Bishop Francis Alleyne OSB of Georgetown has appealed to citizens to “stretch a hand for Haiti” following the 7.2 magnitude earthquake August 14, which caused widespread destruction and killed more than 2,000 people and injured thousands more.
In a message to his flock, Bishop Alleyne asserted, “we must” help as the victims in Haiti have immediate needs for tents, cots, and potable water.
To this end, Bishop Alleyne has asked that a second collection be taken in all of the diocese’s faith communities, Sunday, August 29 for Haiti’s earthquake victims.
“This is an urgent corporal work of mercy. Funds collected from this effort will be forwarded to the Secretariat of the Antilles Bishops and on to the Bishops of Haiti to ensure that all that is donated will reach those most in need,” Bishop Alleyne said in his message, which was published in the diocesan weekly, Catholic Standard.
The Bishop mentioned Guyana’s floods which have significantly impacted people’s dwellings and livelihoods and their own needs of accompaniment in recovery.
Only recently, he made an appeal for the diocese’s support and generosity to reach out to victims of the volcano in St Vincent, acknowledging however in the midst of the Covid pandemic “even to meet our own needs, there is not enough,” he said.
He urged all, against these odds, “please let us try the best we can to stretch a hand for Haiti.”
Bishop Alleyne mentioned that the Bishops of Antilles, from its disaster fund, have been able to send to the Bishops of Haiti a small monetary donation to assist with some of these immediate needs, but these and other needs will be ongoing in the process of rescue and recovery. He ended his message thanking all for their support.
