Bishops' Appeal Committee19 May 10

Church of Ireland Bishops' Appeal for Haiti Earthquake Relief

From the Bishop of Cashel and Ossory, the Rt Revd Michael Burrows, Chair of the Bishops’ Appeal Committee:

‘Thanks to the great generosity of people throughout the Church of Ireland, €172,662 and £58,378 has at this stage been contributed to the Haiti disaster relief appeal. This is an enormous sum and we can but say a heartfelt thank you. Our partners in Christian Aid assure us that our gifts have been well used - they have been directly reaching 150,000 affected people.

‘Rations, medicine kits and temporary shelters are among the items provided. Now the challenge is not only to address the immediate needs of the population but to equip them for the rainy season that stretches ahead.

‘The Bishops’ Appeal Committee is profoundly grateful to the whole Church for its support for Haiti and trusts that this generosity which is so typical of Irish people at their best will be maintained throughout the year, not least in the context of our thematic ‘Water of Life’ Appeal which will we hope be making quite an impact on parishes during the remainder of 2010.’