Haiti Updates for January 26-27
In the Press
Why is it essential to rebuild the Salesian works in Haiti? Read from the AP(1/27/10), “Haiti: Smallest survivors pose one of biggest problems”: http://www.northjersey.com/news/international/haiti/012710_Haiti_Smallest_survivors_pose_one_of_biggest_problems.html
A similar story from the NYT, 1/27/10: “Haiti’s Children Adrift in World of Chaos” http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/world/americas/27children.html?ref=todayspaper
Fr. Tom Reese, SJ, doesn’t mention the Salesians in this piece in the Washington Post (1/25/10), but he makes a point that we could pick up on: http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/georgetown/2010/01/despair_and_compassion_fatigue.html
“Rebuilding Haiti church infrastructure to take years, says U.S. bishop” http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1000331.htm
From Rome ANS reports (1/27/10) that 2 Italian sports heroes, Danilo Gallinari, the best Italian basketball player in the National Basketball Association, and Rino Gattuso, a veteran soccer star, have agreed to serve as spokesmen for the International Volunteers for Development (VIS: www.volint.it) in a national appeal for support for the reconstruction of the Salesian works in Haiti. Similar appeals are being made by other members of the Don Bosco Network of NGOs. The appeals aim not only at urgent immediate relief but also at “rebuilding the hopes and the lives of Haiti,” especially by offering education through Salesian schools and youth centers.
Updated at www.findyourmission.com
The different missions for Haiti have been updated in the FYM website. The links:
http://www.findyourmission.org/index.php/missions/47/3237
http://www.findyourmission.org/index.php/missions/55/2827
http://www.findyourmission.org/index.php/missions/52/2964
http://www.findyourmission.org/index.php/missions/62/2886
http://www.findyourmission.org/index.php/missions/53/2807
http://www.findyourmission.org/index.php/missions/64/2856
http://www.findyourmission.org/index.php/press-room/3238-haiti-media-briefing-on-earthquake-situation-and-response-by-salesian-missions
Haiti Donations Immediately Tax-Deductible
It’s now law. Haiti donations made from 1/12/10 to 2/28/10 may be deducted from 2009 taxes and counted as 12/31/09 donations. Here’s more from CNS:
New law allows US taxpayers to take 2009 deduction for Haiti relief
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Under a new U.S. tax law, people who have donated to charities providing relief to Haitians since the Jan. 12 earthquake can take a tax deduction for the contribution on their 2009 tax return instead of their 2010 return. The measure was passed unanimously by the house Jan. 20 and by the Senate Jan. 21. President Obama signed the bill into law Jan. 22. “This measure provides an immediate benefit for those who have already given and incentive for those who are considering a charitable contribution. We must do everything we can to help the people of Haiti and the aid workers working so feverishly on the ground to help them,” said a Jan. 22 statement released by house Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office. In 2004 Congress passed similar legislation for contributions to aid agencies helping the victims of the tsunami in Indonesia. An IRS announcement about the new law has been posted on the Web site www.irs.gov
Fr. Mark Hyde Reports from the Dominican Republic
A five-truck convoy arrived on Jan. 26 in Port-au-Prince from La Vega for distribution in Pétion-Ville and Carrefour-Thorland. Commodities included food stuffs (2 trucks), potable water (2 trucks), and medications and clothing (1). All relief items were purchased in the Dominican Republic.
The 300,000 chlorine tablets reported on earlier were delivered in Port-au-Prince on the evening of Jan. 25.
The drinking water unit – AquaCube – (acquired through BEGECA) arrived in Santo Domingo and is being trucked to Port-au-Prince with logistical support and transport provided by the UN. Fr. Jacques Charles, outgoing Haitian SDB provincial, will pick up the drinking water plant from a warehouse contiguous to the German embassy in Port-au-Prince on Jan. 27.
BEGECA’s representative in Santo Domingo, Gunter Timmermanns, will be working out of the SDB Antilles provincial house and is coordinating the SDBs’ UN-led logistical support.
Fr. Stra has been released from the hospital and is recovering and resting well at the SDB Antilles provincial house.
Hendrix Pineda from Salesian Missions New Rochelle has arrived in Santo Domingo to (a) provide communications support to Fr. Mark and (b) set up financial accountability systems and records for reporting to donors and benefactors who are contributing to the Haitian Emergency Relief and Reconstruction Program efforts.
