.   We find 1000 people who go out and each get 10 friends to donate $100 and we can make a big difference.

Call me at (616) 292-7559 or e-mail me at tvanderwell@sbcglobal.net if you have questions.  Otherwise, click on the “widget” below and make a donation and then go tell 10 or more of your friends to do the same.

The people of Haiti need us to help.

Our God requires that we not sit by idly but do our part.

Thanks,

Tom Vanderwell, Board Member since 2006,  Parent of two of God’s Littlest Angels since 2004

Want to make a difference for the kids in Haiti? Consider donating.