By Tom Tracy - Florida Catholic
Photographer: TOM TRACY | FC
Father Ferry Brutus, parochial vicar at Notre Dame d'Haiti, who is a psychologist and counselor, celebrates Mass at St. Louis King of France Parish during a recent trip to Port-au-Prince. The archdiocese's Haitian priests are continuing their ongoing visits to Haiti, taking with them medical teams and offering spiritual and psychological comfort to earthquake victims.
MIAMI � Between distributions of school supplies and toys to Haitian street children and low-income students, members of a young adult delegation from Notre Dame d�Haiti Parish in Miami were invited to meet with the Haitian President and First Lady during Labor Day weekend.
Eighteen young adults from Notre Dame traveled to Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas Sept. 3-6 as part of an on-going medical and pastoral outreach to Haiti organized by the South Florida Haitian-Catholic communities following the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake.
Haitian President Rene Preval � nearing the end of his extended term as president of Haiti as elections approach this November and facing strong criticism that the government has been unable to deal effectively with the earthquake�s aftermath � invited the Miami delegation and the pastor of Notre Dame d�Haiti to meet at his temporary residence in Port-au-Prince.
�The question I personally had for the president was what is it that we Haitians living abroad can do in this situation, and the president focused on education,� said Emmanuel Pean, 31, a member of the young adult group. �He asked Haitians living abroad to come back and live the reality in our mother land and help with education, which is key.�
Pean said Preval discussed the difficulties of the newly-dislocated and homeless populations in Haiti, and touched upon his decision not to seize private lands for mass relocations of people out of the refugee tent cities.
The president expressed concern for new makeshift dwellings being erected around the city � perilously on steep hillsides in a manner that contributed to the loss of life Jan 12.
�He also said that Haiti is grateful for the charities and non-government organizations who provide temporary relief but that we have to work together in sync with each other,� Pean said.
Outside of the capital, the Miami youngsters stopped at the Centre d�Acceuil de Carrefour, a shelter for hundreds of street boys established by the Brothers of Incarnation. They also met with some 1600 kids at a school in Carrefour sponsored by the Sisters of Theresa.
The delegation had made arrangements in advance to ship down bags of schools supplies and toys for the children but the items never cleared customs in time, so members purchased goods locally in order to complete their mission.
�To see the condition in which those children are sitting down to start school and to witness so many of the kids crying was very moving,� said Father Reginald Jean-Mary, pastor of Notre Dame d�Haiti. �The situation for the Church and clergy there is getting even worse now with the challenge of school underway: They are looking for funding to be able to pay teachers and feed the children.�
On several occasions, the group witnessed firsthand the impact of a heavy downpour on some of the tent dwellings. But the overall impression for the youth delegation was that the Haitians are enduring the earthquake situation with �courage, faith and dignity,� Father Jean-Mary said. �Our youth have taken a decision to continue to support the children with some kind of assistance.�
The delegation members were also impressed with the grateful attitude of the youths they encountered in Haiti.
Pean, who said he left Haiti when he was 14, has been back on several occasions but this was his first trip back since the earthquake: �The people still have a smile on their faces, they still have joy, they are still humble. When I was getting off the plane I feared how the people would be. They were not rebellious; they were saying �thank you.� I am still processing this experience and thinking about everything that I take for granted.�
Attending Sunday Mass outdoors at St. Louis King of France Parish in Port-au-Prince, the Miami youth noticed how well-dressed and patient the Haitians were with the extreme heat and discomfort. It made them think of their air-conditioned church back in Miami and how they sometimes wish the church could be cooler.
Seeing dwellings soaked with rain and mud put things into perspective.
�In one of the tent cities we went, it was so muddy as a result of the rain, the little temporary housing, and we spoke to several people who said they have to sleep standing up otherwise it will be sleeping in the mud,� Pean said.
As the national election approaches (bringing instability and safety concerns) and as earthquake donations collected in Miami have been mostly depleted, the Notre Dame-sponsored outreach to Haiti will slow for the remainder of the year, according to Father Jean-Mary.
Notre Dame Parish is also in the midst of a building project to erect a new, larger church structure for what is an important center of Haitian-Catholic life in the U.S.
Parishioners at Notre Dame are still worshipping in what used to be the old cafeteria of Notre Dame Academy for girls. The goal is to build a new church in order to accommodate the growth of the community. The parish has collected $2.2 million so far and is struggling to raise the remaining $800,000. With the crisis in Haiti, it has been difficult to move the campaign forward.
�The good thing about this young adult mission to Haiti is that our kids have come to realize that they have taken things for granted and after seeing the conditions that people are living in we have to be more grateful for the things we have,� Father Jean-Mary said. �It was very fulfilling.�
Photographer: TOM TRACY | FC
A volunteer doctor with Miami Medical Team examines a man at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Cayes-Jacmel, Haiti during a recent mission trip. At left is Father Fritzner Bellonce of St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parish in Pompano Beach.
