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7/28
SCHOOL IS A SUMMER BLESSING FOR YOUNG TWINS IN PORT-AU-PRINCE
Fabiola Hyppolite has lived the last six months in a tent
with more than 40 people- along with her mother, her father, her twin, and
two other sisters.
Her family lost the small cinderblock home they rented in
Port-au-Prince on January 12th. Today, their belongings consist of a few
clothes and a large mattress, wedged among dozens of others that cover
nearly all the ground under their tent.Fabiola and Fabienne Hyppolite
Life since the earthquake has turned a new kind of hard for
this 9-year-old. Fabiola has asthma and allergies. In the crowded
conditions under the large tent provided by US AID-among several others like
it in this improvised tarp "city"-the still air stays dusty and the linens
off-color. There is no running water, no toilets. People cook on make-shift
grills in the narrow dirt alleys running between tents. When Fabiola speaks,
her raspy voice is barely audible. Her small chest heaves with every
breath. There is no doctor nearby.
This summer, Fabiola and her twin, Fabienne, have at least
one treat: They get to go to school. By being in their fourth-grade class,
they don't have to while away the hours of the searing midday heat under the
plastic of their home. Although their school was badly damaged in the
earthquake, the temporary set-up for classes is not as oppressive.
Neither of the twins would be able to attend school if it
were not for Haitian Ministries' scholarship program. With donations from
people in the United States, the Tierney-Tobin Memorial Scholarship program
pays the school tuitions for more than 130 students. Fabiola and Fabienne
have been in the program for two years; each girl has a sponsor who has
pledged to pay for her education for at least five years. Without these
sponsorships, the girls would have no schooling. Since the government
provides very little public education, more than 90 percent of all students
in Haiti are attending private institutions. Tuitions often run higher than
what families make in a year.
Right after the earthquake, Fabiola's father lost his job as a security
guard at a private home. The family decided to leave the country. Today, he
wanders the city looking for work, and Fabiola's mother usually stays at the
tent. She also has a 7-year-old and another daughter who is 11.
Although the Hyppolites have no income, they have become
members of a special community, forged from destitution and formed to
provide at least some of the basic necessities for all the families under
the tent. People pitch in whatever coins or bills they can, and someone
selected as the shopper buys as
Fabiola (left) and twin Fabienne Hyppolite, in the tent where they live.
much water, rice, beans, and corn as possible. Cooking is usually communal.
"We don't know what's going to happen," says Fabiola's 44-year-old mother,
Edith.
For now, though, school is in session. Classes will end in
August, and a new academic year should begin in October. Fabiola is already
looking forward to next year. She likes history, geography and mathematics.
And, on one Saturday afternoon under her tent, Fabiola says that she would
like to send a "thank-you" to the person who has made school so wonderfully
possible in her life.
*************
If you would like to learn about sponsoring a Haitian student in primary
school, secondary school, technical school, or university, please contact
Haitian Ministries at: 860.638.1018; or by e-mail at:
info@haitianministries.org. Also, you can learn about the Tierney-Tobin
program at our website:
www.haitianministries.org (Just click "Projects/Partnerships" on the left
side of the home page, and you will see "Education.")
4/27/2010
Supplies Sought for Art Therapy for Haitian Children
A program to help Haitian children deal with their experiences and
feelings since the earthquake in Haiti will begin this spring through a
partnership between Haitian Ministries for the Diocese of Norwich and CHART,
an organization of art therapists from around the world.
Art therapy sessions for children in programs in Port-au-Prince
connected with Haitian Ministries will begin this spring and run regularly
for at least a year.
CHART's mission is to help in the psychological well-being of
children and families affected by natural and human-made disasters. The
organization (Communities Healing through Art) was established in 2004,
after a team of artists and art therapists responded to the devastation in
Thailand following the Andaman-Sumatra tsunami.
Two therapists will travel to Haiti in early May to assess the
needs for the on-going art therapy program. They will stay at Haitian
Ministries' house in Port-au-Prince and visit the 65 girls at Le Foyer des
Filles de Dieu (also known as Paula Thybulle's orphanage) and the 70
children at the meal program run by Madame Samson. Children in the
Tierney-Tobin scholarship program will also be involved.
