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News About Our Ministry in Haiti
Following the Earthquake
Deacon
Anita's Reports from Haiti
February 19 to April 4, 2010
Sunday, February 21 -
Update on Haiti Recovery
Little by little some things are returning
to normal in Haiti. The Port au Prince airport has opened to commercial
flights. The school at Ste. Marie Madeleine is scheduled to open Monday,
February 22. People still are afraid to go into a building. The daily feeding
program has been increased with additional food delivered last week through our
normal source in Delray Beach. A satellite communication system has been
installed at Bondeau which adds to our ability to communicate as well as
support educational purposes. New latrines are being dug, and a goat farm is
being constructed to provide a source of sustainable development.
Deacon Anita is now in Bondeau
where she will stay at the new Maison d'Amitie until the Tuesday after Easter
providing encouragement to the people and assisting Pere Kesner in the
development of Ste. Marie Madeleine school and church at Bondeau.
To date, the South Florida
Haiti Project has received over $45,000 for relief work. We are still in need
of a vehicle to provide transportation for people and supplies, costing about
$50,000, including insurance. Donations for this purpose would be greatly
appreciated.
Please pray for Deacon Anita's
mission in Haiti. To learn more about Ste. Marie Madeleine Church and School,
go to South Florida Haiti Project web site,
www.southfloridahaitiproject.org.
We continue to need your support.
Sunday, February 7 - Update from
David Gury
St. Gregory's parish has been most generous with giving
to the South Florida Haiti Project in support of Ste. Marie Madeleine Parish
and School. To date $34,000 has been received for the project. Also, St.
David's in Wayne PA, sent $12,000. Included with their offering is a $50 gift
certificate from a boy who received it as a Christmas gift and he wanted to
give it to Haiti. This is sacrificial giving! In addition, a gift of $17,700
was given to complete payment for the new Friends House in Bondeau. This will
be sent as soon as the bank is up and running.
This week we learned that at least 1000 migrants have come to
Bondeau. They are fleeing Port au Prince and must be fed and cared for. The
Executive Committee committed a portion of the money received to double the
feeding program from $20,000 a year to $40,000 to feed not only students and
teachers, but also adults and migrants as well. Food can be purchased in
Miragoane and delivered to Bondeau for preparation in the school’s
kitchen. Also approved is $6,000 to build latrines for the expanded population
at the school and to replace inadequate existing ones.
Of urgent need is a good sturdy vehicle for Pere Kesner to
continue in his efforts at Bondeau. The truck acquired six years ago is beyond
repair. The cost for such a new vehicle delivered in Haiti is about $50,000.
Assistance in funding this cost will be greatly appreciated.
Deacon Anita has plans to travel to
Haiti the middle of this month and stay in Bondeau for a month. This will
provide some first hand help for the school and community of Ste. Marie
Madeleine. Please pray for Deacon Anita's mission.
To learn more about Ste. Marie
Madeleine Church and School, go to South Florida Haiti Project web site,
www.southfloridahaitiproject.org
. We continue to need your support for this project. |
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Monday, January 25 - Update from
David Gury
The priest in charge of Ste. Marie Madeleine remained in
Port au Prince after the earthquake until Friday, January 22 when he was able
to reach Bondeau and spend the night. He reports that the school and Maison
d'Amitie are in good shape. Only some very minor cracks in plaster, which can
be repaired.
With the cash we were able to send to
him through Bishop Frade's emissary, he has established the feeding program for
the community. At the celebration of the eucharist on Friday, he told the
community to come daily for a feeding at noon which is for students and adults
as well. He has been able to purchase food in Miragoane. The same program of
feeding is also being conducted at St. Paul's in Petit Trou di Nippes. This
program will make good use of some of the relief funds raised for South Florida
Haiti Project.
On January 26, David Gury will fly to
Santo Domingo to meet with Pere Kesner and to deliver funds to support the
operating costs of Ste. Marie Madeleine school. He will return late on January
27 after spending time with Pere Kesner, and report following that visit.
