Haitian Doctor to Speak about Emergency Work after Earthquake

WEST HARTFORD — An evening program on March 31 hosted by Outreach to Haiti and St. Peter Claver Church of West Hartford will feature a Haitian doctor who worked at a downtown hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, immediately after the earthquake in January 2010.

Dr. Jude Banatte, who has been with the Catholic Relief Services in Haiti for 11 years, will talk about the emergency efforts that followed the earthquake and that continue today. He was at the capital’s Hospital St. Francois de Sales, which was destroyed in the disaster, but he and others set up operations in the ruins. They tended to the injured, tried to salvage medical equipment and supplies, and worked to get the hospital running again.

Banatte will speak at 7 p.m. at the parish hall of St. Peter Claver, 47 Pleasant St. in West Hartford. 

There is no charge for attending, but donations to support medical work in Port-au-Prince will be greatly appreciated. The non-profit Medical Aid to Haiti (MATH), many members of which belong to the St. Peter Claver congregation, has had a long-time partnership with Outreach to Haiti.

For more information, please contact the office of Outreach to Haiti at (860) 638-1018 or (860) 848-2237 ext. 206. Also, you can e-mail info@haitianministries.org

Creedible to be “On the Horn” talking Haiti

SOUTHINGTON — I don't want to forget Haiti. Too many of us already have.

When I traveled there in February with the Good Samaritain Rebuilding Fund I came home on a spiritual high. I was floored by the conditions I saw there, and I was moved by the resilient people I had met. I didn't want to just go back to my old ways, taking what I had for granted and complaining about the small things. But, of course, a few months later I found myself losing that spiritual high.

So, I went back.  I spent time at Ecole Le Bon Samaritain in Carrefour in December, and this time I refuse to lose that high. I surround myself with memories from Haiti – photos, art, bumperstickers, and even a Haiti bandanna. And this time, sorry friends, but I refuse to let you forget about Haiti too.

Read full post here.

Remembering Haiti one year after quake

One year ago today Haiti was rattled with a 35-second earthquake that the country still hasn't healed from. In one year, things have gotten worse, not better. I was there five weeks after the earthquake and couldn't believe the destruction that I saw. But what moved me the most were the people. They smiled and kept their spirits up, even though they lost loved ones, even though they lost their homes.

You can read about my first trip to Haiti here.

Then, in December, I went back. Now Haitians aren't only fighting homelessness and grief, their fighting cholera and election riots. Maybe for some life has gotten better in Haiti, but for most it's gotten worse. I was able to find a pocket of joy in Haiti though, at Ecole Le Bon Samaritain. You can about my second trip here.

Read full post here.

New Haitian Ministry Launched

HARTFORD — Controversy's been swirling around the Diocese of Norwich the past couple of weeks after Bishop Michael R. Cote and members of his staff decided to merge the organization's two Haitian ministries.

In December, Cote announced in a press release that Haitian Ministries and  Hospice St. Joseph would now operate together under a new name – Outreach to Haiti.

But those opposing the decision, are forming their own Haitian ministry, called Walking with Haiti.

Read full post here.

Haitian ministry shut down

NORWICH — It’s true.

Haitian Ministries for the Diocese of Norwich, Inc. is no more. Since 1987 the ministry has been serving the people of Port-au-Prince, but on Dec. 13 the organization officially dissolved into a new ministry with new leadership and a new board of directors.

I was actually in Haiti when I first heard about this. This is the anonymous tip that a reader posted to Creedible:

Read full post here.

Merry Christmas from Haiti

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CARREFOUR – Elementary students at Ecole Le Bon Samaritain in Carrefour, Haiti celebrate their first Christmas since the Jan. 12 earthquake.

 

Port-au-Prince seminary trains leaders

PORT-AU-PRINCE — The 17 seminarians at Seminarie de Theologie, Eglise Episcopale d'Haiti, have learned a lot about leadership over the past 11 months. When their building was damaged by the Jan. 12 earthquake, and their city was left in ruins, they quickly jumped into action bringing counsel and prayer to the devastated country.

"When you see things like that happen you think why Haiti? Where is God in all of this?," Seminary Director Rev. Chanoine Oge Beauvoir said. "The challenge for us who call ourselves Christian is to show God's presence to others, in spite of our own suffering, to stand up and show God's love."

Immediately after the earthquake the students worked with those living in a nearby tent city and today continue to reach out to the community.

The seminary, which has been repaired, borders an Episcopal high school. The campus became a tent city after the earthquake. There are still some tents on the property, but not as many, and four different schools are now using the campus.

