Prayer Need: Haiti – On alert for the epidemic

Please pray for the people of Haiti. The following comes from our Salesian News Agency:According to the latest official information the cholera epidemic which broke out on 20 October has so far caused over 900 deaths with 10,000 cases of infection. The Salesians are working all out, especially for those most in need in the poorer districts, to combat the epidemic and encourage the practice of the norms of hygiene.

All those attending the Little Schools of Fr Bohnen (OPEPB), where each morning they each receive a hot roll and some milk are made to wash their hands before they take the break. At Drouillard and at Thorland in collaboration with Voluntary Service for International Development (VIS) the Salesians have distributed to the families who are still living in tents hygiene kits to treat the water.

Fr Sylvain Ducange, Superior of the Salesians in the country says that “the Salesian community in Haiti is on the alert and ready to intervene if necessary”. Brother Hubert Mesidor SDB who conducts an educational programme for the whole population on Radio Soleil, the radio station of the Catholic Church in Haiti, is devoting all the space possible in his broadcasts to encourage the people in preventative measure to combat the epidemic, explaining the importance of always and everywhere practising appropriate hygienic measures.

To the already precarious living conditions due to the devastating earthquake on 12 January now there is added the fear of infection with cholera which Haiti has not experienced for almost a century. The stigma created by this epidemic among the people is worse that the sickness itself. The people are afraid not knowing what cholera actually is and they are tending to “isolate” all those infected. The Government has made use of the media to explain how to prevent cholera and the necessary measures of hygiene. In the next few days the situation could get worse and the sickness spread through Port-au-Prínce on account of the huge qualities of rubbish along almost all the streets of the capital.

Salesian ministries in Haiti recovering, but much remains to be done

The following comes from the Catholic News Service:

Describing the devastation in Haiti after last January's earthquake, Salesian Father Mark Hyde compared the scene to what he had witnessed a year earlier. Visiting Salesian schools in February 2009 as director of Salesian Missions, based in New Rochelle, Father Hyde saw "thousands of children all over the place, having fun, going to classes." Older students were enrolled in teacher training and other professional programs. Having seen campuses bursting with life last year, he said that when he returned shortly after the quake, it was all the more difficult to look upon "all that rubble, no children around, the desolation."

Salesian Missions has been given responsibility for coordinating all Salesian mission efforts for Haiti worldwide. Father Hyde went back to Haiti in April and again in July, and he's about to return for another visit. There is still an enormous amount of work to do, but the scene is more hopeful. Several Salesians are living in a temporary residence that was under construction in April but is now finished. Temporary classrooms have been completed and painted, and "they're looking very spiffy," Father Hyde said in an interview with Catholic New York, archdiocesan newspaper. They have been equipped with chalkboards, desks, stools and wooden benches, and 3,000 children are attending classes, he said. Those classes are part of the Salesians' Little Schools of Father Bohnen, a network of small, tuition-free schools begun by Salesian Father Lawrence Bohnen in the 1950s.

Before the earthquake, more than 20,000 impoverished children were attending 132 Little Schools -- some not much more than a tent or other temporary shelter with a few seats and a chalkboard. Now there are 20 of the schools, so there's a distance still to go before the Salesians' educational mission is fully restored. But the progress is a solid start, and it reveals the faith, hope and hard work of the Salesians and the Haitian people. Father Hyde remarked that on his April visit, he saw Haitians chipping away at the rubble of a four-story building. "They were breaking down the concrete into little pieces that could be moved," he said. "They had totally demolished the top two floors with little sledgehammers. "They have a tremendous spirit of work and determination, and also of carrying on in the midst of obstacles," he added. "They keep on plugging away."

The Salesians began educating the poor in Haiti at the invitation of the Haitian government -- the Salesian Sisters (the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians) in 1935 and the Salesians of Don Bosco (priests and brothers) in 1936. Salesians in Haiti now number about 85 sisters and 70 priests and brothers. Father Hyde said the Salesians are the largest providers of education in Haiti after the government.

Father Hyde said Salesian Missions and the Salesians in Haiti developed "a three-pronged plan" after the quake; their goals are "saving lives, rebuilding lives and rebuilding the Salesian educational infrastructure in Haiti." Work is continuing on all three. The Father Bohnen schools have a new, temporary plywood office. The schools used to serve bread for breakfast and a lunch of rice and beans. The children now get breakfast only, but new kitchens are being built by Salesian teachers and the students in Salesian professional programs, so that the lunch program can be restored.

In Petionville, the College Dominique Savio, a Salesian high school, sustained only "cosmetic damage," Father Hyde said. It's now in session for 500 boys and girls. A Salesian youth center in Thorland has been turned into a temporary camp for 8,000 refugees whose homes were destroyed in the quake. The youth center had a three-story building that collapsed in the quake; no one was inside. A large, multipurpose building -- used as a gym and auditorium -- lost its front and back walls, but its sidewalls still stand; Father Hyde said that under its roof, children were playing soccer and dancing on the stage. Some of the refugees in the temporary camp are growing corn outside their tents, he added. "Haitians are resilient," he said. "They are going with the flow, and they make the best of the circumstances."

Funding for reconstruction is coming from Salesian nongovernmental organizations worldwide. Salesian Missions in New Rochelle has pledged to fund the rebuilding of the youth center at Fort-Liberte, and will soon launch an appeal for donations. "It is my hope that a new Haiti will rise, much better than the old Haiti," Father Hyde said. "But it's going to take time."

Salesian Rector Major writes the Salesian Family on Haiti

When our beloved Rector Major Fr Pascual Chávez V., SDB visited Haiti in February he followed up his visit with a letter to the entire Salesian Family. Here is the letter from the Salesian News Agency site:

My Dear Confreres, Members of the Salesian Family, Friends of Don Bosco:

I would like to start this account of my visit to Haiti with the dedication which the confreres of that Vice Province wrote and signed in the book “Haiti, the face of a country,” which they gave me just as I was leaving. I consider it is not a eulogy to me but rather a sincere expression of their experience and their feelings, and at the same time, a mark of recognition of all those who have been a sign of the presence of Providence and made them feel the loving supportive closeness of God:

In a few seconds a terrifying earthquake put us on our knees. Apocalyptic catastrophe. Ruins. Deaths. Cries. Weeping. Dismay. Desolation. Silence. Rebellion. Darkness. Trauma. Misery. Desperation. Hands stretched out to each other. Hands stretched out to the Lord.

“I have seen. I have heard. I understand. I have come down … Go, set my people free”(Exodus, 3, 7-8)

Fr Pascual, like the Lord, you saw and understood. THANK YOU for having understood at once. In the letter to all the Salesians, which with your father’s heart you sent us. Awareness. Response. Solidarity. Fraternity…

Fr Chávez, before the Lord we say in confidence that the message which pleases us the most is “the open letter of yourself.” What a father’s heart! What sensitivity! Thank you father for not sending us a Moses. Thank you for coming yourself. Thank you for following in the steps of Jesus and the heart of Don Bosco. For sharing with us, from the suffering for our dead and dispersed to the struggle for life taken up again, from our ruins to the re-foundation starting from personal and community conversion.