Donations and/or donated new supplies for the art therapy
program can be sent to Haiti's Back Porch, 100 Riverview, Suite 130,
Middletown, CT 06457. (The shop is owned and operated by Haitian
Ministries. Haitian Ministries can be contacted at:
info@haitianministries.org or 860.848.2237 ext.206)
The new supplies needed are:
n Plain white drawing paper; colored construction paper; tissue paper of
all colors
n Pastels; crayons; colored pencils; water colors; markers (thin & thick);
acrylic or tempera paint; and paint brushes of all sizes
n Tape, glue, glitter, scissors (most for children); liquid starch
n Children's smocks of all sizes
n For a wall mosaic that children will make: sponges; tile adhesive and
grout (the dry mixes)
An African Celebration in Music
African Celebration! - a benefit musical event with songs of Africa,
spirituals and more by Shoreline Community Chorale will begin at 4 p.m.
Sunday, May 2 in Guilford, CT.
The music is directed by Noah Glynn, and singers will be accompanied by
piano, horn and percussion. Angela Clemmon is a featured soloist.
The event will be at First Church of Christ, Scientist at 49 Park Street on
the Guilford Green.
The costs for tickets are: $15 for adults; $12 for seniors and students;
free for children 12 and under. Group discounts are available. Funds raised
will benefit Haitian Ministries for the Diocese of Norwich.
For more information, see: www.shorelinechorale.org and/or call:
203.245.2887 or 203.245.2887.
Haitian Dinner to Benefit Port-au-Prince Parish
A Taste of Haiti dinner at St. Mark Church in Westbrook, CT starts at 6 p.m.
Saturday, May 15.
This event features a four-course Haitian dinner by Maryce Adonis, a Haitian
chef, and Haitian entertainment. Also, Patrick Raycraft, a newspaper
photographer, will speak about his experiences in Haiti since the
earthquake.
The event will benefit Notre Dame de Lourdes parish in Port-au-Prince,
Haiti, which is twinned with St. Mark.
The public is invited. Tickets are $25 a person, and $50 for families.
Children 12 and under are free. For more info, contact Peg Patierno at:
860-399-6808 or 860-399-6808, or e-mail:
patierno@sbcglobal.net
6th Annual 'Taste of Haiti' in Hartford
The 6th Annual Taste of Haiti to celebrate and enjoy Haitian food, music,
and the twinning relationship between St. Patrick-St. Anthony Church and a
parish in rural Haiti will be held 5-7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 5.
Held at the Franciscan Center for Urban Ministries at St. Patrick-St.
Anthony Church in downtown Hartford, the event is designed to give
parishioners and the larger community of friends and guests a better
understanding of Haiti and the sister parish, St. Genevieve, located in the
mountainous town of Zoranje, Haiti.
Along with Haitian food and music, the event will offer an exhibit of
Haitian photography and a shop with Haitian crafts and artwork.
All the money will go to St. Genevieve Parish.
The public is invited. Tickets ($10 per person; $5 for children 12 and
under; and $25 per family) will go on sale starting May 15. Festivities will
start at 5 p.m., and dinner will be served until 7 p.m.
For more information, visit:
www.spsact.orgl/haiti.html.
Volunteers are needed. Anyone interested should contact Father Mike at The
Franciscan Center for Urban Ministry, 285 Church Street, Hartford, CT, 860.756.4034.
4/15/2010
Government Eviction of Haitian Relief Tent Cities
PORT-AU-PRINCE (AFP) Three months since Haiti's catastrophic earthquake,
authorities ramped up moves to forcibly evacuate dozens of tent cities
across the capital, in a chaotic effort criticized by the UN.
After evicting some 7,300 people last weekend who had been living on the
grounds of the national stadium, the government began the forced removal of
a further 10,000 from camps that sprung up in Port-au-Prince after the
January 12 quake, which killed more than 220,000 people and left around 1.3
million homeless.
