Haiti Earthquake Updates & News
from Haiti Outreach Mission contacts

St. David's is one of the founding members of the Haiti Outreach Mission (HOM).  HOM [www.haitioutreachmission.org] performs their mission work in both Port-au-Prince and Mirebalais. Currently, the hub of their operations in Haiti is in the city of Mirebalais.  In Mirebalais, HOM works with the priests of both St. Louis Catholic and St. Pierre Episcopal churches.  Trinity and St. Vincent schools are schools in Port-au-Prince which have been visited by HOM members and are dear to our hearts for the work they do in Haiti.

The comments & updates below come from personal contacts between HOM members and those whom we help with our mission work.

Donations are always needed make checks payable to: "St. David's Episcopal Church" and can be mailed to the church - please place "HOM - Acct 152" in the Memo line.

View our Haiti Outreach Mission page

Donations to Haitian relief can be applied to 2009 tax returns - click here for the info

========== February 2010 Updates ==========

On January 23rd, 2010, the HOM group sent a mission team to Haiti to help, click on the link to read their 2/14/2010 report:
http://www.haitioutreachmission.org/updates/feb_2010/update_02142010.html

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2/9/2010:

Article from The Washington Post news: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/08/AR2010020803429.html

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2/8/2010:

USA Today news article on Mirebalais, Haiti, the town where we and HOM focus our mission work: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2010-02-07-haiti-relief-exodus_N.htm

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2/7/2010:

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I greet you in the precious Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I hope this will find you all in good health. Your prayers, your presence in this terror time are very precious to us.One of our haitian proverb said:" It is in the bad moment we know the true friends".

Thank you!

I took this opportunity to describe the global situation of St Pierre's Parish and the 15 other churches and Missions.
   1- St Pierre Mirebalais
      Church building ok , school building slight crack
      Rectory thin crack but closure walls big crack become dangerous for my family and neigborhood
      St Pierre's Clinic - thin crack.
   2- St Matthias , Deslandes
      Many houses destroyed, 5 people killed, Church and school building ok
   3- St Andre, Trianon
      The old school building many walls down, the new school building thin crack. The church building ok.
   4- St Luke School, Pouille.
      St Luke School building walls down, Church building big crack, many houses destroyed. (the worse)
   5- Epiphanie , Diamand
      The nonfinished Church building ok but many people lost their misery houses.
   6- St Marc , Cerca
      Small Rectory collapse, many church members lost their houses, one people killed.
   7- St Philippe and St Jacques, Petite Montagne.
      Many houses destroyed, two people killed, Church building ok.

Fortunately nothing special happen to the 9 others churches communities, but life is very difficult, food is very expensive and not easy to find. Many people continue to leave port-au- prince toward the countryside, many thousands come Mirebalais and we have to welcome them and also take care of them. We're working hard to open school, but it's not easy however we do our best in order to convince all the concerned specially the parents and the children to understand that we need to react and make life possible and see the future with hope.

I hope this gives you a better idea about St Pierre's parish specially your Church partner.

Once again thank you!
God bless you!
Your brother in Christ,
Rev. Jean Jeannot Joseph
St Pierre's Parish, Mirebalais
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2/6/2010:

Before and after photos of the Ste. Trinite Episcopal Cathedral in Port-au-Prince, Haiti:
http://web.me.com/merelaurens/GoIntoTheWorld/Go_Into_The_World/Entries/2010/2/2_Ste._Trinite_Cathedral,_before_and_after.html

The Ste. Trinite Music School and many of it's instruments were lost in the quake, however, they did give a concert three weeks after the quake.  CNN provided the video of the concert:
http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2010/02/06/vause.haiti.concert.for.hope.cnn

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2/5/2010:

We heard from our priests in Mirebalais, Haiti, this week, who continue to work to rebuild after the January 12 earthquake.  Fr. Jeannot and his family are unable to live in the rectory and so he, his wife, 3 kids, and several parishioners are camping out in his back yard.  This is obviously not an ideal situation, especially since the rectory is built on a side of a hill and there are cracks in the foundation that keeps the plot level.
 