Fr Pascual, thank you, thank you!

On the days 12-15 February 2010, I visited Haiti. From the very first day of the earthquake, which on 12 January struck a large part of the country with devastation and death, I kept in touch with the confreres through a daily telephone call to the Superior at the time, Fr. Jacques Charles, and to the one who, from the end of January, would take over as the new Superior of the Vice Province, Fr. Sylvain Ducange. I got to work, officially involving the Antilles Province , whose Provincial, Fr. Víctor Pichardo, I asked to go at once to Port-au-Prince to set up a link for aid; in addition I sent a letter to the whole Congregation, with information about the dramatic situation of our confreres, requesting the solidarity of all the houses, works and Provinces in response to the emergency situation, and likewise to the future re-construction; finally I mobilised all the Mission Offices, with that of New Rochelle leading the way. I have to say that the response I received was extremely positive and exemplary, and for everything that was done I feel the need to give thanks and to bear witness.

Nevertheless, I felt it necessary, important and of significance to go personally to Haiti so that through the person of the Rector Major the closeness, the fraternity and the solidarity of the Congregation could be felt. I wanted to share at close hand in the suffering and the uncertainty in which the whole population is living. I really wanted to know better the situation of the Salesian houses, completely or partially destroyed, especially those in the area of Port-au-Prince, and, with the Superior of the Vice Province and his Council, to reflect together on the decisions to be taken in the immediate future.

Even though, as we arrived at Port-au-Prince, the pilot of the helicopter flew over the most devastated area – which gave me the chance to have an immediate over-all panoramic view from the air – it was only when driving in the car, seeing the buildings razed to the ground, then walking through the ruins that I was able to have some real idea of the dramatic effects of the quake which struck this helpless people totally unprepared for such an event.

I was totally dismayed when faced with the extent of the destruction, at the apocalyptic landscape of death, suffering and despair. The National Palace, the symbol of pride and power, has practically fallen in on itself, with the columns sticking up in the air, and similarly the other ministry buildings. Of the Cathedral the only things still standing are the facade and the side walls; the roof and the pillars have fallen to the ground. It was as though, in those 28 seconds that the major shock lasted, the city had lost its head and its heart. In fact that it precisely what happened, since from that moment there has been a total lack ofleadership, and life, immensely humbled, continues to go ahead, more by dint of inertia and by the struggle for survival than for any social organisation which is supporting or stimulating it.

While I listened to the accounts of those who survived, especially those who managed to escape death after hours or days being trapped between floors, ceilings and walls, and gradually as I looked at the buildings and homes destroyed, I tried to hear the voice of God which like the blood of Abel cried out with the voices of the thousands of the dead buried in mass graves or still under the ruins. I tried to listen to God who was speaking through the dull sound of the thousands of people struggling to live under the tents, those distributed by the international organisations or those made of rags somehow put together. I tried to open my ears and heart to the cry of God which could be heard in the anger and feelings of powerlessness of those who see everything that they had built up - either great or small – gone up in smoke, into nothing. It is estimated that the number without a roof over their heads is between 300 and 500 thousand.

It is true that an earthquake of 7.5 degrees on the Richter scale produces a shock with a devastating incalculable force, but it is also true that in this case the destruction and the deaths are even more enormous on account of the poverty in every sense of the word. In this situation one cannot rebuild a life worthy of the name, nor even houses which are safer and more resistant in the face of this kind of violent eruption of nature. Therefore the challenge for today cannot be merely to reconstruct the walls of the buildings, of the houses and of the churches destroyed, but rather that of making Haiti rise again, building it on living conditions which really are human, where rights, all rights, are for everyone and not the privilege of some.

The almost total absence of any government leaves the people stunned by the suffering, submerged in anguish and overwhelmed by despair, wandering around the streets without goal or purpose. This constant walking of the people on a pilgrimage in the struggle for life makes quite an impression. But also at church level, the death of the Archbishop, of the Vicar General, of the Chancellor, of 18 seminarians and 46 religious men and women, with the collapse of houses, schools and help centres meant a tragic loss of pastors, so extremely necessary for this people.

Unfortunately the time has almost passed for it to be news, when Haiti was centre stage of history, like a victim fallen to the ground, on which the attention of the great television net-works, of journalists always on the watch for events which increase sales was focused. Today the city is in a state more chaotic than before. Certainly to be admired is the religious sentiment which leads the Haitian people to gather together in prayer, a sentiment which is now being greatly exploited by the evangelical sects, and in a similar way, one is amazed at the efforts to return to normality when basically everything has changed.

Even though the state of emergency could last for at least two months, according to what is said by those responsible for this phase, the hour has struck to roll our sleeves up and begin the re-building of this country, or rather, its rising from the ashes. Here then is the great opportunity which is being offered to this poor country, the former ‘Pearl of the Antilles.’

To make this dream come true, it is not a matter of starting from scratch, but a starting again, in the first place, by the Haitians themselves, who more than ever are being called to take the lead in this new phase of their history. They are not alone. On the contrary, it is very comforting to see so many organisations, (a total of 80) seriously committed to this challenging task, together with the very many people of good will who want to sow seeds of hope and to build a future for the Haitian people.

The protagonism on the part of the Haitians themselves is absolutely indispensable, in order to overcome not only a tendency to resignation which is something of a cultural feature, but also total dependence on outside help, which could lead to the temptation of a power struggle and deprive Haiti of its sovereignty.

Therefore opening up our houses, even though seriously damaged – I’m speaking about those of the Salesians – to take in those displaced, with the effort to make them feel better, even in the midst of their tragedy, and likewise the civilian organisation of these camps for refugees and the decision to live in tents like them, caused me great joy and also to feel very proud of my Salesian Brothers.

May the Lord change this tragedy which has filled all the families of Haiti with mourning, into hymns and dances of joy. It would not be right nor responsible to allow the death of hundreds of thousands of victims, nor the loss of everything by those who now find themselves on the streets with nothing to fall into nothingness, into the void, into sterility.

On our part we feel the need to renew our commitment to the rebirth of the country, re-founding, step by step together, the Congregation with the presences which are responding to the expectations and the needs of the Haitian society, of the Church and of the young.

I said before that rather than simply rebuilding the walls it is a matter of a change in the way of thinking.

The State has to change in such a way that is ensures a worthy life for all its citizens, guaranteeing all their rights and fighting against injustice, corruption, poverty, without ideologies and with expressions of genuine democracy.

But the Church too, and as part of it consecrated life, has to change, seeking more and more its identity, fidelity to the Lord Jesus, and his Gospel, properly bringing together evangelisation, human development and the transformation of culture and of society.

