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Haiti Update - April 5, 2010 |
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The Little Brothers and Little Sisters of the Incarnation are in the process of trying to re-open the school in “The Village” in Petite Place Cazeau, on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. Prior to the earthquake, this school educated and fed approximately 1500 students, from pre-K up through middle/high school. Because the school building is not safe due to damage sustained in the quake, they intend to set up classrooms in tents, which have been promised but which have not yet been delivered. Sr. Emmanuelle indicated that she and a couple of other sisters were going to Port-au-Prince to track down the promised tents so that they could start classes as soon as possible. In the meantime, they plan to use tarps, which she was planning to take with her on this trip to the capital.
An additional problem is that of people who have sought refuge in open areas on the school property and whom they hesitate to put out. Yet, they have concerns about the overall security of children who would be returning to the school there. She repeated several times during our conversation that “It is complicated. Everything needs to be done at once. There is too much. It is very complicated.” (translation and paraphrase)
In the Central Plateau (60 miles from Port-au-Prince) , things are much better organized. They are housing and feeding some 300 people, about 40 of whom are in the hospital that they have set up in what was the Maternity Center at Terre Cassée, near Pandiassou. They have several full-time doctors on staff, so medical personnel needs are being met for the time being. They do need medicines and supplies, however, and Kindred Journey is in the process of trying to determine if and how we can help in that regard.
Quite a number of the displaced persons are living in tents on the grounds of the technical school; others are in tents on the brothers’ property or the sisters’ property. All of these people are being fed as well as housed and clothed. The schools are open and functioning, for both the children displaced by the quake and for the students who had already been enrolled in those schools.
It is our understanding that distribution of foodstuffs for quite a wide area in the Central Plateau is being co-ordinated by the Little Brothers and Little Sisters. In addition to aid received from our own local donations, they are receiving some food aid from the World Food Program of the United Nations.
They have enrolled some 150 young men and women in a program for “Agricultural Entrepreneurs” with an eye to teaching good farming and business practices to these young people in the hopes that they will choose to stay in the countryside and become part of a national effort to decentralize the population and increase the agricultural sector. Almost everyone who has an interest in rebuilding the country is advocating for just this type of initiative. Since Br. Francklin and the Little Brothers have been working towards these ends for many years, supported in large part by our own local initiatives, they already have some infrastructure in place and are in an excellent position to expand their work and meet some important needs for both the short and the long terms.
The Little Brothers and Little Sisters are trying to find gainful employment for the displaced adults, in many cases in agriculture. They plan to plant the areas around the man-made lakes and harvest as much as possible in the region so as to become less and less dependent on outside food aid. Additionally, they are teaching the women to embroider and hope to be able to teach them to crochet and weave both for therapeutic purposes and so that they will be able to earn some income by selling their crafts.
Sr. Emmanuelle has mentioned the need of psychologists to help people, especially children, to overcome the psychological trauma caused by the quake and by losing so many family members. Although it seems that medical needs are being met in Pandiassou, she indicated that a medical mission to Petite Place Cazeau would be quite welcome. |
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