First Baptist Church of Birmingham, Michigan
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R'Jazz for Haiti, Relief, Recovery, Rebuilding A Special Haitian Benefit Jazz Concert
$20 admission at he door.
The worst earthquake in 200 years struck Haiti on Tuesday, January 12 at 4:53 EST. The earthquake has destroyed homes, schools and hospitals. Thousands are dead or missing and tens of thousands are desperate for food, water shelter, emergency relief, recovery and rebuilding.
We're witnessing human suffering on a scale that's simply unimaginable. People are buried in the rubble. Widespread fear and pain and confusion. Children wandering the streets, crying, injured and terrified, uncertain where their parents are or if they have even survived.
An initial quake lasted more than a minute with the grounds moving beneath feet and with buildings swaying then crumbling to the ground. Eight terrifying aftershocks followed just that first night. People were huddled in the streets because their homes had been destroyed or because they were fearful that buildings would tumble down on top of them.
More than two million people live within 12 miles of the epicenter of this quake so it may take days or weeks just to deal with the most immediate human suffering. Right now the hospitals that survived the quake are packed with people: frightened, bleeding, crying, calling out desperately for help.
Our hearts are broken by the suffering of the Haitian people that has come from the massive earthquake on 12 January 2010. In a nation of approximately 8 million people, more than 3 million have been affected by the earthquake. More than 210,000 people have been killed and some 300,000 have been seriously injured. More than a million people have been made homeless.
Despite weeks of efforts by local and international humanitarian actors the needs in the earthquake affected parts of Haiti continue to be enormous. Conditions for most of the estimated 1.2 million people living in impoverished camps and shelters remain crammed and poor. Trauma will be felt by many in later months, possibly creating violence. Women and girls are forced to defend their dignity before the threat of personal violence so common in situations of crisis and despair. The specter of racism, that has affected US attitudes toward Haiti since its foundation in 1804, hovers like a threatening cloud portending more suffering and despair. There is a direct correlation between the people imposed or supported by outside powers.
The tragedy occurring in Haiti must call forth our own and the world's most compassionate response and elicit a more just future, one that rejects the hunger and poverty of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
Haiti Earthquake Relief, Recovery, Rebuilding: Help is Needed!
The devastation took just moments; the recovery will take years. Help is urgently needed to enable survivors of this tragedy to fend off hunger and disease and to rebuild their lives.
But this is just the beginning. After the immediate needs for food, water, medicines and emergency shelter are met, it will take months and even years to rebuild homes, communities, schools and medical facilities for the more than 3 million affected people. Rehabilitation of lives and livelihoods will be critical.
Enjoy hearing Michigan finest Jazz Musicians in an historic church sanctuary with superb acoustics and state-of-the-art sound system. Free parking in adjacent city lot. Casual Attire. Tel: 248-644-0550 Website: firstbaptistbirm@sbcglobal.net
Sunday, April 25, 2010 ~ 4 to 6PM At the First Baptist Church, located in downtown Birmingham on the corner of Willits and Bates, one block north of Maple Rd., one block east of Old Woodward.
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