Japan needs our help

I am in pain with what is happening in Japan after the biggest earthquake in recent recorded history. The quake has been upgraded to a 9.0 on the Richter scale and the damage that has been ripping Japan apart has shown once again that our human endeavors can be wiped out with a wave of nature's hand.

Spend time with your loved ones today. Get back to what really matters and love each other. Tell them, show them your heart while you have them close. We never know what is just around the corner.

So what we need to do is act. We need to work together as humans and help each other. We cannot simply hope for things to get better on their own; we have the ability to reach out and help when disasterer strikes.


The best place to start is with the Red Cross. The Red Cross has a long history of integrity and service to those in need and we would do well to emulate them. Please if you can spare any money, time or blood donate to the Red Cross.





Disaster Update: Family Linking for Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

There are several methods people can use to find information about missing family members. The Red Cross is still unable to accept International Disaster Inquiries for Japan. Please encourage members of your community to utilize the ICRC website and to keep calling and to trying to contact other family members who live in the region. Even though communication networks are overloaded right now, the situation may change and access to mobile networks and the internet may improve.

ICRC Family Links Website Available for Japan
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), working closely with the Japanese Red Cross, has
launched a special Family Links website to help people seeking to re-establish contact with family
members and friends.

People in Japan and abroad can register on the website to inform their family and friends that they are
safe and provide their current contact details, while those looking for people can check the list for
information. They can also register the names of family members and friends, encouraging them to get in
touch.

The website is at http://www.icrc.org/familylinks.

The devastation in Haiti

Today is Martin Luther King Jr day and nothing expresses the need for compassion more than the ongoing tragedy in Haiti. With emerging numbers of deceased and dispossessed coming out of Haiti after the terrible earthquake, we are starting to see the significance and importance of keeping an open heart. Aid has been flowing into the country since the quake with little of it reaching those in need due to the inherent infrastructural problems long associated with the poor republic.

Haiti is starting to see the aid and humanitarian efforts get through as United States military presence and humanitarian organizations secure landing zones, the one functioning airport, and routes of transportation. The organizations are in some cases rebuilding roads simply to get supplies through to the most heavily hit areas and organizers are seeing the further need for funding and security.

There are many charities that you can get involved with to aid the people of Haiti and I am going to recommend three that have proven to be trustworthy in the past with a transparency and professionalism that is sometimes lacking in other organizations.















Please find it in your hearts to help the people of Haiti as they are your neighbors. They are desperately crying out for succor and we can do more together than separately.