BRITAIN may only just be climbing out of recession and most folk may still be suffering a post-Christmas spending hangover but that hasn't stopped the pounds pouring in to help the stricken people of Haiti.
In Brighouse the scale of the human tragedy has touched all age groups and the resulting fund-raising efforts have been truly magnificent.
School pupils have approached their teachers with suggestions of how they might help and businesses have done
their bit by organising collections and making donations.
No-one could have failed to be moved by the scenes of devastation and deprivation which have been screened nightly on the TV news programmes.
To see an already poverty-stricken nation brought to its knees by an horrific natural disaster is both shocking and humbling. The earthquake has deprived a large part of one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere of clean water, basic sanitation, food and communications.
As well as mourning the loss of their loved ones, as well as trying to recover from their injuries, the people of Haiti now face an uphill struggle for basic survival. Perhaps it is this that has so touched hearts on the other side of the world and brought in such a generous response to their living nightmare. As Brighouse aid worker the Rev Edward Holmes has said, it is heartening to see how much people care.
