Haitian Tabernacle Of Philadelphia Working To Provide Relief After Devastating Earthquake In Haiti
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Here at home, there is an urgency to help after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti over the weekend, killing more than 1,400 people. Organizations large and small are determined to provide relief.
Some are still trying to connect with loved ones on the island.
Members of the Haitian Tabernacle of Philadelphia are still trying to grasp the devastation that hit their country.
"It's hard," Dr. John Michel said. "It's a poor country. There's a lot of suffering."
"We're not there," Deacon Gilbert Ovide, with the Haitian Tabernacle of Philadelphia, said. "But that's our place. That's where we were born. That's our country."
Deacon Ovide donated care packages through his organization, GOIFHE, to the Bethel School of Solon in Cayes, Haiti, where the earthquake hit Saturday morning.
"They are in survivor mode," Deacon Ovide said.
The death toll is now over 1,400 people.
On Monday night, Patrick Latouche checked in with his in-laws. His father-in-law is safe, but his family says they lost everything.
"I'm talking about the school, a church, and his house," Latouche said. "Something you spend more than 20 years to build and that has destroyed overnight, or within less than two minutes."
The Haitian community is praying this is not a repeat of 2010 when an earthquake killed 200,000 people.
"It seems like Haiti can't have a break," Michel said.
Meanwhile, this group is looking to help from afar. They are preparing to gather donations during Sunday service.
When Latouche told his sister-in-law her response is humbling.
"The help is not only for her family, it's for the community," Latouche said. "Because for people, it's very hard."
Click here to see how you can help the earthquake survivors.