The emergency team that went to Haiti last week was able to pass on your contributions to Fr. Jeannot, he received $5,000 for food and water and other needs. Thank you.
 
The city of Mirebalais has closed all of the schools until building inspectors can thoroughly inspect them.  Unfortunately, Mirebalais only has 2 building inspectors.
 
This means that the kids are taking a very long, unexpected break from school, and subsequently parents cannot work as much because they must watch and feed their kids.  Early reports indicated that the Catholic church in Mirebalais was falling down, but while it is closed, it doesn't appear to be too badly damaged.
 
Finally, St. David's was honored to host the Requiem Eucharist and Burial Office for our dear brother Roger Matthews last Saturday.  More than 500 people attended making it the largest funeral in recent history at St. David's.  This was certainly a fitting tribute to a man who was so consumed with the plight of the suffering. -- Fr. Chris+

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I just had a little bit of a word on St-Andre in Trianon -- apparently the new building is OK but the old one (the little classrooms on the other side of the church) has bad cracks and must come down. -- Serena Beeks [The Haiti Episcopal Schools Partnership Program]

2/2/2010:

Before & after photos of the Episcopal Cathedral (Ste. Trinite Cathedral) in Port-au-Prince: http://web.me.com/merelaurens/GoIntoTheWorld/Go_Into_The_World/Entries/2010/2/2_Ste._Trinite_Cathedral,_before_and_after.html

========== January 2010 Updates ==========

New York Times newspaper article on Haiti: "To Heal Haiti, Look to History, Not Nature"
Additional information regarding the NY Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/opinion/21kristof.html

New York Times newspaper article: "Building Haiti's Economy, One Mango at a Time" -
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/opinion/29collier.html?th&emc=th

Information on Haiti via the Episcopal Church in Wisconson: http://www.haitiproject.org/january2010quake.html

Comments from a Haitian aid worker from the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper via NewsEdge:
http://www.poten.com/NewsDetails.aspx?id=10322467

1/22/2010:

Via "The Michigan Catholic" - a publication of the Archdiocese of Detroit : http://www.aodonline.org/AODOnline/News+++Publications+2203/Michigan+Catholic+News+12203/2010+17545/KeepPrayingForHaiti.htm

1/21/2010:

From the Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704320104575015502368917126.html

Via the Episcopal News Service: http://www.swaes.org/Haiti%20Update.htm

Via 'cnn.com': http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/21/haiti.earthquake/index.html
"... And U.S. Southern Command, through its component Air Force South, conducted an air drop of food and water over Mirebalais, Haiti, on Thursday. Mirebalais is 25 miles northeast of Port-au-Prince. A C-17 delivered water bottles and 17,200 meals ready to eat, the military said in a statement.

Troops secured an area in which to drop the supplies and, once the supplies were on the ground, the military, the U.S. Agency for International Development and other personnel distributed them, the statement said. Nepalese troops also assisted, the Air Force said. Thursday's air drop was the second since the quake; the first was Monday. ..."

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We have heard, via email, from both of our partner priests in Haiti, Pere Faublas and Pere Jeannot.  Both are OK, but both have been devastated by the quake.  Pere Jeannot, one of the 30 Episcopal priests on the island who oversees St. Pierre parish and school, was in Port au Prince with his family when the quake hit.  He made it to the ground of their second story apartment, his wife passed their 3 kids to him, then she jumped and suffered a leg injury.  He says they lost everything but their lives in the quake.  Here are excerpts of the most recent email:

"...in the name of my family I thank you for your prompt solidarity towards us in this difficult moment that we are living in Haiti.  I am begging you to relay my thanks to all the members of Haiti Outreach Mission and your family for your prayers.  The Lord had mercy on us and we are thankful to him.  We are bathing in an ocean of suffering,  are we going to get out of it?  God only knows.  Aline is starting to recover, she is walking on her leg.  The kids are doing well.  But we have no electricity and water is rare.  We are trying to survive thanks to God.  One more time, thank you for your solidarity.