Oge Beauvoir and his seminarians are confident that the earthquake was not God's wrath upon Haiti. More than 1 million people were left homeless and 230,000 people died because of poor leadership, Oge Beauvoir said.

"Why did we let people build anything, anywhere? It's not God's fault, it's our fault," he said, explaining that leaders need to step up now more than ever.

He said the seminarians are trying to be those leaders, and are trying to encourage other visionaries to take a stand as well.

In Haiti there are 119 Episcopal parishes, and only 46 priests. Because of that Oge Beauvoir said the church relies heavily on lay leaders. In January the seminary will host a lay leadership program.

Meanwhile, the students (who are living in temporary dorms) have been attending chapel twice a day and taking spirituality classes.

"We do that because you need to be spiritual to be a leader and within the community," Oge Beauvoir said.

For information on the seminary, visit its website here.

How was Haiti?

Last time I returned from Carrefour, everyone asked the same question – How was Haiti? I struggled answering that question in February, and I’m struggling to answer it again now.

The situation there is heartrending.  People are living in tents and underneath tarps or in makeshift sheet metal housing. One million people are living in tent cities, according to the Miami Herald. That’s the size of Hartford and Bridgeport combined. People are forced to eat food that’s possibly contaminated by cholera bacterium. People wash up in puddles of rain water – sometimes they have soap, sometimes they don’t. Clean drinking water is a luxury. Toilets are a luxury. Electricity is a luxury.

When it rains there, it pours. Literally.  According to the Encyclopedia of the Nations, Port-au-Prince gets 54 inches of rainfall per year. Tropical storms ravage the island regularly.

Read full post here.

School must go on

She sat in a wooden chair in Jean-Ellie's office – which is a tent with a desk inside of it – and pleaded with him for more time.  She has three children attending Ecole Le Bon Samaritain, but since September has only paid $12 (U.S.) towards tuition. That's about $730 short of what she owes. Her husband died in the January earthquake and she's run out of money.

It's a story that the Milliens have heard too often this past year. Jean-Ellie patiently tells the woman that they can discuss it again in January.
He wants her children to stay at the school too, because he believes education can change the world. But money is tight for everyone, including the Milliens. They a have a staff to pay each month – cooks, teachers, maintenance. They have supplies to buy – food, bottled water, soap. But most of the EBS parents are without work now, so again and again Jean-Ellie patiently says yes, they can have more time.
"It's not easy running the school, but there's fun in it," he says as he spoons his clear, liquid medication into his morning coffee.
He has big plans for EBS. If through the Good Samaritain Rebuilding Fund at least another $200,000 can be raised, then Jean-Ellie says the school can be completely rebuilt, with a medical clinic for the community, a library and possibly a trade school for Haitians who couldn't take the academic route. And maybe the school could even extend to the ninth grade. Right now the school teaches pre-school through sixth grade. According to Haitian law, elementary school teachers are paid monthly. After that they are paid hourly, which EBS cannot afford.
After the earthquake it was impossible to resume classes right away, so the Milliens rented a nearby dance hall and opened up a medical clinic for the community. The Good Samaritain Rebuilding Fund sent five volunteer teams to the Milliens. But after a few months classes resumed and the owners of the dance hall nearly doubled the rent. The Milliens had no choice but to close the clinic. Their hope, though, is to re-open it as part of the school.
With the cholera outbreak here, Jean Ellie says the need for the clinic is crucial. The Milliens are looking for a place nearby they can rent. First they need space, then nurses, then medicine, which means bringing immediate help to cholera victims isn't possible right now.
So they keep teaching and keep hoping that more money and more helps comes their way.
"There's an old Haitian proverb that goes 'little by little, the bird puts his nest,'" Jean Ellie says, explaining that every dollar and every prayer helps. "We are working with people in crisis, so therefore anything you could give will be appreciated."
Jean Ellie, 77, and Mona, 67, have been running the school since 1997 but Jean Ellie says the future of the school is not in their hands.
"It depends on anyone who loves the world. The school is not only to benefit Carrefour or Haiti, it's something for the world. If they can get an education, and go onto a higher education, then the students of the school can go on and do something for this world," Jean Ellie says.
According to the Haitian constitution, parents are supposed to educate their children. But the government is only providing an education for 15 percent of the population. The other 85 percent have to pay for private schooling or be home schooled. Therefore, Jean Ellie explained, most students end up lacking an education.
Though money is important in keeping EBS running, Jean Ellie reminds us that Jesus didn't have any money and was able to transform the world.
"What builds a school is love," he says. "Pour out your love and money will come…We're looking for help whether it be $1, $10, $100 or thousands of dollars. But most of all it's not money it's love – a prayer for someone, for their life, for the future of the kids, for the teachers."