The United Nations has lobbied the government "to see if there wasn't a more
humane way to move the people," said France Hurtubise, spokeswoman for the
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Some 900 impromptu camps have been counted across the capital, while
officials have warned for months that the coming rainy season could prove to
be another emergency situation by worsening unsanitary conditions if no
better living situations are provided.
"We were told we had a week to leave, and we could go in Tabarre Issa," a
UN camp to hold 2,500 people, said Mathieu Thomson, who has been living in a
tent near the Saint-Louis de Gonzague college.
"But there's nothing there. No toilets, no showers," he told AFP.
The aid group Action Against Hunger has already slammed the government over
its forcible evacuation of the Sylvio Cator stadium, with spokeswoman
Lucille Grosjean saying the organization is "shocked at the way it has
happened. ... There is no solution offered to the people" who lived there."
3/23/2010
TWO EVENTS FOCUS ON NEEDS OF HAITIANS
"The Price of Sugar" award-winning documentary
The award-winning documentary "The Price of Sugar" will be the feature
presentation at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 26 at Norwich Free Academy in
Norwich, Connecticut.
Narrated by Paul Newman, the film follows Father Christopher Hartley as he
organizes dispossessed Haitians in their fight for human rights in sugar
plantations in the Dominican Republic.
Guest speaker Dr. Anthony G. Alessi, a neurologist from Norwich, will talk
about his experiences in Haiti since the earthquake.
The film this Friday is part of the Norwich Community
Cinema's foreign film series, but this documentary is in English. The film
will be shown in the high school's Frank Center. There is a suggested
donation of $5.
For more information, see: www.norwichcinema.org
Connecticut Walks For Haiti
Walk-a-thon on April 10 in West Hartford
A walk-a-thon to draw attention to the needs of Haitian people will start at
11 a.m. Saturday, April 10 in West Hartford.
CT Walks for Haiti starts at Saint Peter Claver Church parish center, 47
Pleasant St. The event will raise money for the projects of six non-profits
working in Haiti. For more info, see: www.ctwalksforhaiti.org
3/18/2010
Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship In America 34th Annual Southern New England Regional Convention.
March 25-27 at the Clarion Hotel, 42 Century Drive, Bristol, Connecticut 06010
This coming convention will be a ministry of hope, encouragement, inner healing, physical healing, forgiveness, and reconnecting with God.
The convention is about prophetic encouragement and direction. There will be very powerful testimonies. If you feel pulled down spiritually in many ways then you should consider being here with us to bring back the fire in your life and be lifted up to get back in the battle to fight against what the enemy as taken from you. It is never to late to come back in victory over the enemy. What God said to Joshua would also refer to us. "be strong, be of good courage for the lord thy God is with you." Joshua 10:25.
For more information please Email fgbmfisnec@aol.com.
3/04/2010
Mass for Haiti's Quake Victims, Their Loved Ones on March 16th
A Memorial Mass for victims of Haiti's earthquake and the families and
friends who lost loved ones in the disaster will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m.
Tuesday, March 16th at St. Mary Church in Norwich, CT.
Bishop Michael R. Cote of the Diocese of Norwich will preside, and Fr. Gerry
Kirby will be principal celebrant.
Light refreshments will be provided following the Mass. All priests are
invited to celebrate. All members of the diocese and friends of Haiti are
invited to join.
St. Mary is located at 70 Central Ave. in Norwich. For more information,
call: 860.887.2565
3/01/2010
EVENTS FOR HAITI RELIEF IN CONNECTICUT DURING MARCH & APRIL
The annual "For the Love of a Child" on Saturday, April 17th at the Mystic
Aquarium in Mystic, CT, will benefit hundreds of children in Haiti whose
lives have been affected by the earthquake. To learn more about this
important event for children supported by Haitian Ministries, please contact
us at: 860.638.1018 or by email at: Haitian Ministries. We hope you
will attend.
Other events in the coming weeks include:
Wed., March 3rd
7 p.m.-8:45 p.m. The Faces of God: The Religions of Haiti, at the West
Hartford Library, Main Meeting Room, in West Hartford, CT.
