Hope for the 2010-2011 School Year - September 2010
St. Francis DeSales counsels us to look confidently toward the future with hope, “Let us serve God well today; God will provide for tomorrow. Each day has its own burden to bear; do not worry about tomorrow, for the same God who reigns today will reign tomorrow. And if in God’s goodness God had thought that you needed more assistance then God would have given it to you.”
We must prayerfully embrace this loving advice. Everything we need to do to get ready for the opening school day on October 6th seems overwhelming and a resurgence of violence and fighting in Cite Soleil fills us with anxiety.
In a recent phone call with one of our workers told us, “Two young men were killed yesterday in shooting between two different gangs, they are very young, and there is no leader”, he said over the phone. “These young men carry guns and rob people all over. It is a serious problem and we will need to improve the security in our schools. Many of the young students and their parents are frightened.”
All of this is very troubling and makes the work only more difficult. But we will not be discouraged. The steady prayers and support from our many friends and parishes keeps us going and helps us take each day as it comes. In the six short months since the earthquake, we’ve “righted our capsized boat”, bailed it out and are now fixing the leaks.
Rebuilding and Post Earthquake Update - June 16, 2010
After four months of steady rebuilding we now have a fully functional headquarters. We transformed our old vehicle storage area into a seven room headquarters, storage depot and pharmacy. The final phase will be the installation of a solar power system.
Volunteer Residence Construction
Workers clear rubble newly purchased property
Now that we have a functional office HQ, we may begin reconstruction of our volunteer center. The torrential rains, poor sewage situation and stifling summer heat make tent living extremely unpleasant. We began clearing the rubble from the recently purchased adjacent plot and will construct a large volunteer residence. This complex will include volunteer quarters, dormitories for Oblate associates, Fr. Tom’s residence, a chapel, meeting rooms, dining area and space for vehicle storage and repairs.
Agriculture and Rural Development Update - June 17, 2010
The tremendous devastation and loss of life from the January 12th earthquake validated our belief that agricultural promotion and development can help Haiti’s people make huge strides toward decent living. Port-au-Prince and other major cities are sorely overcrowded and cannot support the tremendous needs of such a huge concentrated population. Far too many youth from small villages are leaving their homes and families and migrating to Port-au-Prince looking for work.
In the past few years HT invested a great deal of funding and energy into educating and training young people to care for the environment and honor and respect agriculture and farming vocations. Here is the latest news on these projects and our work outside Port-au-Prince:
HTG Gonaives Office
Our office in Gonaives is the focal point for all our outreach to the poor outside of Port-au-Prince. The primary ministry of our HTG Gonaives office is a combination of education (schools and training programs), intervention (relief and charity efforts), Environmental protection (training and reforestation), Agricultural & development (credit coops, farming, irrigation and water resources) and nutrition in rural villages.
HTG Office in Gonaives - June 2010
News on current HTG projects:
The population in and around Gonaives, where we are located, increased by 20% after the earthquake and forced us to increase our feeding and charity outreach from this office. This creates a real strain on our outreach activities so we’ve increased the funding and are looking to involve more volunteers in water well drilling and agricultural management.
Many Haitians suffer from acute malnutrition and very serious health issues. We provide over 11,000 school meals and elderly nutrition. Our small health centers focus on preventive health and early intervention. We donate supplies and equipment to larger existing organizations whose primary purpose is medical and health related.
Education is the best way to overcome the evils of poverty and affirm the dignity of every human being. We run schools for more than 11,000 of the poorest children in Haiti. Our educational programs in the slums and agricultural training efforts rural areas give people hope and the ability to improve their life.
Hands Together believes that Haiti's hope for a better future lies in Agriculture and environmental change. We focus much of our energy and resources on promoting agricultural development, educating people on protection for the environment, and providing potable water and irrigation wherever we can.
Many people in Haiti endure inhuman suffering. We follow an ethic of "spontaneous charity" that is dictated by the most urgent needs of those closest to us. We seek to provide mercy wherever we can help prevent death or severe hardship.
