Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) – The Church has always been particularly close to the Haitian people, through Catholic organizations and groups that have supported this country that is among the poorest in the world and they have now begun working on-site to respond to the emergency. Among these is the NGO for Development “Manos Unidas,” which for over 30 years has financed projects in Haiti. From 2007 to 2009 they funded 68 projects, aimed at supporting agricultural development in favor of poor farmers, infrastructure, and education. In September 2008, eight emergency projects were approved, for the people affected by hurricanes (see www.manosunidas.org).
Caritas Spain has mobilized to help the Haitian Caritas allocating 175,000 Euros to be distributed according to the main emergencies (see www.caritas.es). Through Aid to the Church in Need, the Catholic Church in Haiti will be able to distribute aid through its priests and missionaries working in the area (about www.agenciasic.es).
The Movement for the Struggle Against World Hunger, MLFM, is present in southern Haiti, about 100 kilometers from the capital, working on a project for restructuring of an aqueduct with the aim of distributing drinking water to about 45,000 inhabitants of Torbeck. Engineer Andrea Fabiani is on the site, with his wife Diane. A note from MLFM sent to Agenzia Fides reads: "As our contact person on site, he promptly informed us this morning he was fine, that the community of Les Cayes, where he lives, was barely touched by the tragedy and that there was no damage, no injured or dead. However, he did confirm the devastation in Port-au-Prince. The scene is devastating. The severe damage is widespread.”
The International Rescue Corps of the Order of Malta is sending a team composed of medical doctors and experts in emergency response from France, Germany, and the United States to help the medical aid teams of Malteser already in the country. "Our colleagues in Haiti - said in a statement sent to Fides from the Secretary General of Malteser International, Ingo Radtke - know that the priorities right now are basic medical care and the provision of drinking water." "Due to soil erosion, the capital lacks solid structures. Slums built on the hills were completely swept away by mudslides," says Eduard Aimé, one of the witnesses contacted by the Corps Relief in Haiti. The Order of Malta is in the north of Haiti, the poorest country in the entire American continent, with the “Sacre Coeur” Hospital in Milot, which has 73 beds and a department of pediatrics and gynecology. The hospital has an average of over 4,000 hospitalizations per year and attends to about 60,000 patients. The Order also has a program to assist orphans and vaccination campaigns, mobile clinics and health care, for 225,000 people living in mountainous areas. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 14/1/2010)