Blue Haiti

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Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR. Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

 

CARREFOUR — Blue used to be my favorite color. But I saw far too much of the color on Monday as my airplane descended into Port-au-Prince. The rolling, green hills of Haiti are now speckled with patches of royal blue. Blue means tent city. Blue means tarps. Blue means not enough is being done.

Eleven months ago the tarps were crisp, and bright. Now they're torn and faded. Tarps aren't meant to keep families dry from monsoon rains for an entire year. There are white tents underneath the tarps. They used to be white, anyway. Now the tents are stained brownish and yellow, like the armpit of an old t-shirt.

I shouldn't be surprised that so little has gotten done in Haiti since Jan. 12. I'm sure Rev. Jean Ellie Millien feels the same way, but he's a quiet man – except when he's behind the wheel, laying on the horn.

Millien and his wife, Mona, founded Ecole Le Bon Samaritain, an elementary school in Carrefour, nearly 14 years ago. And they're the reason for my trip back to Haiti. Though the couple have a home in Greenwich, they spend most of their time in Carrefour. Carrefour, Mona said, is where they're needed the most right now.

Jean-Ellie has been here for two weeks and Mona arrived a few days ago. They aren't returning to Connecticut until February.

I feel safe driving through Haiti's capital with Jean-Ellie. I don't know what the scene is at night, but by day the only evidence of election protests are ripped posters and banners, and maybe one or two burned structures. I gaze out the window, amazed at how little has changed since I last visited 10 months ago. Some people smile at me, kindly. Others look at me with empty eyes. Their eyes tell it all – they're tired. Tired of tents. Tired of rain. Tired of hunger pains and thirst. I can only make eye contact with them for a second, because I can feel their helplessness and it hurts. Others glare at me, annoyed that another American is here trying to save the day.

I have my pockets full of coins and toys, but I know that I can only give gifts out in secret, or else our Isuzu Rodeo will be overwhelmed with crowds. So I ignore the children coming up to our windows, and I ignore the man begging, "mama, give me something, mama. Miss Adidas," he says, reading my jacket. And I especially ignore the kissing sounds men make as we pass by. A kissing sound in Haiti is to a construction worker's whistle in the states. Cat calls.

But I am pleased at the hum of trailers and back hoes in some areas. Progress is being made…slowly. Construction here isn't like construction as we know it. No orange barrels, no caution signs, no concrete mixers. In Haiti, construction happens one post at a time, one brick at a time, one person at a time.

We finally make it to Carrefour. Except for the pink wall and colorful gate, the school isn't recognizable. The building that was barely standing in the spring has been demolished. Three small barracks and two large tents now make up the school. Tomorrow I'll get to observe classes. I'm curious how all 138 students fit into this area, but I'm glad to hear there's 138 students! This time last year Ecole Le Bon Samaritain had about 180 pupils. In February, the Milliens only knew the whereabouts of 25 of them. Jean-Ellie said some of the missing students fled to the country, others gave up on school. Others didn't make it at all.

He said that if enough money is raised the school can have a new structure and be fully operational again within three years. The Good Samaritain Rebuilding Fund, spearheaded by Old St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Bloomfield, has raised about $92,000 for the school. Jean-Ellie says the school needs about $200,000 more. The school is currently working on earning a non-profit status.

Ecole Le Bon Samaritain not only provides education to its students, it also provides food and basic healthcare.

Mona said people ask her often why she and her husband spend so much time in Carrefour (a ghetto of Port-au-Prince), when they have a home in Connecticut and family in nicer places in Haiti.

"We are doing God's work," she says, shrugging her shoulders and laughing.

She adds that people in the U.S. don't realize what they have and don't realize that people of Haiti are in survival mode.

Mona was at the school when the earthquake happened. She heard a nearby house fall and before she could register what had happened, heard screams for help. She responded and until 2 a.m. helped a neighbor dig her child out from underneath rubble. A few hours later the child died.

For the next week Mona cooked for families in the community, until she ran out of food. Jean-Ellie was in Connecticut for a medical operation when the quake happened. He got to her as soon as he could and since then the couple has gone even further out of their way to help Carrefour, providing medical care and clothing immediately after the quake. Now their focus is rebuilding the school, which they firmly believe will ultimately help fight hunger and illiteracy in Haiti. I think they're right.