The scenes of the destruction in Haiti last week had an impact on everyone they reached.

Mary's Meals has been operating in the country for more than four years, and we were feeding 12,000 children before the earthquake struck. The news was an unimaginable blow to a growing programme where we had been beginning to have a positive effect.

In the hours after the disaster, our desire to take urgent action to help was coupled with concern for the safety of our friends, who were then unaccounted for, and for the children, particularly those at our schools in Cite Soleil, a slum in Port au Prince.

We now know that Father Tom Hagan and Doug Campbell, our partners who worked in Port au Prince, are safe and were evacuated to the United States.

Mary's Meals has already started to provide food, water and medical supplies to earthquake victims in Hinche, a city 130km from Port au Prince to which many of the injured and their families have travelled in search of food and treatment. We anticipate that these supplies will run out soon and are making plans to bring in further aid.

Father Jacques Volcius, Mary's Meals partner there described the situation in an e-mail. The local hospitals in the central plateau have reached maximum capacity with patients from Port-au-Prince, he wrote. These victims are from all over the country and their surviving family members have travelled with them. Many have lost everything and have travelled only with the clothes on their back. People from Port-au-Prince are coming to purchase food in Hinche now because resources in the capital are almost finished.

In Port au Prince, Doug Campbell's home was destroyed in the blast from the earthquake. He told us what happened:

The earthquake struck while Father Tom and I were finishing a meeting in our office. The force of the quake violently knocked us to the floor and we crawled under a sturdy metal office table near the front window. Cement and glass fell all around us and I saw our staff people, Nelson and Robert, sprint out of the building, which saved their lives.

As the tremors subsided, Nelson returned to help us out. Afterwards, we stood in the road looking at our residence which had collapsed into a pile of cement rubble. We were surrounded by many of our staff and volunteers, many of them were bleeding, shaking and crying. We spent the night outside on the road. Nobody really slept.

Despite their harrowing experiences, Doug and Father Tom are returning to Haiti to find and check on the welfare of their students, staff and volunteers. Magnus will join them this week.

We are making it a priority to care for the 6,700 children and their families we were already working with, re-starting school and school-feeding (and the routine and security this brings) as a matter of urgency, though in the short term it may have to take place in emergency shelters and tents. Beyond that we will continue to support those who are hungry and in need in any way we can.

We know that there are many aid organisations and governments operating in Haiti since the earthquake, all doing their best in the aftermath of this tragedy. The need for help in the long and short term remains immense. We want to assure you that every penny you give is needed and will be well spent.

Thank you,

Mary's Meals

To donate e-mail www.marysmeals.org or call 0800 698 1212. Please send postal donations to Mary's Meals, Craig Lodge, Dalmally, Argyll.

To request posters or other information, e-mail info@marysmeals.org