Islamic Relief Working to Help People of Haiti
A massive earthquake has struck the Caribbean island of Haiti. Thousands are feared dead with many more seriously injured.
Islamic Relief has launched an appeal for £1 million to respond to the disaster.
The epicentre of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake was just 16 kilometres from the capital Port-au-Prince. Much of the city is made up of slums and poorly constructed houses that would not be able to withstand an earthquake.
The scale of the disaster is not yet known as all communication lines are currently down. But there are reports that homes, government buildings and hotels have collapsed, with people still being dug out of the rubble.
The earthquake struck at 5pm local time on Tuesday 12th January 2010 and many people have spent the night on the streets. Several strong aftershocks caused further chaos and panic.
Hospitals are struggling to cope with the large numbers of injured people and there is an urgent need for emergency medical care, food, clean water and shelter.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, and struggles from endemic poverty, food shortages and violence. It has suffered from many recent natural disasters including serious hurricanes and storms in 2008.
Please donate and help us to respond to this disaster.
ISNA
ISNA Sets Up Haiti Aid Fund, Calls on American Muslims to Help Victims
Source: ISNA
PLAINFIELD, IN (January 13, 2010) — The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) joins all Muslims in offering condolences for the terrible loss of life and property in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Hundreds of thousands of people may have been killed and injured after a deadly earthquake struck Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck shortly before 5 p.m. Tuesday, centered about 10 miles (15 kilometers) southwest of Port-au-Prince, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. It could be felt strongly in eastern Cuba, more than 200 miles away.
Haiti, one of the poorest countries of the world, was devastated by the earthquake with the most heavily populated areas being hardest hit.
ISNA has established a special Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund (HERF) to aid the victims of the earthquake. “We established the fund because we realize the magnitude of the devastation and feel we are morally compelled to contribute to alleviate the suffering in Haiti,” said secretary general Safaa Zarzour.
ISNA appeals to all Muslim Americans to donate generously to HERF or any of the other relief organizations which are aiding the victims of the Haiti earthquake. ISNA will work with the Muslim and interfaith communities to ensure that donations are directed toward providing humanitarian relief to affected Haitians.
“I call on all members of the Muslim Community to provide whatever help they can in the form of volunteers and donations as well as to pray for the victims of this horrible disaster,” said Dr. Ingrid Mattson, President of ISNA.
Donations may be made to “Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund” and sent to ISNA headquarters (P. O. Box 808, Plainfield, Indiana 46168) or donate online.
Contact:
Louay Safi, Director
Communications and Leadership Development
louay@isna.net
(317) 838-8130
American Red Cross
American Red Cross Haiti outreach has begun and the organization is posting updates on how you can help on its Twitter account, Facebook page, and Disaster Online Newsroom.
The Red Cross has been posting frequent updates to Twitter. Recently, it announced that it is upping its pledge to assist in Haiti relief efforts from $200,000 to $1 million. It also tweeted an excerpt from its Skype conversation with the head of its Haiti delegation.
For those who want to help, the Red Cross is accepting donations through its International Response Fund. You can donate to this fund here.
You can also text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to American Red Cross relief efforts for Haiti. The amount will be added to your cell phone credit card bill.
For more information and breaking news updates, see the American Red Cross Disaster Online Newsroom.
Follow the latest Haiti earthquake breaking news and Haiti earthquake Twitter updates.
The Islamic Workplace 
Posted on January 13, 2010
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