From this point of view I am pleased with the way the Superior of the Vice Province and his Council are managing this situation. They have organised assistance (providing tents, food, water, psychological and spiritual help) for all the thousands of refugees, the homeless who came to find shelter at Thorland, Pétion-Ville, Delmas, Cité Soleil. They have busied themselves in giving help to those employed in our communities and works. They have found places for the confreres from our houses which are no longer habitable: ENAM, Fleuriot, Provincial House, Gressier.

A immediate plan has also been set in motion which involves the reorganisation of the Vice Province at all levels, including that of the re-founding of the works, the revision of the pastoral approach in general, and in certain places, having always in mind, in particular, the needs of society, of the Church and of the young.

For the rest of the story please click here.

Haiti: A Don Bosco Missionary Association Video

This Don Bosco Missionary Association video was prepared before the terrible earthquake.

Here is also a prayer for Haiti:

May the earth that crumbled beneath feet and homes and schools once again become solid ground for walking and loving and learning.

May worried families and friends discover their loved ones safely spared waiting for them on solid ground.

May those who are trapped amid the rubble feel the solid power of love and healing that the world is sending their way.

May we who are so far away from the devastation find a way to share some of the solid ground of our full lives with those who have lost so much.

May the solid ground of this simple prayer become a foundation on which Haiti can rebuild.

Classical Relief for Haiti: 'The 'Prayer '

Thanks for posting this Deacon Greg! This is amazing! From the good Deacon:

As often as we've all heard this song, I doubt anyone has heard "The Prayer" performed like this -- see if you can spot some of the familiar faces (including The Priests!) adding their voices to this soaring rendition. And you can find out more about this recording, and how to get a copy, right here.

A letter from the Salesian Rector Major after his visit to Haiti

The following comes from the Salesian News Agency:

A few days after his visit to Haiti, Fr Pascual Chávez Villanueva has written a letter to the Salesians, to members of the Salesian Family and to all those close to Don Bosco.

After describing what was done when the tragic news was received of the earthquake, the Rector Major explains the reasons for his visit between 12 and 15 February: “I felt it necessary, important and of significance to go personally to Haiti so that through the person of the Rector Major the closeness, the fraternity and the solidarity of the Congregation could be felt. I wanted to share at close hand in the suffering and the uncertainty in which the whole population is living.”

Visiting Port-au-Prince Fr Chávez was aware of the total lack of leadership and of how life “continues to go ahead, more by dint of inertia and by the struggle for survival than for any social organisation which is supporting or stimulating it.” “I tried to hear the voice of God which like the blood of Abel cried out with the voices of the thousands of the dead buried in mass graves or still under the ruins. I tried to listen to God who was speaking through the dull sound of the thousands of people struggling to live under the tents,... I tried to open my ears and heart to the cry of God which could be heard in the anger and feelings of powerlessness…”

The letter is not a simple description of the situation, but contains an exhortation and suggestions for the re-birth of the country, and especially of the Salesian presence. “Therefore the challenge for today cannot be merely to reconstruct the walls of the buildings, of the houses and of the churches destroyed, but rather that of making Haiti rise again, building it on living conditions which really are human, where rights, all rights, are for everyone and not the privilege of some.”

The fear, expressed several times, is that with the passing of time and the complicity of the mass media, Haiti will be forgotten, considered old news.

The efforts of the Salesian have been admirable as the opened their houses to welcome the displaced people as at Thorland, Pétion-Ville, Delmas, Cité Soleil. Fr Chávez renews the commitment of the Sons of Don Bosco “to the rebirth of the country, re-founding, step by step together, the Congregation with the presences which are responding to the expectations and the needs of the Haitian society, of the Church and of the young” In this process the State and the local Church need to take part together with consecrated life “ seeking more and more its identity, fidelity to the Lord Jesus, and his Gospel.”

The letter also contains some details of the decisions reached in agreement with the Council of the Vice Province for “the re-founding of the works, the revision of the pastoral approach in general, and in certain places, having always in mind, in particular, the needs of society, of the Church and of the young.”

Rebuilding, re-locating, re-thinking Salesian presences and works in the short and in the long term so as to ensure greater significance and pastoral effectiveness, is, he says, the programme: “Looking at the present and to the future, what becomes the priority is to keep the schools and youth centres functioning where they are fit for use, and in addition to build or re-build as soon as possible those works which have become unfit for use. The priority of the care and the education of the young is absolute, all the more so since what is at stake is the creation, through a new education, of a new culture, capable of building the new Haiti.”

In conclusion, the Rector Major thanks the Congregation, the Mission Offices, international organisations close to the Salesians, benefactors and friends of Salesian work inviting them “to continue with the efforts we are making to respond to the immense demands of this country in so much need.”

“The seminaries and the seminarians lost everything...putting them back to "normal" life is a priority.”

The following comes from Fides:

The Apostolic Nuncio to Haiti, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, has sent a report on the present situation of the seminarians and an appeal made to the Pontifical Mission Societies of England and Wales (Missio), which Agenzia Fides re-publishes below.

The Situation

Both the National Major Seminaries (Theology and Philosophy) collapsed, killing 15 seminarians, one professor and some members of the personnel, as well as leaving a number of seminarians wounded, two or three of whom have had amputations. Many who were trapped under the rubble were saved after days, whiles some others were able to get out by themselves. There were 159 seminarians and 8 resident Formators and professors at the Theology Department, and 97 seminarians and 2 Formators at the Philosophy Department.

The conference of Bishops has decided that the 28 fourth year Theology seminarians will finish the academic year. They will be housed in tents and every facility will be in tents as well (classroom, kitchens etc). Then they will be ordained deacons during the summer.For lack of facilities, the other theology seminarians will be sent back to their dioceses. Their respective Ordinaries and the professors will organize courses for them from time to time, but they will lose the academic year. This decision might still be modified, given the revolving situation as to financial resources and other considerations.The 97 Philosophy seminarians will be sent back to their respective Dioceses. They too will lose the academic year. Those in the pre-Philosophy years (15, I guess) belonging to the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince will be housed in accommodation still to be identified.

The Needs

The seminaries and the seminarians lost everything. Nothing except some of the books in the library on the third floor was saved. So, the greatest needs of the seminarians are clothing, toiletries, tents to sleep in. Many of the seminarians have been sent back to their dioceses, but the dioceses are also extremely poor and in great need of assistance.The putting into place of the tents to house the 28 fourth year theology seminarians, as well as to shelter the facilities attached (classrooms, kitchens, services etc.)The board and lodging for the said seminarians, as well as for all those remaining in their dioceses. We still have to have an estimate on this. Most of the parishes in Haiti refuse to house the seminarians if the diocese does not pay something for board and lodging, because they cannot provide for their subsistence. Haiti was very poor before and even more so after the earthquake.