A free program presented by Leslie Desmangles, professor of Religion and
International Studies at Trinity College, Hartford. He is author of "The
Faces of the Gods: Vodoo and Roman Catholicism in Haiti" and has appeared on
many radio and television programs about Haiti and religion in the
Caribbean, among them the Phil Donahue Show and the Today Show. He has
collaborated on documentary films about Haiti for History Channel and A&E
channel.
Donations for Haiti relief will be welcomed. Light refreshments will be
offered.
Sat. March 6th
12:30 p.m. About Haiti at St. Pius Church, in Bill Fortin Hall, 310
Westfield St., Middletown, CT. Chuck Dietsch to speak about Haiti and his
experiences and work there.
Wed., March 10th
5:30 p.m. Lenten Supper with Bolton Ecumenical Council, representing the
churches of Bolton Congregational, United Methodist, St. George's Episcopal
and St. Maurice Roman Catholic-all in eastern Connecticut.
Deacon Chuck Dietsch, who was in Port-au-Prince with Haitian Ministries
during the earthquake, will give a short presentation. There will be a free
dinner of soup and sandwiches. A freewill offering will go to Haitian relief
efforts. All are invited to attend. For more info, contact Joel Cohan at
860.647.0881.
Wed., March 24th
6: 30 p.m. Haiti Awareness night at Xavier High School, Middletown, CT.
(Tickets for this fundraiser are available at; please contact: Haitian Ministries.)
Sat., April 10th
11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. CT Walks for Haiti in West Hartford, starting at Saint
Peter Claver Church parish center, 47 Pleasant St. A 2.5-mile walk-a-thon to
draw attention to needs of the Haitian people and to raise money for the
projects of six non-profits working in Haiti. For more info, see:
Connecticut Walks for Haiti.
Sat., April 17th
6:30 p.m. For the Love of a Child gala at Mystic Aquarium, Mystic, CT. For
more info, contact us at:Haitian Ministries.
2/28/2010
Medical Teams Headed to Haiti Every Month
The first of medical teams supported by Haitian Ministries and involved in
earthquake relief has arrived in Port-au-Prince.
The team of 11 is staying at the ministry's temporary mission house because
Norwich Mission House collapsed in the earthquake. The medical group will
be in Haiti for a week and is the first of monthly teams that will be going
to Haiti for the next six months to treat earthquake victims and others in
need of care.
Each team of 11 medical personnel-doctors, nurses, pharmacists-will stay for
a week to 10 days.
The teams with MATH, or Medical Aid to Haiti, are supervised by parishioners
of St. Peter Claver in West Hartford and include Nancy Ryan and Richard
Thibadeau.
Haitian Ministries has pledged $30,000 in medicine for these special medical
missions. The volunteer members of the teams will take other donations of
medicine and medical equipment.
In Haiti, the teams will follow the procedures set up by MATH over the last
couple of years by working with the clinic established by Paula Thybulle in
Port-au-Prince. (Mrs. Thybulle also runs the girls' orphanage Le Foyer des
Filles de Dieu, which is adjacent to her community clinic.)
The teams will visit three sites in the outskirts of the capital and will
likely spend at least one day at the clinic. Haitian Ministries will provide
MATH with follow-up reports on the patients who are treated.
To learn more about the medical missions, please contact Nancy Ryan at:
Haitian Ministries.
2/15/10
Special Report on Haitian Ministries in Port-au-Prince
For a special report on the relief work of Haitian Ministries, please see a
2-day feature report at: The Day.
This report, by reporter Karin Crompton and photographer Tim Martin of The
Day newspaper in New London, CT, recounts their trip to Haiti in late
January and early February. They traveled with Haitian Ministries staff
from Connecticut, who stayed at the ministry's temporary mission house in
Port-Au-Prince.(The ministry's mission house of many years was destroyed in
the earthquake.)
The Day's website also offers access to a special video and audio
slide shows.
2/15/10
'That's the Spirit' to Feature Haitian Ministries
The talk show "That's the Spirit" produced by the Archdiocese of Hartford
will feature Haitian Ministries on Sunday, Feb. 21. Haitian ministries for the
Diocese of Norwich has been working in Haiti for
the last 25 years and had a mission house in Port-Au-Prince that was
destroyed in the earthquake. The ministry is now doing relief work while
continuing it support of two orphanages, 140 students in a scholarship
program, a meal program for children, medical missions, and nine parish
communities.
