The Archdiocese of Toronto has opened a humanitarian relief fund to assist Haiti, which in recent days has been stricken by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake and a tropical storm.
At least 1,900 people are dead, 9,000 are injured and 30,000 are homeless after a strong earthquake devastated the country on Saturday, August 14, 2021. Many people with habitable houses were sleeping outside due to fear of aftershocks causing more damage. Then on Monday evening, Tropical Storm Grace dumped more than 30 cm of rainfall onto Haiti’s coastal areas, resulting in floods and mudslides.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and is unable to adequately respond to these natural disasters without international assistance. The country was already responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, worsening gang violence and a presidential assassination on July 7, 2021.
The Archdiocese of Toronto will send donations through Caritas Internationalis, an international confederation of Catholic humanitarian organizations with a long history of disaster relief. Caritas is already on the ground assisting Haitians, as it has been when other disasters have struck that country.
Donations to Caritas will be used for food, water, shelter, clothing and medical supplies.
Those wishing to help may do so in the following ways:
Name of Parish – Natural Disasters in Haiti – Disaster Relief
Please continue to pray for the people of Haiti and all those who suffer after natural disasters. Thank you for your continued assistance.