What i do everyday....March 9, 2025

After the massacre in Tabarre 25/27 about a week ago, the same two gangs promise on video messages to come and kill everyone in Tabarre.

While we know that is the “Tabarre” just across the National Road from us, we have been planning how to prevent the deaths of women, children and the elderly. The main idea we have is the use the NPH “St Anne Home” to welcome this population at night so they are in safety if there is an attack. The discussion gets hung up on “spies,” because if we are not careful and there is an informant, our very St Anne Home can be attacked, which would be dangerous for the 100 employees who already are refugees in that compound. We would endanger their lives.

We started accelerating the discussion and planning yesterday, because last Friday (two days ago) and last Wednesday (four days ago) the gangs were mobilized to attack, and both times it got thwarted when witnesses as the gang came together in Croix des Bouquets by the hundreds, made subvert phone calls to the police. We accelerate our planning because we can’t count on that to work every time.

With the reality of bombs used against the gangs (7 more dropped over the weekend), the reality of predicting the gangs also changes.

The word on the street is that the bombs are not from the police or army, but a hired mercenary group. The gangs, as we hear from workers who live in their proximity, think the elite class is ordering the bombings and are allegedly organizing major attacks against elites in Petionville and Kenscoff.

No matter what the cause, the Kenscoff gangs are more aggressive, and are now very close to our orphanage. The streets are abandoned of people, deliveries are not easily made to the area because of fear (for example, propane and water to the orphanage), and we are worried that we are not safe and that staff may also decide to leave the area.

So we are revisiting rather fast the issue I raised in these notes a few weeks ago: the time may be fast approaching when we have to move the children to safer areas, in the Province- a major and dangerous undertaking.

There is another religious Sister doing the same, moving two orphanages ( a total of 150 children) out of Port au Prince. And really not sure yet where she will find a place.

We have about 225 children to move, plus staff. And it may be likely to also move the 55 children and adults with special needs, with staff. The Lord really has to show us where and how.

Instead of the “Sound of Music”, this is “The Sound of Lamentations.”

With the closing of the USAID sponsorship of the 650 adults in our care, we have launched an appeal for $20/month/patient. We are glad to report we have achieved coverage for these friends in need, for three months of twelve so far. These people will certairly die without HIV and/or TB medicines. Their children will be orphans. Their illnesses are treatable, and so we fight to treat them. Thank God we have made this headway.

I went out on the streets today to pick up a donation for refugees. Gds 200,000 which is about US $1,500. I have received three other of these in recent days, a great help for the refugees all around us.

When I was out, we came across a baby goat hit by a car. The hind leg has a complete fracture below the hip. The mother tried to help the little one, but finally had to get away from the street dogs with her other little goats.

We couldn’t leave the little goat to be torn to shreds by the streets dogs- and as we left with it, people on the road were calling our “goat thieves! goat thieves!’

It was safer to get out of there there than to try to correct the narrative of a growing radicalized crowd.

See the pictures below. We brought the baby goat home, the gardeners used their country talents and made a splint out of a dried palm sheath. I bought powdered milk and we gave it by syringe. We also give childrens dose of liquid ibuprofen by syringe.

I asked the gardener to take the goat home. I said if the owner never shows up he can keep it! I gave him the rest of the powdered milk for the goat.

He said, ”For the goat? My own small children never taste milk!”

Thats an easy fix. I will send him a sack of milk.

We also successfully hand pollinated out 7th vanilla flower today. Seems rather banal when you read the human tragedies we are dealing with. But this kind of thing helps keep us sane.

May God’s blessing of peace soon be upon us, and all people suffering from violence around the world.