Episcopal Relief and Development is
very active with the Diocese of Haiti to assess the needs to rebuild the
Diocese of Haiti. As an Arch Deacon, Pere Kesner is playing an important role
as a member of the task force for the Diocese of Haiti. He is going to Santo
Domingo on a mission with ERD to obtain a fleet of vehicles for the Diocese and
supplies to take back to Haiti. |
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Wednesday, January 20 - Update
from Deacon Anita
The Episcopal Church, along with most of Haiti,
has suffered severely from the earthquake. The once beautiful Holy Trinity
Cathedral is completely destroyed, along with surrounding diocesan structures,
which include Holy Trinity School and the home of Sisters of St. Margaret.
Bishop Duracin's house was destroyed. He is safe but Mrs. Duracin is being
treated for a foot injury at a hospital in Cange.
We heard from Father Kesner Gracia
that he and his family are safe. They were in Port au Prince at the time of the
earthquake. He said that the buildings in Bondeau are "OK". The
school and new house are standing. He is very distraught that he cannot get
back to Bondeau and his parishes west of Port au Prince. He is sleeping outside
on the ground in a "camp".
We will keep you updated on our web
site as we hear from Father Kesner. Many St. Gregory's parishioners have given
very generously to our Haiti Relief Fund. Thank you for your care and love. We
will hold the funds until the situation in Bondeau can be assessed. With many
people moving from the city to the country, we are likely to have many more
people in need of food and water. We likely will have more children enrolled in
school. Your support to St. Gregory's Haiti Relief or our diocesan
outreach is needed now!
A Letter from Fr. Andrew
Sherman:
13 January 2010
Dear Friends in Christ at St.
Gregory's and in our South Florida Community and beyond,
We are all feeling devastated
by the news and images coming out of Haiti in the wake of the disastrous
earthquake. As you know, Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world and
lacks the basic infrastructure and resources required to respond to the
enormity of this tragedy. Please pray for the people of Haiti and for a
generous response from the church and the world community.
One of the special gifts God
has given St. Gregory's is our partnership with the community of St. Marie
Madeleine congregation and school in Bondeau, which is located about 60
kilometers southwest of Port-au-Prince. They are our beloved partners in Christ
and brothers and sisters in faith. For our community this tragedy is deeply
personal. As of yet we have not made contact with Bondeau. Our contact with the
Episcopal Diocese of Haiti has informed us that Trinity Cathedral, the diocesan
complex and the Bishop's residence have been completely destroyed.
Our ministry leadership team,
led by Dave Gury and Deacon Anita, are working to establish contact with
Bondeau. They will begin making assessments of the needs of St Marie Madeleine
and the community of Bondeau and how we can most effectively respond to those
needs, as information becomes available.
There are two ways that you
can financially support the relief efforts. Bishop Frade is requesting that
funds be sent directly to Episcopal Charities, our diocesan arm for providing
disaster relief. Checks can be made out to "Episcopal Charities of Southeast
Florida" and sent to the diocesan office: 525 N.E. 15th St., Miami, Florida
33131. Alternately, checks can be made out to St. Gregory's Episcopal Church
and marked in the memo line "Haiti Relief". We will direct these resources to
our partners in Bondeau.
We will be using our website
to update the congregation on the relief effort. Join me in praying for the
people of Haiti.
Christ's peace,
The Rev. Andrew J. Sherman
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A Letter to Dave Gury from The Rev. Kesner Ajax in Haiti:
Date: January 13, 2010
11:34:58 AM EST
To: Dave Gury
Subject:
Diocese of Haiti
Dear Friends in Christ:
We have devastating
news to share with you from Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake yesterday.
According to reports I have received here in Les Cayes, the damage in Port au
Prince and areas around it is terrible.
There is no Cathedral. The entire Holy Trinity complex
is gone. The convent for the Sisters of St. Margaret is gone. The Bishop's
house is gone. College St. Pierre is gone. The apartment for College St. Pierre
is still standing. Bishop no longer has a house in which to live.
In
Trouin, four people were killed during a service.
In
Grand Colline, the church is gone. In St Martin of Tours, the kindergarten is
gone.
In
St. Etienne Buteau the church, the rectory and the school are gone.
In Les Cayes, BTI is OK, but some people were
injured trying to get out of the buildings during the quake. The rectory in Les
Cayes is in very bad condition.
The Rev. Kesner Ajax
Executive
Director, Bishop Tharp Institute (BTI)
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Click here for background
information on our Haitian Ministry.
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