We have also heard from Fr. Faublas, a Catholic priest who oversees St. Louis parish, who is also suffering a great deal due to the quake.  Here is an excerpt from his latest email:

"...I am really traumatized.
a) A house that my family built in Port-au-Prince is completely destroyed.
b) The earthquake found me on the road to Petit-Goave on January 12.  That is where I spent the entire night.  That was really hard for me.
c) St Louis church is cracked.  It's tilted from left to right.  Any shaking and it will fall.  I had to close the doors.
d) I am making arrangements to say Mass in the orphanage courtyard.  That really affected me today.
e) Every day several people come and ask that we do something for them.  They ask for money or food.  Everything that I had I already gave away.  I don't know what to do since everything has come to a standstill in the country.
f) I am asking you to pray for me and the unfortunate Haitian people
I sent you this note in French because I could not concentrate to translate it in English.  You can translate for me to send to friends in HOM.
         
P.S. St. Louis Church of Mirebalais is about to fall.  The columns have already separated.

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1/17/2010:

Sent Sun, Jan 17, 2010 10:26 am
Dear friends, Thank you for your prayers and your solidarity! My family is ok thanks to God. We were in Port-au-Prince when the tragedy happens. Aline jump from the balcony with our 3 children - she hurted her leg but the children are ok. We lost everything but that's nothing because life is more important.
Fr Pere Jeannot

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1/16/2010:

Both Fr. Joseph [priest of St. Pierre Episcopal Church, Mirebalais] and Fr. Faublas [priest of St. Louis Catholic Church, Mirebalais] are OK and are with their families.

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1/14/2010:

-Mirebalais was not severely affected by the earthquakes; the shaking went on for about 7 seconds - it is safe. 
-Dominique’s [Matthews] family is OK 
-Maxime and his family are OK – his home is OK - He is looking for his sister-in-law. 
   [Maxime is the Haitian who arranges our transportation in Haiti]. 
-We have no information on our clinic doctor or dentist.
-The Episcopal Bishop lost his home, his wife was slightly injured.
-Trinity school collapsed.
-St. Vincent school and orphanage for the handicapped is gone.
-The Catholic Archbishop has died.
-Both cathedrals are severely damaged.

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Roger and Dominique are putting together a medical mission team that will travel to Haiti next week, probably on Sunday the 24th to do work in Petionville, which is near Port au Prince.   The details are still being worked out. Another team will travel to the Mirebalais area at the same time to upgrade/evaluate the water purification system at our orphanage, inspect the buildings which are part of the HOM mission and prepare for our trip in March.
 
Corpus Christi Catholic Church (St. Gerard center) - Collections will be taken at all Masses this weekend for Haiti Relief fund. (Saturday 4 p.m., Sunday 11:00 a.m.) Also, Monday the 18th at 7:00 p.m. there will be a Prayer Service for Haiti also at the St. Gerard Center, located at 19800 Pembroke, Detroit (corner of Evergreen between 7 & 8 Mile)
 
St. David’s Episcopal Church - Healing for Haiti Prayer Service at 7 pm, Friday, January 22.  St. David's is located at 16200 West Twelve Mile Road, Southfield, MI 48076.  Healing for Haiti service information 

These events will be beneficial not just for the people of Haiti, but also for all of us here who are living this tragedy miles away.
 
We are receiving many calls with offers to help.  Certainly many of you are also.  We suggest directing requests to the HOM web site below and use Pay Pal for donating.  For those uncomfortable with that option, please send checks to Haiti Outreach Mission, 2025 West Long Lake Road, Suite 108, Troy, MI 48098-4100
 
HOM is accepting donations to support the medical mission trip to PAP/Petionville via the HOM web site www.haitioutreachmission.org  Use the "Give" tab.