Purchase of Bibles and fundamental texts (Vatican II, Catechism of the Catholic Church etc.) The ones they had were all lost in the rubble.The easiest, most flexible and fastest way to help these unfortunate seminarians is through financial aid that we can use according to the most urgent needs of the moment.The Archbishop added: “Thank you also for your efforts in favor of our traumatized seminarians. We believe that putting the seminarians back to "normal" life is a priority. Nobody here (except very few of us!) wants to sleep inside buildings. That's another challenge we have to consider in rebuilding.”Monsignor John Dale, the National Director for Missio-England and Wales commented: “Missio will stand alongside the Church in Haiti as it attempts to restore some sense of normality to shattered lives. We will be there to help Archbishop Auza and those who are working to care for the carers of the future. Missio will be there for as long as the people of Haiti need us and for however many years it takes.”

Salesian Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Delivers Aid to Haiti

The following is from the CNA:

Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, the president of Caritas Internationalis, visited Haiti on Monday to deliver aid from Honduras and to express solidarity with the country after its devastating January earthquake.

The cardinal went to Port-au-Prince’s destroyed cathedral and visited the rubble of the archdiocesan offices where Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot and a number of his colleagues were killed.

According to Caritas Internationalis, he then proceeded to the Renaissance Hospital and the Champ de Mars makeshift camp, where tens of thousands of people have taken refuge.

Cardinal Rodriguez met representatives of the Haitian Bishops’ Conference to discuss relief and reconstruction efforts. He also spoke to international and national staff at the Caritas Haiti headquarters.

“I want to thank all the Caritas of the world for their support. It is essential we go on, in order to rebuild Haiti culturally and spiritually as well as materially,” he commented.

He thanked the apostolic nuncio to Haiti, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, as well as Caritas Haiti President Bishop Pierre Dumas and Director General of Caritas Haiti Fr. Serge Chadic for hosting his visit.

Caritas members in 40 countries have collected $198 million in private donations for quake relief. Governments and institutions have pledged $36 million to Caritas for the effort.

Caritas reports that it has fed over 500,000 people, given shelter kits to 43,000, and given medical treatment to 12,000 in Haiti. The two-month relief effort will be followed by a three to five-year reconstruction program focusing on housing, education, and livelihoods.

Salesian Rector Major: Tears for Haiti

The following comes from the Salesian News Service:

The Rector Major was very moved in recent days as he visited Port-au-Prince. A short video, “Tears for Haiti,” on ANSchannel bears witness to it.

The pictures show his visit to the Salesian center of Ecole Nationale des Arts et Métiers (ENAM). “Here there were two floors. Two floors reduced to nothing!” the Rector Major said in dismay in front of the ruins of one of the blocks which, thanks to a couple of minutes, did not trap another hundred youngsters who had just left it for recess.

Among the rubble that the Italian Civil Defense service is working to remove, Fr. Chavez stopped where there are still bodies buried. “This was another part of the school which had three floors. Look what it is reduced to! Here there are 150 bodies of our pupils, our students, our teachers. They have the right to be afforded dignity for their lives and also for their deaths.”

The streets of Port-au-Prince show just how much damage the earthquake caused. The National Palace, residence of the President of the Republic, collapsed on itself.

Taking a seating on some of the rubble of the Catholic cathedral, Fr. Chavez said: “I pray and hope that this will be an opportunity for the rebirth of the country! Refounding too our Salesian presence and collaborating in the building of a world that can give more hope and a better future to this country. I don’t hide my emotion, I’m upset, … after seeing up close, knowing how many bodies are still under the rubble … I can only be silent!”

The video also shows the reception being provided by the Salesians at Drouillard and, above all, at Carrefour-Thorland. Here, in collaboration with the Salesian Sisters and the Mexican Civil Protection services, over 12,000 homeless people are staying.

The video “Tears for Haiti” is one of the things being done so that, as Fr. Chavez himself says, “the spotlights don’t go out on Haiti!” Shortly there will be a letter from the Rector Major to the Salesians and to the Salesian Family. In the Image Bank photographic archives high-resolution photos are available.

Accompanying the Rector Major on his journey to Haiti between February 13 and 15 were the director of ANS, Fr. Donato Lacedonio, and two of the staff from Missioni Don Bosco Media Center in Turin, Stefano Bianco, executive producer, and Bro. Antonio Saglia, SDB. This decision was based on the desire to communicate information which was more precise, complete, and effective. A DVD is already in preparation with the reports of the Salesians rescued from the ruins and the account of the Rector Major’s visit.

Salesian leader looks to future of Haiti with hope

The following comes from the CNA:

During a visit to Haiti last week, the Superior General of the Salesian Order, Father Pascual Chavez, encouraged Salesian workers and volunteers to bring “hope to the people,” before “thinking about rebuilding" the country.

According to a press release, Fr. Chavez arrived by helicopter to the Haitian capital on February 11 to visit the Salesian homes devastated by the recent earthquake. He also spent time at the school, Ecole Nationale des Arts et Métiers, where he “paused in silence and prayer before the mountain of rubble beneath which the bodies of 150 seminarians still lie.”

In a meeting with young people, Fr. Chavez urged them to “look to the future. Your task now is to give hope to Haiti.” He then visited the Salesian school of Petionville, where Fr. Sylvain Ducange, who was recently named Salesian Superior of Haiti, said in his welcoming address: “As children of Don Bosco, we are characterized by joy, moved by optimism, and we believe in the rebirth of the Haitian people and in the re-founding of the Salesian charism in our country.”

During his tour through the devastated city of Port-au-Prince, Fr. Chavez encouraged Salesians and their volunteers to focus their attention on helping the victims of the earthquake and beginning the reconstruction of schools, homes for children on the street, and formation houses.

Fr. Chavez extended his stay in Haiti to accompany the Salesian community as it recovers from the tragedy.

Final stage on a journey inspired by hope

Fr. Pascual Chavez, SDB, our Salesian Rector Major, just finished his visit to Haiti today. Let's continue to pray for all the people there. The following comes from the Salesian News Agency:

The final day of the Rector Major’s visit to the vice province of Haiti was entirely dedicated to the Salesians. His meeting with the council of the vice province, celebrating Mass, and giving some special tasks were the highlights.

This final day began with a short visit to the Salesian primary school next to the Pétion-Ville house. In the courtyards of this center, where only the outer staircase was damaged by the earthquake, there are 200 families in tents.

This was followed by a meeting with the council. The Rector Major gave the Haitian provincial, Fr. Sylvain Ducange, the task of putting into action the priority mentioned the previous days in the meeting with the Salesian Family: education. After the situation of the centers affected by the earthquake had been ascertained, a plan was drawn up that would take account of the work to be done and the relocation necessary.

Afterwards a short but significant meeting was held with the person responsible for the Italian Civil Defense group in Haiti, Luigi D’Angelo. The time required and the methods to be used in making the ENAM operational were considered so that the phases of reorganization and reconstruction can be started.

