AMERICA/HAITI - Jesuits working on Haitian reconstruction effort: “We are trying to help people leave the trauma of the earthquake behind.”

Washington (Agenzia Fides) – Fr. Kawas Francois, S.J. is the President of the Jesuit Interprovincial Committee for the Reconstruction of Haiti and founding member of the National Committee for Reflection and Action and Fr. Wismith Lazard, S.J. leads Jesuit Refugee Service in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Both were recently in Washington, DC to meet with their fellow Jesuits present there. While on their visit to the United States, thanks to the collaboration of JRS/USA Communications Director Christian Fuchs, Fides was able to ask them a few questions on the current situation in the country and the reconstruction efforts being made by the Catholic Church there.
In discussing the current general situation in Haiti, Fr. Francois commented: “The situation in Haiti is very difficult now. We have a lot of unemployment, that's a real problem. Many children can't go to school, because so many schools collapsed in the earthquake-affected areas. And the country has become more dependent on the international community.”
In addressing the main priorities at the moment, Fr. Francois mentioned the health and nutrition problems in the temporary camps in Port-au-Prince, as well as the need to “create jobs for people, as many are not working and the cost of living is actually higher now.” He also mentioned the importance of education. “Most of the students in Port-au-Prince and the affected areas can't go to school. So we are working to re-open schools, so children can return to their education.” “We need to do more than rebuild houses; we need to rebuild the country, the economy,” he emphasized. Fr. Wismith Lazard, S.J. added: “Port-au-Prince is becoming a capital of camps...the government does not have the capacity to alleviate the problem of the camps. I'm afraid camp life will become a culture people get used to. In the camps, people have no privacy for showering...There are health problems in the camps caused by the lack of sanitation, poor drainage, and garbage piling up.”
Both priests mentioned the role of the Catholic Church and religious congregations present in Haiti, in responding to these needs. Fr. Kawas Francois mentioned that “the Haitian Religious Conference is trying to coordinate their actions with the National Minister of Education to get some schools opened.” Fr. Wismith Lazard also spoke of how “Fe y Alegria and JRS have set up tents in some of the camps to use as classrooms, so we can provide education to children there. JRS is also providing psychosocial and pastoral accompaniment to people in the camps. We are trying to help people leave the trauma of the earthquake behind.”
Fr. Kenneth J. Gavin, S.J., National Director of Jesuit Refugee Service/USA, who hosted Fr. Francois and Fr. Lazard in the United States, also commented on the Jesuit response to the Haitian education emergency, saying: “While two Fe y Alegria schools already exist in the city of Ouanaminthe and Balan, the Jesuits of Haiti plan to open 17 new education centers that will educate youth from economically disadvantaged backgrounds while providing teacher training to promote quality education.”
In referring to the International Donors' Conference Towards a New Future for Haiti held March 31 at UN headquarters in New York, Fr. Francois said: “We think it is urgent to change the traditional way of business between Haiti and the international community. The money should not be used to pay 'international experts' or go to the pocket of corrupt functionaries in Haiti. I think it is a big challenge for the international community to ensure all this financial support goes to the real needs of the citizens of Haiti. We think the conference in New York was good; many people and nations want to help Haiti. But now, we want the people in Haiti, civil society in Haiti, to be involved in the process of rebuilding the country.” (AR) (Agenzia Fides 21/4/2010)