The half-hour program is on television, WTXX (broadcast), starting at 10:30
a.m.(or shortly thereafter). Also, the show will be featured on the WJMJ-FM
radio at 12:30 p.m. (or shortly thereafter) on 88.9 FM (Hartford); 107.1 FM
(New Haven); and 93.1 FM (Hamden)
.2/12/10
Haitian relief benefit at Bill's Seafood restaurant in Westbrook, CT on Tuesday, Feb. 16
to benefit the relief work of Haitian Ministries in Port-au-Prince.
A special all-inclusive "Fat Tuesday" menu of $25 will be
offered, as well as the regular menu. The restaurant is giving $10 of every
$25 meal to Haitian Ministries to help victims of the earthquake.
The evening will feature jazz music from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
and a special raffle that includes metal artwork from Haiti. (Other raffle
donations are welcomed.)
The special menu includes (but is not limited to): chicken
gumbo; Cajun catfish; jambalaya; shrimp & crawfish etoufee; blackened N.Y.
strip steak; and traditional Mardi Gras King Cake.
For more information, please call the restaurant, which is
located at 548 Boston Post Road, at: 860.399.7224
2/11/10
Jillian Thorp To Leave Job With Haitian Ministries
After five months with Haitian Ministries for the Diocese of Norwich,
Jillian Thorp gave notification on Wednesday that she is leaving her job
with the ministry.
For most of her time in Haiti, Jillian was the assistant director of the
ministry's Norwich Mission House, where she worked with American visitors
during their immersion visits to Port-au-Prince.
Norwich Mission House collapsed in the earthquake.
Jillian did not give details about her future plans but said she hopes to
return to Haiti, where her husband now has a freelance job with NBC.
Since the earthquake in Haiti on January 12th, Haitian Ministries has
initiated relief efforts with emergency funds to support its ongoing
projects and parishes that are twinned with churches and other groups in
Connecticut and elsewhere in the United States through the ministry.
Dominique Georges, a longtime Haitian employee of Haitian Ministries and the
assistant director of the Norwich Mission House in Port-au-Prince, has
managed the relief efforts. Along with four other Haitian staff, Dominique
has established a temporary mission house to serve as the center for Haitian
Ministries' emergency work.
Emily Smack, the ministry's executive director, completed a five-day trip to
Port-au-Prince last week to help assess needs and to begin a long-range plan
of action.
In the coming months, Haitian Ministries will continue to assess and answer
the immediate and longer term needs of the children, families and single
adults who are in the orphanages, meal programs, schools, medical clinics
and parishes supported through the ministry for more than 23 years.
Although medical missions to Haiti will likely start up in late February,
the ministry has cancelled all immersion visits and other travel stays at
the mission house for at least the next eight months.
2/09/10
YOGA for a CAUSE to benefit Haitian Ministries
Guilford, CT - Yoga in Bloom is proud to announce its YOGA for a CAUSE event
to benefit Haitian Ministries for the Norwich Diocese.
The "free will donation" yoga class, suitable for all levels, will be from 7
p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, February 16th at the Nathanael B. Greene
Community Center in Guilford,
Child care will be available, thanks to parent volunteers. Mohawk Paper will
donate materials for school-aged children to create an art project to be
sent to the Norwich Mission House in Haiti.
Yoga in Bloom founder and teacher, Stefanie Patterson, will donate 100
percent of the proceeds of the event to the relief work of Haitian
Ministries.
Stefanie states, "I find great joy in my yoga practice when teaching within
a like-minded community, and I would like to foster a sense of love and peace for the Haitian people by quieting the mind, stretching the body and
connecting the collective spirit."
Stefanie has selected Haitian Ministries because of its long-standing
presence in Haiti and the work it does to support those in need. The office
of Haitian Ministries was inaugurated in 1985 with the help of Fr. Jim
Carini, who was Stefanie's parish priest while growing up in Preston, CT.
