Reacting to the quake disaster in Haiti

In general, people "understand" and accept certain disasters and "refuse to believe" others could ever happen. Some of the disasters that are "acceptable" include those that happen when a computer malfunctions and a plane or speed train crashes. The earthquake disaster that has caused havoc in Haiti is an example of a disaster that people refuse to accept perhaps because they feel powerless and out of control. Suddenly their mortality is called into question, and inevitably people begin to question the existence of God. In most cases the discussions about God, whether He exists or not, are initiated by people who are happy to discuss matters of faith and religion out of the context of the said belief systems, causing hurt and confusion.

At the end of the day, humans live and die; that is a fact of life. The best thing to do when disasters happen, whether they are "small happenings" like the building that collapsed in Kiambu, Kenya, because of poor workmanship and following flooding in that region, or "huge ones" like the one in Haiti, is to help the survivors live with dignity by providing them with comfort, food, safe water and shelter.