Keeping aid to Haiti flowing

By Christina Galeone | CFP Correspondent

For several months, a crisis has been brewing in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
Although United States citizens are advised against traveling to Haiti, and getting humanitarian aid there has become increasingly difficult, there are nonprofit organizations here that persevere.
The scene in Haiti is exacerbated by soaring inflation and allegations of government corruption which have motivated many Haitians to take to the streets in protest, demanding the ouster of President Jovenel Moïse.
Catholic News Service reports that protests that have roiled urban areas since November are subsiding, but many parents still feel it is not safe to send their children to school, said Christopher Bessey, Haiti country director for Catholic Relief Services, the humanitarian aid and development arm of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
As protests escalated, demonstrators set up roadblocks, bringing transport to a standstill, Mr. Bessey told Catholic News Service. Workers could not get to their jobs, farmers were unable to send products to urban markets, and sick Haitians could not reach hospitals.
“The people who are really suffering in this are not the politicians, not the business community, it’s the people on the margins and the people who are dependent on a functioning economy for the few who do have work,” Mr. Bessey told Catholic News Service.
Although the situation has been calmer in recent days, protests could flare again in early 2020, when elections are scheduled, Mr. Bessey predicted.
Locally, there are ways that people can still support those organizations that several parishes have supported since before this current crisis.   
 
1. The Haitian Apostolate in the Diocese of Worcester  ( www.worcesterdiocese.org/haitian-apostolate-1)
One organization that is supported by many parishes – including St. Mary in Shrewsbury, St. Columba in Paxton and Sacred Heart of Jesus in Hopedale – is the diocese’s Haitian Apostolate. Run by Sister Marie-Judith Dupuy, of St. Anne, the ministry serves impoverished children and adults in Haiti through its parish twinning program and its Adopt-a-Student program.
Despite standing strong in her faith, the devastation in Haiti has left Sister Marie-Judith sometimes feeling helpless.  
She said that because of schools being closed due to the violent protests, it frustrates her that the 800 children whom the apostolate supports aren’t getting the education that their sponsors have paid for. She’s also saddened by the fact that many of those children have contacted her to tell her that they’re hungry. She said that many families are getting by on whatever they have in their gardens.
Sister Marie-Judith – who strongly cautions people against going to Haiti right now – believes that the situation will soon improve. And the Haitian native still hopes to return to the country, at some point, to throw a much-needed annual Christmas party for all the children.
“When you are serving the poor, you’re serving the Lord,” said Sister Marie-Judith, who asks for prayers for the children and for Haiti. “I discern. I pray. I say ‘Jesus, bring me there, because I have to take care of my children.’”   

2. NPH Haiti ( https://www.nph.org/haiti)
Supported by St. Luke, the Evangelist Parish in Westborough, NPH Haiti is one of the NPH International orphanages. NPH stands for “Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos,” which is Spanish for “Our Little Brothers and Sisters.” Located in some of the poorest parts of the world, NPH homes provide Christian care, education and encouragement for orphaned, abandoned and at-risk children. Instead of being adopted, the children are assured a good home by being raised together as a family.
Since her first visit 20 years ago, Gloria Josephs, the youth ministry director at St. Luke’s, travels to Haiti every year and has been heavily involved with the orphanage which is run by Father Rick Frechette.
Mrs. Josephs said that the violence and unrest has affected the entire country and is heartbreaking.
“Workers cannot get to and from work,” she said. “Food supplies are running low, medical supplies too. Father Rick’s hospital has empty beds; sick children cannot get to the hospital, which means they will die if not treated. Children in the orphanage cannot get to physical therapy. Father Rick’s car was burned to the ground,” she said.
Like Sister Marie-Judith, however, Mrs. Josephs is determined to help the children of Haiti.  
Through St. Luke’s, she recently held an annual fundraising walk to benefit Father Frechette’s St. Damien Pediatric Hospital. To raise awareness of the hospital, she showed a documentary about it, “The Land of High Mountains.”
“What can we do here?” she asked. “Pray, pray, and pray! Send money for food and medicine.”    
 
3. Be Like Brit ( https://www.belikebrit.org/)
Supported in various ways by parishes and colleges, including St. John Parish in Worcester, St. Patrick Parish in Whitinsville and Regis University, Be Like Brit is a local nonprofit founded by the Gengel family to honor the memory of their daughter Britney Gengel, who lost her life while on a mission trip in Haiti. In addition to the orphanage it runs in Grand-Goâve, Haiti, it reaches out to the community there to help provide clean water, housing and more.
Danielle Cutillo, the media coordinator for the nonprofit, said that the unrest has affected the orphanage’s children and staff tremendously.
She said that if the schools don’t reopen in January, the children will be held back one year. But, she said, that since Be Like Brit just opened Brit’s Academy – an elementary school – it was able to welcome its high school students as well, and they’re “receiving a wonderful education.”  
“Inside our walls, we are safe and secure as we have 24/7 security,” she said. “Outside our walls, our community has endured violence and unsafe conditions for many months. Because of this, our children have not been able to go on field trips, go to the beach, or attend church. The streets have been blocked with burning tires and protesters.”
In addition to asking people to remember Haiti and the orphanage’s children and staff in their prayers, she said that people can help by sponsoring a child or a class at Brit’s Academy or by holding a fundraiser.
“To continue helping our children, staff, and community, we need your help,” she said. “Right now, we are unable to get supplies into Haiti and have to buy many supplies in the country. Money raised would go directly to helping Brit’s home.”   
 
– Information from a Catholic News Service story by Barbara J. Fraser was added to this report.