Drawing on the readings of the liturgy of the day, the Rector Major told the Salesians in Haiti gathered together at Pétion-Ville, in the course of simple and well-attended Mass, not to follow the example of the Pharisees, who asked Jesus for a sign of the presence of God. “There are already signs of His presence!” Suffering and death become clearer in the sign of the cross. “I can already see signs of something new! The signs of solidarity that have been seen in the Congregation and around it are the expression of something which is alive, which suffers and shares totally! You are not alone!” As evidence of this, Fr. Chavez mentioned the small contributions and the results of collections that have been made for Haiti in some of the poorest houses in the Congregation.

He asked the Salesians of Haiti to be the antennae of history capable of picking up the needs and the problems of people and of society; the heralds of the dawn who know how to wait for and assist in the birth of a new era for the country; and God’s prophets proclaiming His Word.

During the Mass special prayers were said for the Salesians, youngsters, and all those who died under the rubble.

Later in the morning the Rector Major phoned his vicar, Fr. Adriano Bregolin, who was holding a meeting with a group of businessmen in the city of Pavia who were ready to become involved in some projects being proposed. During the short link-up the Rector Major described what he had seen during his visit and the urgent humanitarian needs of the people of Haiti.

Before leaving Pétion-Ville, the Rector Major informed the Salesians of the practical decisions that, in agreement with the council of the vice province, had been made that morning. Special thanks were offered to those centers which had welcomed the displaced people. Thought needed to be given about relocating some of them, but education remained the priority. ENAM was to be restructured and needed to have a youth center so that it might be “a social lung at the service of the whole area of Cité Soleil and offer a broader sort of education.”

Fr. Chavez repeated that the real difficulty lay not in rebuilding collapsed walls “but in changing the mentality of the Haitian people. Salesians are educators. It is up to you to cooperate in this change.” The Rector Major concluded, “It is time to roll up our sleeves!”

The thanks of Fr. Ducange were heartfelt and moving: “Thank you for your presence, for your words, for your encouragement,” thanks which were offered also to all the members of the general council and to all the Salesians of the Congregation.

Haitian days of mourning bring together whole capital

Please continue to pray for the people of Haiti and all those struggling to lift them from this tragedy. The following comes from the CNA:

Haitians have remembered the victims of January’s devastating earthquake with three days of mourning and fasting. Stores, gas stations and banks have closed down and the roads have been emptied to make way for the event’s processions.

“Time has stopped in the different parts of Port-au-Prince,” reported Mathilde Magnier, Caritas Communications Officer in Port-au-Prince.

From dusk until dawn in Port-au-Prince, loudspeakers broadcast the Gospel, sermons and prayers. Writing in a report on the Caritas blog, Magnier described the mood as “a strange atmosphere of joy, despair and reverence.”

She said that Catholics, Protestants and followers of voodoo joined in the observance.

Since the main places of worship were destroyed, ceremonies took place in the city’s waste grounds, schoolyards and temporary shelter camps.

The solemn mourning processions were made up of people openly grieving. Women were dressed in white, children wore their best clothes and men tied black armbands of mourning around their arms.

“Those who can walk help the injured in their wheelchairs and support those hobbling on crutches. Some sing and dance while others are prostrate,” Magnier wrote.

Thousands of faithful gathered on the steps of the destroyed cathedral for a memorial Mass celebrated by Fr. Serge Chadic, Director General of Caritas Haiti.

A man named Janel told Caritas that all his family members survived the quake. He was at the Mass to support those who were suffering.

“We were all deeply affected by the quake, we must help each other. That is why I am here,” he explained.

A woman named Lérénie was also among those at the cathedral. She sat on a piece of rubble in the middle of the crowd, holding her four-month-old baby in her arms. Her husband and two brothers were killed in the earthquake.

“These are difficult days. As Haitians we have to mourn our dead together,” she commented to Caritas.

Lérénie said she had to cling to her faith. “That and my boy are all I have left,” she said.

Salesian Rector Major Visits Haiti

Our Salesian Rector Major, Fr. Pascual Chavez, SDB, began his visit to Haiti yesterday. Let's pray for him as he ministers to the people there and as our congregation begins to restore hope to the young people who need us in this tragedy struck nation. The following comes from the Salesian News Agency:

Joy and sorrow, dismay and hope marked the first day of the visit of Fr Pascual Chávez to Haiti. Speaking to the youngsters and the Salesians he said “Our purpose is, first of all, to give hope to Haiti.”
The Rector Major had arrived in the evening of 11 February at the airport in Santo Domingo. He was welcomed by the Provincial of the Dominican Republic, Fr Vichtor Pichardo who yesterday morning 12 February accompanied the Rector Major to the capital of Haiti in a helicopter. Having arrived at Port-au-Prince, 30 days after the earthquake which devastated the heart of the capital, the IX successor of Don Bosco saw from above the vast areas of devastation.

The helicopter landed in the grounds of the Embassy of the Dominican Republic, which had also been made unfit for use by the earthquake. With the new Superior, Fr Sylvain Ducange, and his predecessor, Fr Charles Jacques, as well as the Provincial of the Sisters in Haiti, Sr. Marie Claire Jean, there was also the Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Haiti who introduced himself as a Salesian Past Pupil.

The first stop was at Pétion Ville. Here the youngsters welcomed Fr Chávez with joyful songs and a traditional dance. “As sons of Don Bosco, cheerfulness is our attitude, and we are moved by a spirit of optimism as we believe in the re-birth of Haitian people and in the re-founding of the Salesian charism in our country,” Fr Ducange said in his welcoming address. In his reply the Rector Major once again expressed how he himself and the whole Congregation were close to them, full of hope: “Before thinking of re-building the walls it is necessary to give hope to the people and to the young.”

He then visited the Salesian places most affected by the earthquake, both regarding the buildings and with the loss of life: the “Ecole Nationale des Arts et Métiers” (ENAM). Accompanying the group was Fr Mark Hyde, from the New Rochelle Missions Office, who had already been in Haiti for several days coordinating relief efforts. Visiting the various halls of the Institute and noting the damage and destruction, the Rector Major stopped for a few moments of silent prayer at the place where 12 Salesian pupils were buried.

Much greater and much deeper his emotion in front of the piles of rubble which still cover the bodies of about 150 youngsters. The silence in the courtyard filled with rubble made more heart-rending the exclamation: “How is it possible! Young people just starting out on life!” The Rector Major spoke to the Italian civil defence and fire service workers who are removing the debris of the Enam, stressing the significance of the place and the sacred character it tragically now has.

However, life has not stopped in the ENAM. The youngsters and the staff of the “Lakai” welcomed Fr Chávez in a short ceremony with songs and an address. “Now we must look to the future; it is up to you to give hope to Haiti,” the Rector Major told them. At the end, the youngsters of the “Lakai” gave Fr Chávez an oil painting.

Here too the Rector Major met an Italian delegation led by Naval Captain Gianluigi Reversi, Commander of the aircraft carrier “Cavour” from the Italian contingent in Haiti. “We wanted to work with the Salesians because we have seen, also here, their commitment to the young and to the poor,” the spokesman of the press office of the group said.

