to School in Haiti
This story was
published by ANS on Oct. 8.
(ANS – Port-au-Prince) In the last week more than three million
Haitian children have returned to their schools. They include more than 20,000
in the Salesian institutions, of whom more than 10,000 are given one meal a day
– which may be their only meal – at the Little Schools of Father Bohnen. Haiti continues
trying to recover, to become a better country.
Almost three years ago, it took just 45
seconds to destroy 90% of schools and 60% of hospitals, to kill thousands of
people, to leave more than 350,000 people injured and more than one million
children orphaned. "But in Haiti,”
says Olga Regueira, collaborator of Salesian Spanish NGO Jovenes y Desarrollo,
“there is a people full of strength and courage…. These have difficult years,
but looking at the future, there’s now a little more hope.”
Various figures in the data offered by the
World Bank seem to bear witness to the recovery. More than 14 million cubic yards
of debris has been removed; it’s finally possible to move about on the streets.
One million people have left the camps for displaced persons, and 600,000
people will soon have access to electricity.
The Salesian Missions office in Madrid has
produced a 30-minute documentary,
“The Awakening of Haiti,” which speaks of a people who on January 12, 2010, lost
what little they had but who continue to struggle and improve day after day.
The history of Haiti is also that of the Salesian
missionaries, who have lived and worked in the country for more than 75 years.
The missionaries have always been on the side of those who had more need of
help: the most vulnerable children, the women, the sick, etc. "Our dream
is a better Haiti for young people able to take care of themselves, to ensure
young people are in safety," says Fr. Sylvain Ducange, superior of the
Salesians in Haiti.
There is still a lot of work to be done: half
of the population lives on less than a dollar a day, 500,000 people are
homeless, 90% of the children have water-related diseases, there is still a
cholera epidemic – as well as the economic crisis that has reached even this
country.
Once again Salesian Missions in Madrid has launched an appeal for solidarity, to ensure
that the current international economic difficulties and lack of resources does
not undermine Haiti's
dream. The campaign “75 years in Haiti”
was therefore launched, linked by an invitation to the international community
to continue to work – because Haiti
cannot be forgotten.
The Salesian work in Haiti may also be assisted thru Salesian
Missions in New Rochelle:
http://www.salesianmissions.org/
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