Appeals for Haiti launched by the Methodist Church World Mission Fund and MRDF have raised more than £805,000.

Donations to both MRDF and to the Church’s own World Mission Fund are supporting the emergency relief and long-term rehabilitation work being carried out by the Methodist Church in Haiti. Revd. Dr. Leslie Griffiths and Revd. Tom Quenet have just returned from Haiti where they have been helping the Methodist Church in the Caribbean identify the best ways to which your donations can be put to work. Their reports are harrowing: The need is greater than we could ever have imagined. Please consider going the extra mile and making a further donation.

The Revd George Mulrain, President of the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas, said “Our contribution to Haiti does not wait until a disaster strikes. It is ongoing. Various agencies and organizations are contributing to relief in Haiti, which is commendable. But soon the dust will settle and the media folk will turn to another “breaking news story” as the saga of Haiti recedes into the background. Not so with us as Methodists. We are there to stay, because, our motive is not to make the news headlines. The love of Christ constrains us and we stay.”

The Revd Tom Quenet, Methodist Partnership Coordinator for the Americas and the Caribbean, added “the figures that the Methodist Church in Haiti has sent us represent a massive loss of the church’s infrastructure to serve the men, women and children of Haiti,” he said. “The destruction of schools mean that the effects of the earthquake will be felt by many generations into the future, the loss of clinics means that lives will be shortened for lack of health care, the destruction of child care facilities will mean that children and young people will become vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. The overwhelmingly generous response of the Methodist people means that not only are people receiving water, food and shelter in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, but also the Haitian church will be best ready to respond in alleviating the long term consequences.”

People can donate via the Methodist Church by visiting www.justgiving.com/Methodist-Church-Haiti-Appeal, or sending a cheque payable to the World Mission Fund to Dave Bennett, Fundraising Coordinator, at Methodist Church House, 25 Marylebone Road, London, NW1 5JR. Postal donations should be labelled ‘Haiti Appeal’. For further information visit www.methodist.org.uk or contact Revd Tom Quenet on 020 7467 5160.