In the wake of devastation wrought by the earthquake which struck the island of Haiti on January 12, 2010, the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) and the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) are launching a joint relief effort to bring aid to the impoverished island nation.

On Easter Sunday, April 4, the UU Church of Muncie will devote its monthly designated offering to the Haiti relief work of the UUA. Members and friends of the congregation are encouraged to give generously to this effort. If you are unable to attend church on Easter, you can send a check to the church office with "Haiti Relief" on the memo line.

The Haitian Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA) estimates 2.2 million people are immediately affected in this nation of 9 million people.

Click here to make a contribution at the UUSC website.

More information on UUSC/UUA relief efforts can be found at this link.

According to the UUSC: "UUSC's disaster response in Haiti will focus on those survivors less likely to have access to aid, such as child domestic workers (restaviks), women-headed households that work in the informal sector, and people living with HIV/AIDS. Haiti has a vibrant grassroots movement with a vision of empowering people. UUSC will work closely with partners in this grassroots movement to reach those survivors at greatest risk of being overlooked. As of this afternoon (January13) we've already connected with three organizations and will be reaching out to others over the next 24 hours in order to shape our response."

Follow ongoing news about UU relief efforts at uua.org and uusc.org.

Locally, the Haitian priest, Father Andre, who had been serving at St. Francis in Muncie, is in Florida and thus was not in Haiti when the earthquake hit. That congregation is taking a Second Collection that will go to Catholic Relief Services.