Don’t Forget Haiti.

Photograph: Ramon Espinosa/AP. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/11/haiti-death-toll-rises-cholera

The latest report from CNN counts 724 people who have died as a result of the cholera outbreak that is currently ravaging Haiti. It also reports that another 11,000 people are infected with the bacterium.

The poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere is still reeling in the aftermath of the January 2010 earthquake. More than 1 million people still live in “tent cities” which not only are unsafe but also have a severe shortage of clean water for cooking and cleaning. (It’s an ideal situation for cholera to spread.)

According to the World Health Organization, cholera can be treated very easily. The oral rehydration salts needed to combat the deadly dehydration caused by the disease are also super cheap to produce. The most important thing is to rehydrate a patient as soon as possible.

It’s hard to know how we can make a difference in situations like this, especially when most of us have never experienced anything close to what our neighbors in Haiti are going through. We can all do the most important thing which needs to be done, however: pray.

Here are some specific things to ask God about in prayer:

• Pray for the various relief efforts that are already in process – for example, the U.N. Special Envoy for Haiti, Doctors Without Borders, Nehemiah Vision Ministries, and Global Aid Network.
• Pray for the Haitian government to act responsibly and quickly with the resources they’ve been given so far.
• Pray about how you can be involved. Is God asking you to contribute financially to the relief efforts? Is God asking you to go to Haiti to do some form of relief work? Every contribution matters, no matter what size or form it is.

EpicNYC and Campus Crusade in the Northeast will be sending a team of students, staff, and ministry partners to Haiti this coming January. To learn more about this opportunity, click here.