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December 6, 2021
September of this year marked the 18th anniversary of the parish twinning relationship between Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Antoine de Padoue Parish in Petite-Riviere-de-Nippes, Haiti. Each Haiti Sunday (2nd Sunday of each month) leading up to our 20-year anniversary, we are highlighting some facts and figures from this long and fruitful relationship.
This autumn, however, we and St. Antoine began to tackle one of our most daunting challenges yet: rebuilding and recovering in the wake of a devastating August 14 earthquake whose epicenter was only a few miles from Petite Riviere. This month, therefore, it seems more fitting to report on the progress made in repairing the severe damage inflicted on the parish infrastructure, progress only possible through the grace of God and your generosity.
Our post-earthquake special collection for Haiti relief yielded the astounding sum of over $100,000 for rebuilding and relief. To date, we have sent $55,674 to bring the two main parish schools back up to safety standards, work that is now complete, almost miraculously fast for Haiti! We also sent $10,000 for emergency aid (food and roofing material) for the most needy in the parish. In December, another $5,000 is earmarked for Christmas food relief for those families suffering the most. Fr. Volcy, pastor of St. Antoine, has overseen the rebuilding and reopening of the schools, and he has been responsible for providing us receipts for his expenditures.
In the meantime, as the schools held priority, Fr. Volcy and his team have been reluctant to sleep in the damaged, weakened rectory for fear of aftershocks and collapse. At first they slept in a tent in the courtyard, but since school reopened, they now sleep under the almond trees behind the rectory unless the rainy nights of this wet season drive them nervously inside.
So the next step of rebuilding and repair is the rectory/church office, and then finally the church itself, which suffered less severe damage. The estimate for all these repairs is around $80,000. Thanks to your consistent generosity over the years, we have enough in reserve to offer support at this most crucial time. Repair work will begin soon after Christmas. There are precious few avenues in the developing world where you can be sure that the money you contribute will go directly to the target recipients efficiently, but this is one! And of course, the need is ongoing, as we support the teachers and staff of the school and parish each and every month.
One more piece of good news: the battered parish vehicle (which has carried many OLMC parishioners on our mission trips) was in need of replacement. Fr. Volcy has been able to secure a new 13-passenger Toyota Land Cruiser from an NGO in Germany. As our contribution, we paid the shipping cost to get the vehicle to Haiti, and it should arrive in February or March. Once again, your generosity will enable Fr. Volcy and his team to carry the Gospel message even into the remote mountains surrounding TiRiv.
Mèsi anpil; se pou Bondye beni ou! (Many thanks; may God bless you!)
Give to our Haiti fund online here