Haiti - "We care about those in need and we want to thank those who help”

14 October 2016
Haiti - "We care about those in need and we want to thank those who help”

(ANS - Les Cayes) - In the words of J. Brandolini, "it seems that hurricanes and earthquakes sometimes persecute cruelly the poorest and most disadvantaged places.” That is what seems to have happened with Matthew, the most powerful typhoon to hit the Atlantic over the past decade, and particularly the poorest country in the Americas - Haiti."  It's been a few days since those tragic events and the number of the dead seems to have become a problem for the Haitian State, though there is talk of hundreds of deaths. The Salesians are not worried about their works, but about the poorest people, those who have lost everything. For this reason, those in formation and all the Salesians, including the Provincial, have gone out to help those in need of drinking water and other forms of aid.

Andre Joseph, a father of four, says: "even if they have survived the hurricane, I don’t know if they will survive the famine ... We do not have water and the only health centre in the area does not have enough doctors and resources for the people."

Fr Jean Paul Mesidor, Superior of the Salesians in Haiti, says: "We still cannot quantify the losses, but we want to thank the whole Salesian world for the messages of solidarity and their donations for Haiti." The Salesians are aware that the first thing to do now is to be close to the population and respond with emergency aid to their needs for food and health, to help them to survive the hunger and the cholera.

The Salesian house in Les Cayes was the hardest hit, although other works in Port-au-Prince have also suffered minor damage.

The UN estimates that some 2 million people were affected and 1.5 million are in need of urgent help to survive the effects of the hurricane. According to UNICEF, more than 100,000 children will miss out on school because at least 300 schools were damaged and many others have become temporary shelters.

On the Salesian side, all funds raised are organized and coordinated by the Rinaldi Foundation and the Salesian Mission Offices and NGOs. At present, the institutions involved are working to obtain basic necessities - water, rice, flour, oil - to be distributed to the people.

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ANS - “Agenzia iNfo Salesiana” is a on-line almost daily publication, the communication agency of the Salesian Congregation enrolled in the Press Register of the Tibunal of Rome as n 153/2007.

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