Over the years, Haitian Ministries has supported two orphanages, a meal
program, a medical clinic, a scholarship program and reforestation projects.
The Nathanael B. Greene Community Center is at 32 Church Street in Guilford.
Contact Stefanie Patterson at 877.224.3178 to reserve a spot for an evening
of gentle yoga and relaxation. (Beginners are welcome. Please note: Space is
limited, pre-registering for childcare and the childrens craft project is
required.
Stefanie Patterson M.Ed/RYT, has been practicing yoga for 15 years. She is
certified through Finding Inner Peace Yoga School's 200 hour program and is a
member of the Yoga Alliance and has received specialty certifications in
pre-natal yoga and childrens yoga.
www.yogainbloom.com
2/09/10
Mass for Earthquake Victims, Their Loved Ones on Feb. 16th
A Memorial Mass for victims of Haiti's earthquake and for the families and
friends who lost loved ones in the disaster will be celebrated at 10 a.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 16 at St. Mary Church in Norwich, CT. ManAtEdge, .JPGBishop
Michael R. Cote of the Diocese of Norwich will preside, and Fr. Gerry Kirby
will be principal celebrant.
Light refreshments will be provided following the Mass. All priests are
invited to celebrate. All members of the diocese are invited to join.
St. Mary is located at 70 Central Ave. in Norwich. For more information,
call: 860.887.2565
2/08/10
SOME EMERGENCY RELIEF DELIVERED TO HAITI BY HAITIAN MINISTRIES
A group of five with Haitian Ministries returned to Connecticut late
Thursday, completing a five-day visit to Port-au-Prince to meet some of the
emergency needs of the six Haitian staff members of Norwich Mission House
and the projects and twinned parishes partnered through the ministry.
The twinned parish of Les Palmes (whose sister church is St. Mary of
Coventry, CT) received money to buy food for 2,500 of the 35,000 people in
the rural, mountain community who are most in need. Fr. Vil Johnson, the
priest of the remote community, wrote on Friday that all the people
desperately need tents, food (rice, beans, oil and water), Clorox to purify
water, and clothing. Almost 50 people died there, and nearly every home was
either destroyed or damaged. The church there is in ruins.
Haitian Ministries also gave emergency funds to the parish of St. Anne in
Saintaard, which is north of Port-au-Prince, and to the parish of St.
Genevieve in Zorange, northeast of the capital. (The former is partnered
with St. Patrick-St. Anthony of Hartford, and the latter is twinned with St.
Elizabeth Seton of Rocky Hill.)
In Port-au-Prince, the girls' orphanage run by Paula Thybulle received
emergency funding for food. The girls are sleeping in a big open courtyard
across from the orphanage, where they have a few tents. But many of the 63
girls do not have coverings, and Paula requested new tents for them.
Almost everyone in the capital sleeps outdoors, whether or not they have
tents. Haitian Ministries is accepting donations of new, still-packaged
tents, such as those made Coleman and Eureka. They come in all sizes, from
two- to twelve-person. They are simple to put up and have only a few parts:
two poles and four stakes. A tent fly comes with the package and keeps the
tent dry.
Tents are the only supply donations that the ministry is requesting at this
time, but money donations are greatly appreciated. Money enables project
directors and priests to purchase food, supplies and equipment they need
right away.
Haitian Ministries has set up a temporary mission house off Route de Freres
in Petionville, but guards continue to protect the Norwich Mission House
site. The house was destroyed in the earthquake, and temporary walls of
metal have replaced the concrete walls around the property that collapsed.
Lanitte Belledente, the mission house cook who was badly injured, remains at
a large medical encampment near the international airport. She was scheduled
to undergo another operation on Thursday or Friday. Her left leg was
amputated mid-way on her shin. Staff have visited her several times in the
last week, and one of Lanitte's sisters sits by her side. (Lanitte lost
another sister and two nieces in the earthquake.)
At L'Arc-en-Ciel, the Penettes reported that they expect to have almost 100
children at their orphanage by the end of the week. Although their orphanage
usually has about 35 children, relief agencies are dropping off other
children in need of shelter and care.
