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HAITI: Aid to the Church in Need offers help after earthquake
By John Pontifex
The crucifix outside Sacred Heart church in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, which was destroyed in the earthquake
Aid to the Church in Need has today (Friday, 15th January) despatched £45,000 in emergency help for Haiti.
Agreed late yesterday (Thursday, 14th January), the urgent aid package is being channelled into the earthquake-stricken Caribbean country through the apostolic nuncio to Haiti, Archbishop Bernardito Auza.
The money will be used for food, clean water, clothing, medical aid and temporary shelter amid reports of one million or more people affected by Tuesday’s (12th January) earthquake which measured 7.0 on the Richter scale.
The £45,000 is likely to be the first of a number of emergency aid payments to be paid out by the charity within the next month.
In line with Aid to the Church in Need’s focus on pastoral spiritual priorities, the charity expects to receive a series of requests for help to support the spiritual needs of the people as they embark on the long road to recovery.
As the charity announces a Haiti Appeal, Aid to the Church in Need is able to release extracts from a report by Archbishop Auza, sent yesterday (Thursday, 14th January).
Read the nuncio’s report on the earthquake in full
He wrote: “We are in big trouble for obvious logistical reasons. We have no reserves of water and petrol stations are closed. Here in Port-au-Prince [the island’s capital] things are difficult. We lack everything.”
Describing people “sleeping or wandering aimlessly through the streets,” the nuncio said the country’s main airport was unable to cope following the collapse of the control tower and reported that people desperate for help were fleeing to the border with the neighbouring Dominican Republic.
The nuncio, who stressed the huge problems of getting aid into the country, added that the devastation was widespread. Reports suggested almost all government ministries – including the presidential palace – had been badly damaged in the quake. The nunciature survived intact.
After hours of desperate struggle to reach bishops and other project partners in Haiti, Aid to the Church in Need is finally now able to get messages of support through to leading clergy as part of efforts to build up a clear picture of priority needs in the region.
After receiving news of Aid to the Church in Need’s willingness to help, Bishop Gontrand Decoste, SJ, of Jérémie, in the south west of the country, said: “Haiti has been struck by a terrible tragedy. Port-au-Prince is practically destroyed.
“We are on our knees. Only thanks to the solidarity of people like you can we begin to find the strength to get up on our feet again.
“Thank you for your heartfelt message of solidarity. We will certainly need help for people who have lost their homes. Also, there is a need to provide support for damaged churches.”
Aid to the Church in Need expects to receive large numbers of requests for long-term pastoral and spiritual support. Reports from the nuncio yesterday confirmed that nine seminarians had died when the seminary – in receipt of ongoing help from Aid to the Church in Need – collapsed on top of the students.
Most of the staff, including the rector, escaped unharmed but the fate of four seminarians is still unknown.
From elsewhere in Port-au-Prince come reports that a formation and training centre used by religious Sisters and lay people was reduced to rubble, burying a number of people attending a conference there.
Across the capital and beyond there is grief after news of the death of Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot of Port-au-Prince, who died instantly when he was thrown from a balcony of the archbishop’s house by the sheer force of the quake.
The whereabouts of the diocesan vicar general, Monsignor Charles Benoit, are still unknown amid growing fears that he may be buried in the rubble of the former archbishop’s house.
Xavier Legorreta, who coordinates the organisation’s projects there and who is a frequent visitor to the troubled island, urged people to pray for those caught up in the suffering.
He said: “This traumatic experience is for Haiti what the tsunami was five years ago for the people of south-east Asia.
“What happened in Haiti on Tuesday is a wake-up call to the West, reminding us that we should never forget those who are suffering so much in our world.
“We know we can count on the prayers and compassion of our benefactors, that they are willing and able to be a sign of solidarity, accompanying the people of Haiti through the difficult days, months and even years to come.”
Find out more about Aid to the Church in Need’s Haiti Appeal
Please pray for Haiti