Two years ago today a magnitude-7 earthquake struck Haiti, devastating the area, killing thousands of people and leaving many homeless. The earthquake, which was centered about 10 miles west of Port-au-Prince, was said at the time to be the strongest since 1770.
While the destruction in lives lost and property was certainly a tragedy, one that hopefully none of us will ever have to endure, the response from individuals and groups from around the world has been encouraging.
Several local churches, groups and individuals have been a part of that response. Still today a number from our community make trips to the island to help the locals in the recovery.
In December, 2,600 volunteers gathered at the Shawnee Park Center in Cape Girardeau as part of the MobilePack event for the Feed My Starving Children organization. Over the three-day period more than 632,000 meals were packed. This year all the meals were to be sent to Haiti. This is just one example of the kindness and compassion many in this area have for those dealing with extreme poverty made worse by a natural disaster.
Thank you to all those who have spent time and money helping the people of Haiti recover over the past two years. And may the anniversary of the earthquake also be a reminder to us to be prepared.
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