The new SDB Haitian provincial, Fr. Ducange Sylvain, will be installed on Saturday, Jan. 30, in Port-au-Prince. Planning to attend are Fr. Esteban Ortiz, general councilor for the InterAmerica Region; Fr. Victor Pichardo, Antilles provincial; Fr. Mark Hyde, director of Salesian Missions in New Rochelle; and many confreres from the Antilles Province as well as members of the Salesian Family attending the CIEC (Conference of InterAmerica Catholic School Educators) meetings in Santo Domingo at this time.
Gianluca Antonelli reports that VIS has met with Civil Defense experts from the Italian government (Guido Bertolaso and Agostino Miozzo) who, together with Italy’s ambassador to the D.R., visited ENAM. Mr. Antonelli reports also that an Italian Navy ship will dock in Haiti on Feb. 2. The ship is equipped with a hospital and also has a contingent of 200 military experts on infrastructure and buildings with equipment of various kinds. The Navy is reported to be offering the Salesians in Haiti availability for: (a) removing debris from Salesian properties, (b) checking to verify the safety and usefulness of the Salesian infrastructure, (c) securing damaged buildings, and (d) assisting with displaced populations staying on Salesian property.
Jugend Eine Welt (Austrian Salesian NGO) in partnership with CARITAS Austria is seeking funds from the EU for a 6-month project aimed at providing emergency support for 20,000 youths associated with the “mini schools” at Cité Soleil and La Saline.
From the Netherlands: Parents and children of a European School in Bergen (13 miles north of Amsterdam), are raising funds to help the SDBs of Haiti rebuild some of the mini schools. School and students are said to be aiming at raising around 8,000 euros. They are also (a) collecting French and English books to send to Haiti’s SDBs and (b) putting together “shoeboxes” filled with school supplies and small toys for the children.
The SDBs of Haiti have requested 2,000 tents with capacity of 6 people each. Salesian Missions is making arrangements to procure and meet this urgent need. Likewise, if any of the other Salesian procures or NGOs have access and can airlift those to Santo Domingo, please contact Fr. Mark at FrMark@salesianmissions.org with copy to Jaime Correa at jaimec@salesianmissions.org.
One forklift to offload pallets of food and emergency relief items from containers at the Jimani, D.R., repacking center is being purchased in Santo Domingo.
Developing countries, communications, earthquakes -- a Salesian contribution
From Rome Fr. Julian Fox reports (austraLasia #2584, 1/28/10):
In Haiti, there is yet another twist to the disaster which unfolded on January 12. Under the rubble of the archbishop’s quarters (he died amid that rubble) lie the archdiocesan communications structures, all now destroyed: Radio and Télé Soleil.
The station manager for Radio Soleil is Hubert Mesidor, a young Salesian brother (wrongly reported in some media as a Salesian priest). As mentioned in the East Asia-Oceania blog on 1/16/10 (http://say.sdb.org/blogs/eao), I was with Hubert some months ago in Quito and jokingly called him a “delinquent” when, after my mentioning that through use of free software I had saved the Congregation thousands, he shot back immediately that so had he -- with another kind of “free” software!! Now he is welcome to any kind of software he can lay his hands on, as far as I am concerned. I am just grateful that he is alive. Radio Soleil has played a crucial role in Haiti, as witnessed by the fact that the Duvalier dictators closed it down several times. “Baby Doc” went, in due course, while Radio Soleil survived.
Will Radio Soleil rise from the rubble? Certainly. It is estimated that some dozen crucial local radio stations were destroyed in the earthquake, but they have played and will need to be reconstructed to continue to play, a supportive role for Haiti’s suffering people. And quite possibly Salesian communications enterprises around the world are among those who will help come to the rescue? That’s a question, not a statement. Audiovisuales Don Bosco, Quito, had already played a role in conjunction with Radio and Télé Soleil prior to the earthquake in raising awareness in Haiti; possibly they are looking at what they can do now.
A prominent Salesian friend also died in the earthquake. Zilda Arns, founder of Pastoral da Criança in Brazil and champion of children’s rights, was on a brief mission in Haiti at the time of the earthquake and did not survive, as has been widely reported. She was the opening speaker at the Chiang Mai SIGNIS Conference last year. Her loss will be sorely felt worldwide.
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