The Salesian parish of Cité Soleil, rendered unfit for use by the earthquake, the reception camps set up at Drouillard, the headquarters of the Vice Province were visited next. In spite of the pain in seeing how deep the wounds suffered by the Salesian centres, Fr Chávez never failed to bring hope and a spirit of optimism.

“We are very pleased with the visit of the Rector Major and we are conscious of the closeness of the whole Congregation. This encourages us to go ahead and to overcome all the difficulties!” often repeated Fr Ducange, who on 30 January was installed as the new Superior of the Vice Province of Haiti.

Early in the afternoon Fr Chávez walked through the streets to see the places in the city most affected. Looking at the ruins of the Cathedral he said to those with him: “God is walking through these streets telling us that he is on the side of those who are suffering, those still under the rubble, those who have seen reduced to dust the little they had managed to achieve in their whole lives.”

The last stop on the first day was Fleuriot, the postnovitiate house of formation for various religious orders present in Haiti, rendered completely out of action. “We must rebuild for the formation of our Salesians and in order to continue to offer this service of formation to the local church”, were the words of encouragement and the proposal of the Rector Major.

At the end of the day he had a meeting with the Council of the Vice Province which had already begun to look to the future.

Vatican releases first report on religious death toll in Haiti

The following is from the CNA:

Twenty days after Haiti was ravaged by the 7.0 earthquake, the Vatican has released its intial assesment of the number of male and female religious who died in the cataclysmic event. The report also lists buildings that were destroyed or damage in the disaster.

According to Fides, the news agency of the Vatican's Congregation for Evangelization, the list of dead religious shows that the quake inflicted “irreparable damage” on the Catholic Church in Haiti, without accounting for the extensive material destruction of the Church's infrastructure.

The preliminary report shows that the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul have suffered damage to their community houses and the loss of one religious sister.

The Daughters of Wisdom suffered the complete destruction of their house and school, and the death of six sisters.

The Daughters of Mary were hit extremely hard, with 13 religious losing their lives to the violent tremor.

The Daughters of Mary Help of Christians had their community house and school leveled, while the Christian Brothers lost their provincial house, three schools and the lives of two brothers.

The teaching community of The Little Sisters of St. Therese suffered the loss of four sisters, seven teachers and 60 students. Two of the order's community houses and five of their schools were flattened.

The Salesians of Don Bosco lost three brothers to the earthquake as well as one community house and one school.

The final religious community to report a death was the Sisters of St. Anne, who lost one sister.

The Franciscan Sisters informed the Vatican congregation that their school was a total loss.

According to the report, there is also extensive material damage to the structures of the Marianists, the Missionaries of Scheut, the Missionaries of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Dominican Sisters of the Presentation.

US Bishops: Coherent strategy needed for Haiti relief

The following comes from the CNA:

The United States needs a “long-term coherent strategy” for recovery, development, and anti-poverty efforts in Haiti after its devastating earthquake, Bishop of Albany Howard J. Hubbard has said in a letter to U.S. political leaders.

Bishop Hubbard’s comments came in a Jan. 26 letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Ron Kirk.

Writing as the chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on International Justice and Peace, he said the USCCB welcomed President Obama’s “leadership and compassion on behalf of the American people.”

He noted the president had appointed Administrator Raj Shah to coordinate the U.S. government’s response and also had invited President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush to lead a bipartisan relief effort.

He added that Catholic Relief Services (CRS) took “immediate” steps to respond to the conference and the USCCB took up a special collection for relief efforts after the disaster.

Bishop Hubbard advised that different government agencies should be coordinated in a “comprehensive approach” that engages other groups with expertise and experience in Haiti. The bishop recommended debt relief, trade preferences, extension of protected status for Haitians living the United States, and sustained development assistance as part of the aid strategy.

“When the international community and Haitians move beyond the most urgent aspects of the emergency, we urge a substantial and sustained commitment by the U.S. Government to provide long-term funding for reconstruction and poverty reduction,” he continued.

“At the same time, our nation should work to support and strengthen the role of the Haitian Government and institutions in the reconstruction and long-term development of their nation.”

The letter closed by thanking the U.S. leaders and pledging the bishops’ assistance.

“Be assured that the Conference of Bishops and Catholic Relief Services are also doing everything possible to act in solidarity with the people and Church in Haiti at this time of terrible loss and suffering.”

No sleep, little aid: Salesian nun pleads for more help for Haitians

The Salesian Sisters make a plea for more aid in Haiti. Let's not forget the tremendous needs of the people. The following comes from the CNS:

Sister Maria Sylvita Elie hasn't eaten all day, and the tiredness shows on her face as she pleads with a Brazilian nongovernmental organization for some tents for the homeless families who have camped out on the convent patio of her religious order, the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco.

Tents are in short supply in the Haitian capital these days, and she has to argue forcefully. Her persistence finally pays off, and she fills her pickup with two loads of tents.

"I'm going to hide them until dark, otherwise people will swarm all over us to get them. After it's dark I'll give them quietly to families that have small children," said Sister Sylvie, as she's known.

A Salesian nun who lives in one of the roughest areas of Port-au-Prince, Sister Sylvie has been sleeping under the stars since the Jan. 12 quake collapsed most of the church sanctuary and other buildings they used for educating neighborhood children.

"We're a center of reference for the community, and people come to us for help in solving their problems. Our job is to find the resources and people to solve those problems," she told Catholic News Service.

That has not been an easy task. With the exception of frequent shipments of medical supplies and food from her congregation's sisters in the neighboring Dominican Republic, few relief supplies have arrived here.

"While the people are dying, the international organizations are passing their time in meetings, in studies and planning. People fly around in helicopters looking at us, making the houses shake once again. But while they're planning, the people are dying. We've now gone more than two weeks without any help, and they haven't contacted those of us who could be most helpful in organizing the people. We've got to make the solidarity more concrete. We need fewer studies and plans while the people suffer and die," she said, beginning to cry.

"I'm sorry," she said after a moment. "But this is urgent."

Sister Sylvie's complex, now a collection of jumbled buildings around a patio filled with makeshift shelters, sits at the confluence of the Haitian capital's three most notorious neighborhoods: La Saline, Cite Soleil, and Belair. Before the quake, the seven sisters here ran a primary school and a jobs training program for more than 1,000 youths. Their special passion, however, was a residential school with 96 young women students. Sister Sylvie, who is 62, was in that building, walking down a hallway, when the quake struck.

"The building started shaking and I found a column and hugged it. The bottom of the column came loose from the floor and it started dancing around, but I asked God for mercy and held on. I heard the cries of the students who were studying.

"The building started to fall on one sister, and the girls screamed louder, but the wall stopped before it fell over completely on the sister, and the girls dragged her outside, where I found them on the patio. Since then we've been sleeping on the patio, with no wall to separate the convent from the street. I sleep covered with a towel from UNICEF," she said.

