January 15, 2010
As most of you are aware of already, a major earthquake struck the capital of Haiti earlier this week, causing tremendous damage, chaos and hardship for the people there.  The latest estimate is that approximately 60% of all houses are in ruins or severely damaged and no less than 50.000 people may have died already with many more wounded and homeless without food and shelter.  Rescue teams from around the world are working frantically around the clock to help as best they can.

(see news links for further information):
CBC News
BBC News
CNN

Yesterday GEMS got a call from an organization in Vancouver already working in Haiti asking for help.  And today we also got a call from another organization in the Kamloops area with a similar request.   Both of these organizations have workers already on the ground in Haiti who fortunately were spared.  But according to them the situation is just horrible as so many people have died while others are wandering the streets aimlessly without any water, food or shelter.  The roads are also impassable especially to the outlying areas where these organizations work, and anxiety and fear are growing rapidly.

We at GEMS want to respond to this plea and as a result we will be working with these and other organizations already established there by sending aid to Haiti as soon as possible. Our aid package includes two 40-foot cargo containers with emergency relief goods such as construction material, food, clothing and medical supplies.  We will also be shipping PUR water solutions to purify the already contaminated water in the city of Port Au Prince and surrounding areas.

In order to do this we need your help.  First, please pray for the well-being of all the Canadian and international workers there as well as all the many nationals that are now suffering in Haiti.  Second, please help us with funds that are necessary to ship those containers and other aid that we plan to send to Haiti.  Third, we will also need non perishable food such as dehydrated soup mix, rice, powered milk, medical supplies and more.

What we need most at this point are the funds for shipping. For every dollar donated by individuals in Canada marked for humanitarian relief in Haiti the Canadian government has promised to match that gift with an equal amount.   Please help us to meet these needs as the situation is very dire.