Haiti Earthquake Emergency Appeal

The country is desperately poor and densely populated. It is thought that thousands of people may have been killed as they went about their daily business. Most of the 2 million residents of the capital city are squeezed into shanty towns that are perched on steep ravines, which are extremely vulnerable to collapse.

The quake's epicenter was only 10 miles (16 km) from Port-au-Prince, and aftershocks as powerful as 5.9 rattled the city throughout the night and into Wednesday. A five-story U.N. building was also brought down by the major earthquake, the most powerful to hit Haiti in more than 200 years.

Reports on casualties and damage are slow, due to communication problems. But, as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti is certainly ill-equipped to respond effectively to such a disaster.

World Jewish Relief (WJR), in its capacity as the primary humanitarian aid agency of the UK Jewish community, has launched an emergency appeal to assist those affected by this disaster. They will be working with trusted partners on the ground to provide emergency food, health care and shelter to those who need it most.

Please visit the World Jewish Relief website to the original post and to donate: www.wjr.org.uk