The two-story residential school didn't collapse, but it has huge cracks, and Sister Sylvie gives a visiting reporter a hurried tour of the ground floor. School papers still lie on desks and the floor. Everything is covered with a fine dust and chunks of walls and ceiling material that shook loose in the quake.

Sister Sylvie has obtained water from the Brazilian nongovernmental organization down the street, which also gave her the tents, donated by Norwegian Church Aid. She spends part of each day sorting the food and medicines that come from the Dominican Republic, shipping most off to other parishes where her congregation is serving similar homeless populations.

"I can't explain how the people have survived. The international community hasn't done much for them. We have to buy rice and beans and cooking gas, which is much higher priced now, and we have to try to control who gets in here. People wander the streets looking for something to drink and eat. People are getting frustrated; they're angry and will easily start shouting at you," she said.

She says she's particularly worried that the end of the month is approaching. With no work there will be no pay.

"I can't get that out of my head. Besides dealing with all the material needs, how do I lift up the faith of the community? How are they supposed to go out to animate and cheer up the groups? These questions won't let me rest. I didn't really sleep until two nights ago, when I finally collapsed. People told me the next day my face looked better," she said.

An aftershock rattles the ground. Sister Sylvie stops for a moment, staring straight ahead. Then she breathes again.

"Despite all our difficulties, the people have an extraordinary faith. Since the moment the earth started shaking they called out to Jesus to save them," she said. "It has been like a permanent retreat around here. The people don't sleep. They lie awake and pray. And they sing with even more faith than before. They don't see this as a curse, but know that the Lord wants to tell us something."

For now, Sister Sylvie worries about restarting her educational programs. Along with the damaged residential building, many of the other classrooms have collapsed.

"The government says we're going to have to reopen the schools. But our classrooms are under the rubble. I don't know when we'll be able to start classes again. Nor do I know what the students will do in the meantime," she said.

"Some of our people, including some of our students, are leaving the city, going to the countryside. But that's not the best solution. They're just going to make life in the countryside difficult for the people who already live there," she said.

Salesians and the Haitian Relief Effort

Here is the latest from our Salesian relief efforts in Haiti:

Fr. Mark Hyde, SDB (Mission Procure) is making another visit to Port-au-Prince on Friday, Jan. 29.

As of Jan. 26, the Salesians in Haiti are providing shelter to about 13,500 Haitians left homeless from the earthquake (approximately 6,500 in Carrefour-Thorland and 7,000 in Pétion-Ville). This doesn’t count what the FMAs are doing at their schools. Survivors are finding shelter in the limited number of facilities which remain standing, in makeshift tents, or in one of the more than 800 tents have been distributed by the Salesians. Currently, staff at the Salesian Missions headquarters in New Rochelle is working to secure an additional 2,000 six-man tents for distribution to the homeless.

In a true show and spirit of cooperation and solidarity, the Salesians in Germany and Austria are sending two 40-foot containers with 1,600 “schools in a box” kits, enough for 72,000 students. This is in preparation for makeshift schools (when deemed appropriate). Prior to the earthquake, Salesian Missions (N.R.) funded schools to these children. Every effort is being made to re-establish this as soon as possible, as well as attend to the more urgent, life-saving needs.

On Jan. 27 the Sandals Foundation has pledged $35,000 to Salesian Missions for its Haiti Relief Efforts (details to come).
After consultation with the SDBs of Haiti, the Emergency Response Team expects to carry out an assessment and identification of needs in the areas of water and sanitation infrastructure that can be turned into “shelf projects” for financing.

Fr. Joseph Simon, SDB, is receiving direct assistance in the form of a 40-kw generator for the street children program in Pétion-Ville.

Transition from emergency relief to reconstruction is expected to begin shortly after the flow of food assistance begins to normalize, which in turn is expected to happen a week or so after 40-foot containers of food assistance and other needed relief emergency items donated by Cross International begin to arrive in Santo Domingo for repacking and transport to Port-au-Prince. In the meantime, a continued food assistance bridge is in full swing with foodstuffs being purchased in the Dominican Republic.

Associazione Missioni Don Bosco from Turin has offered to defray the cost of buying and delivering some 2,000 urgently needed tents for Port-au-Prince. Salesian Missions (N.R.) is trying to find them; it’s a large number to find in stock.

If you would like to help our Salesian Missions in Haiti please click here.

Miracle Smile

This is amazing! Look at the smile on Kiki's face as he comes out of the ruble after a week! This comes from Yahoo:
It's been over a week since the Haitian earthquake devastated the country. Sadly, at this point, finding survivors is becoming increasingly rare. Still, there are glorious exceptions -- like Kiki, the young boy who flashed a million-dollar smile after being lifted from the rubble.

The rescue was captured on camera. As you'll see below, Kiki's older sister, Sabrina, was pulled out first. Seven-year-old Kiki comes out next, looking a bit dazed. However, after seeing the crowd, the survivor immediately smiles and extends his arms in triumph. A photographer from the New York Post described the scene and the crowd's reaction.

After so much heartbreak and tragedy, this was a rescue that inspired the masses. When asked why he smiled so broadly, Kiki responded, "I smiled because I was free, I smiled because I was alive."

After being treated for their injuries and dehydration, the two children were reunited with their parents. No doubt the children were happy. In time they'll understand just how happy they'd made everyone else.

Watch the incredible moment below, and learn how you can donate to Haiti here.

Haiti Relief Efforts Update from the Salesians

Here is the latest update on the situation in Haiti from the Salesians:

In New Rochelle, Salesian Missions is trying to collect information related to six areas of concern:

1. strategies for intervention, on three themes, immediate and long-term: saving lives, rebuilding lives, rebuilding structures;

2. setting up infrastructure through a local emergency office and satellite phone contact;

3. finances: collecting and distributing funds; partnering with others

4. outgoing information: getting updates from Haiti, preparing all sorts of reports, financial accounting;

5. offers of cooperation from persons (volunteers) and organizations (grants, services, etc.);

6. public relations: collecting and sharing information, photos, video from all our Salesian partners, as well as more general information about Haiti.

Fr. Mark Hyde arrived in Santo Domingo on Wednesday evening and had a first talk with the provincial and his team right away. Before leaving New York, Fr. Mark was interviewed by NBC News on relief programs in Haiti. CNN has offered a national pro bono advertisement campaign for Salesian emergency relief programs worth $10,000.

The SDBs are sheltering 3,500 refugees at Thorland. Photos from this site were posted by ANS several days ago. But many of them still need tents. More dramatic is what the FMAs are doing: caring for 3,500 at Pétion-Ville and 7,000 at their school in Thorland. The sisters report that they have many children without parents.