Danielle Penette said they also need tents, but hope to complete their new
orphanage very soon so that they can better meet their growing needs.
Dominique Georges, the assistant director of Norwich Mission House,
continues to oversee the ministry's daily relief efforts in Port-au-Prince.
2/4/09
$50,000 Grant proposal for Bess the Book Bus
A $50000 Grant proposal by Pepsi for "support Bess the Book Bus' 2010 nationwide mobile literacy outreach." has been approved, needs your vote, and is posted online.
Check out http://refresheverything.com/BesstheBookBus to track the Bess the Book Bus Charity while votes are cast.
Start spreading the news to your friends & family and tell them to vote. There's no time to lose, voting ends 2-28-2010.
Bess the Book Bus is dedicated to reading to children, promoting literacy, and getting books in to the homes of underprivileged children and families in the Tampa area. While our offices are located in South Tampa,
the program itself is mobile. This year we have increased our services to include twenty-five Head Start programs, ten summer programs, The Spring, Metropolitan Ministries, Redland Christian Migrant Association,
and an after school program. We also support three school libraries that do not have enough books to serve their population.
2/2/10
Group of Five with Haitian Ministries Arrives in Port-au-Prince
A group of five with Haitian Ministries arrived in Port-au-Prince Friday
afternoon to begin assessing the conditions of Norwich Mission House staff
and the programs that the ministry supports, including the parishes that
are twinned with churches and other groups in the United States.
Emily Smack, the executive director of Haitian Ministries, along with Kyn
Tolson, Dr. Tom Gorin of Storrs, and a reporter and photographer from The
Day newspaper in New London, CT, travelled by bus for seven hours from
Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic to Haitis capital.
All five, along with staff of the Norwich Mission House and their
families, are staying at the house of a friend of Paula Thybulle off Rue
Freres. (Paula Thybulle runs an orphanage for 70 girls and an adjacent
medical clinic and small hospital.)
Only Lanitte Belledente, the mission house cook, was not with them. More
than a week ago, she underwent an amputation below the knee of a badly
injured leg. She remains in a United Nations medical area not far from
the airport.
In the drive through the city, the arriving group saw that most buildings
are still standing, although several were totally demolished and many
appeared to have some damage.
The road into the city from the east (going through Croix des Bouquets)
was clogged with traffic, and travel was slow. Once in the heart of the
city, however, their bus moved along more easily. People walked the
streets, and life seemed much as it had been before the earthquake.
However, the apparent normalcy belies the fact that many people and
families have fled the capital either to live in improvised tent
communities or in towns elsewhere.
Emily Smack and the others plan to visit Lanitte Belledente on Saturday.
They also hope to go to the mission house, which was destroyed in the
January 12th earthquake. They will go to Paulas orphanage to take
supplies of rice, beans, cooking oil, and water that they purchased in
Santo Domingo.
Other plans include:
1) Meeting with Catholic Relief Services about use of Paulas clinic to
treat earthquake victims and to assess it for use by medical mission teams
with Haitian Ministries.
2) Visiting Madame Samsons neighborhood and house, which was the location
for a meal program for poor children. Her house was reportedly damaged.
An effort will be made to find out about the children in the program.
3) Tracking down more of the 140 students in scholarship program. (Three
deaths have been reported, but news of many of the studentsall from the
Norwich Mission House neighborhoodhas not been available.
4) Visiting Hospice St. Joseph, another ministry of the Diocese of
Norwich. The building was severely damaged in the quake.
5) Meeting with Bishop Lafontant, a member of the Haitian Ministries
board and longtime friend of Norwich Mission House.
6) Meeting with Sr. Marie Yannick, who is the bishops representative to
Haiti.
On the bus trip from the Dominican Republic, Emily Smack saw the church in
Fonds Parisien, which was under construction, is still standing.
News from our Twins
News from Saintaard (St. Anne), which is twinned with St. Elizabeth Seton
in Rocky Hill: Fr. Anis has reported that at least five people in the
parish were killed. Many homes were damaged or destroyed. The church
rectory and two chapels were among those damaged, but the church was
unharmed. 37 people are currently staying in the rectory with him. Food
is also needed.
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