In Haiti's crisis YOU can help us
/Dear friends
As you see from the news, to say that times are tough in Haiti would be a gross understatement.
If you are able, we really need your help.
We literally never know what is going to happen each day. There is no government, gang violence is the rule of the day.
We only know the effects: kidnapped, battered, terrorized, hungry and homeless people in ever growing numbers.
Even with these multiplied emergencies, the St Luc hospital and her many clinics remain open, our schools are timidly functioning, and teachers are staying connected to their students digitally when it is impossible to get to the school.
Our outreach teams are in overdrive, for the sick, the refugee, the marginalized, the wounded.
With nearly quarter of a century on the front line, we still maintain a grassroots way of acting, with a person-to-person approach, as often as possible. There are times, honestly, where panic and chaos do not allow for such careful work, and we have to withdraw and regroup, at least for now.
We are mindful not to see a "sea of suffering", but rather to see individual people in their distress, and to listen to their story.
Words of peace and encouragement, showing solidarity and giving practical help, are our daily fare.
She shared quite a tough history with Fr Rick including both being a triplet AND having triplets herself, a widow whose husband and adult children were killed at the end of the Duvalier dictatorship in the 1980's, and now whose house was burned by bandits last month, causing her to run multiple times as a refugee, from place to place, to avoid gunfire between gangs and police.
And yet...
She is thanking God for the bread
She just enjoyed a papaya from our garden
She is asking where she can charge her phone
So she can see YouTube
And we are giving the needed money to relocate her to a safer area.
And as she was sitting here one of the farm workers walked by and she said to him, "Moun sa yo bon moun" which means "These are good people"
Fr Rick responded, "It takes one to know one!"
We are trying to save street children from being pulled into the gang factory, by having a meal with them (and their moms), by small group on Sundays, teaching civics and manners, and a non-aggressive way to beg -until we can get them into school, and they don't need to beg anymore.
We tell them if they have to beg, not to chase cars, begging the driver
Not to jump on the cars, which is aggressive and dangerous
Not to surround the cars in groups which is threatening to the driver and can provoke bad reaction,
Rather, when they slow down for the potholes and mud, say good morning
Ask if they can spare any money for food
and if they say no then say thank you, we understand
and if they help you say thank you and share with your group
It is a small effort, but realistic and "heart to heart" talks is how we all get ahead.
Your gifts made today put words into action and make a tangible and meaningful difference in people's lives, one person at a time.
On behalf of all the St Luc leadership we are truly grateful for you and for your caring support of our friends and neighbors throughout Haiti.
Mesi