Sr. Annecie Audate, animator (superior) in Thorland, writes: “We have divided the camp into sectors to facilitate order. We have distributed approximately 800 tents to the people and also distributed water and some help given to us by our sisters in the Dominican Republic. Every morning we have the celebration of the Holy Mass with all the people present and in the afternoon we pray the Rosary and evening prayer together or have [Eucharistic] adoration.”

The SDBs have a water truck moving about the city dispensing clean drinking water, and two more trucks will soon be on their way.

Pictures pertaining to the food distribution mission to Haiti have be transmitted via separate e-mails. The 11 trucks from the D.R. (1 + the 10-truck convoy) went to Pétion-Ville. On January 21, three more trucks with 1,500 bags of dry rations were leave Barahona with Thorland as their destination. Each of these bags will serve one family for three days, for a total of more than 20,000 meals.

Fr. Zucchi Olibrice confirmed the following numbers of students before the earthquake: mini schools: 20,000; three-month short technical courses at ENAM: 360; regular students at ENAM: 1,040. The UN Disaster Assessment & Coordination Team (UNDAC) has confirmed that an On-site Operations and Coordination Center (OSOCC) team was sent to ENAM on Monday, January 18. Apparently they made some sort of survey but didn’t act to recover any bodies; the report we received was vague.

Fr. Zucchi told Mr. Ortega that there were 200 casualties among the ENAM students. They were 5-17 years old, some of the best and brightest young women and men studying to be teachers.

In addition, 19 people were killed at the Little Schools facility headquartered at the ENAM-LAKAY compound.

Those whose bodies have been recovered at these places, including 85-year-old Brother Hubert Sanon, have been buried in a common grave near the school.

The church and parish center of Cite Soleil have collapsed around children who were at catechism classes. Rescue teams are still working to find people alive in the rubble.

An OCHA (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) report dated January 19 states: “Minor damages were reported in Les Cayes (South department) where 12 houses collapsed and 500 people where wounded. Health structures in the area are overwhelmed and 200 people are displaced.” There is a Salesian school with youth center, and three confreres, at Les Cayes; we have not received any damage reports from them.

VIS (the Italian Salesian NGO) has offered to support the coordination of emergency relief and the installation of the coordination center. In addition to its own volunteers, VIS is ready to send experts in relief management for identified special tasks. The joint provincial meeting to take place on Friday will review this offer as well as the offer received from the Spanish Salesian NGO Juventud y Desarrollo (JyD).

BEGECA, a German procurement agency, has offered its services. BEGECA is recognized by the disaster relief department of the EU – ECHO – for purchasing relief items in their emergency programs. BEGECA has been a partner of Salesian NGOs for many years. A coordination officer from BEGECA will soon be posted in Port-au-Prince.

BEGECA also has offered a plant for cleaning 2,000 to 3,000 liters of water/hour in Port-au-Prince. The offer includes sending two technicians for its installation and training in Haiti, free of charge. 1,000,000 water cleansing pills from Jugend Eine Welt in Bonn are already en route to Santo Domingo for Haiti. Another 500,000 have been offered by Jugend Eine Welt Austria.

Fr. Mark spoke with Cross International USA’s president, who confirmed an offer of 200 containers of relief supplies— dry food, rice, beans, cooking oil, personal hygiene kits, drinking water, blankets, and tarps—for different relief agencies in Haiti, including the Salesians in the first place. Cross International has confirmed that they are ready to ship the first containers within the next 2-3 days.

A support center will be established in Santo Domingo with an implementation office in Port-au-Prince. Support offers have been received from JyD and VIS. An offer for a professional with Creole proficiency to serve in the support center has been made by JyD.

The logistical support center for emergency relief will be placed in Barahona, where the SDBs have been offered open space at the international airport at Barahona for temporary storage of the containers. Fr. Pichardo, the provincial, has also authorized making the chapel in Barahona more secure in order to use it immediately for storage space.

The donated food stuffs and other relief items will be trucked from Barahona to Jimani, D.R. (on the southernmost border with Haiti), where the SDBs are currently looking for warehouse space for repacking of donated good into smaller family-size packages. Smaller packages will then trucked be to Port-au-Prince. The Salesians of Haiti still fear that security for a larger warehouse in Haiti is not yet possible. Target distribution areas in Port-au-Prince are Thorland (Carrefour), Cité Soleil, ENAM, and Jacmel (an FMA house).

CNN.com has added Salesian Missions to the approved charities on its “Impact Your World” section of its site, in addition to donating $10,000 in free advertising for our relief effort in Haiti. Those ads will begin running later today.

The Sandals Foundation (the philanthropic arm of Sandals Resorts International) has designated Salesian Missions as one of the recipients of funds from its Haiti Relief Fund. Press Release: http://www.prweb.com/releases/Haiti_Earthquake/Disaster_Relief/prweb3456514.htm

On Friday, January 22, Fr. Mark Hyde, SDB, Martin Diggs (SM-NR photographer), Fr. Juan Linares, SDB, and Fr. Victor Pichardo will travel to Port-au-Prince by helicopter for a coordination meeting with the Haiti and Antilles provincial councils of the SDBs and FMAs. . Bro. Albert Rodriguez, the Antilles treasurer, and Franklin Ortega, the Antilles director of development, will go by road. The meeting will take place at the SDBs’ Port-au-Prince provincial house at 10:00 a.m.--outside “under a tree” (the building not being safe). Before the meeting, the team will visit damaged Salesian sites in Port-au-Prince. The return to Santo Domingo is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.

Salesian Missions has had a conference call with Visionlink, Inc., in order to put in an emergency relief database. The company has developed emergency communication systems for the Red Cross, various humanitarian aid organizations, and more than 200 pharmaceutical companies.

The Haitian provincial council will start to discern tomorrow on priorities and general future organization of their activities in Haiti. There are offers to support the reconstruction of Salesian educational infrastructure from Gobierno de Castilla y Leon (through JyD), Misereor/city of Aachen (through Salesian Missions, Bonn), the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation & Development–BMZ (through the Salesian NGO Jugend Dritte Welt), and the Rector Major.

Salesian institutions all across the U.S. are praying and raising funds for their “Salesian brothers and sisters” in Haiti. For example, see Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J.:

http://www.northjersey.com/news/011910_Don_Bosco_Prep_mourns_losses_at_Haitian_school_belonging_to_same_Catholic_order.html

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/local_news/new_jersey/100121-nj-school-mourns-sister-school-in-haiti

FMAs from different provinces have expressed their readiness to leave for Haiti to help, and there are a dozen lay volunteers from their houses in the D.R. who are ready to go. But because of security problems they have not been free to go the Haiti. The FMAs of the United States are gathering emergency items to have them on site as soon as possible. They are also receiving help and solidarity from the sisters of other religious institutes in various parts of the world and from many lay people who have been affected by the enormity of the damage caused by the earthquake. The FMAs in Haiti, in turn, are assisting the sisters of other congregations who can’t get it anywhere else. That has included arranging transport to the D.R. for those seriously injured.