UK churches offer prayers and donations for Haiti response

Thousands of churches across the UK are set to make Haiti a focus of their prayers and giving during services today.

They will be collecting on behalf of the emergency appeal launched by the DEC in the wake of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit the Caribbean nation last week.

The appeal has already raised £12 million in just over two days and churches hope to add significantly to that amount.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown praised the British public for its generosity.

"The generosity of people's spirit, our willingness to give even when some people have so little to give, humbles me," he was quoted as saying by the BBC.

Oenone Chadburn, Head of DEC member Tearfund’s Disaster Management Unit, said today: ‘My husband is half-Haitian, and we have spent the last few days praying and searching online for news of family and friends.

"We have lost one person, and we’re grieving that loss.

"We’re very encouraged that our fellow Christians will be praying and giving to the DEC Appeal this Sunday, as we stand with our brothers and sisters in Haiti at this time."

The DEC funds will go towards the ongoing search for the dead and survivors, as well as basic necessities like clean water, food, shelter, and medical supplies.

The scale of the disaster has hampered the efforts of aid agencies to bring emergency relief to the survivors. There are reportedly not enough body bags for the dead lying in the streets, and aid agencies say clean water supplies are dwindling fast.

Nick Guttmann, head of Christian Aid’s humanitarian division, said today: "The practical needs in tackling this disaster are enormous. The question of access must be speedily addressed to get relief to the worst hit areas.

"It is also crucial to ensure that there are secure areas where supplies can be distributed in a fair manner. The rapid provision of food, water, medical supplies and shelter and blankets is essential."

DEC member agencies who work directly with churches, including Cafod, Christian Aid, Tearfund and World Vision, have made resources available to churches to help them to pray. Christian Aid has produced a prayer which can be downloaded from www.christianaid.org.uk and Tearfund are offering churches a Powerpoint of images to help them reflect on the scale of the crisis at www.tearfund.org/haitiprayer

To make a donation to the DEC Haiti appeal visit www.dec.org.uk