By Alicia C. Marill

I have spent more than 30 years working with missionary efforts in the northeast region of Haiti, and yet I always asked myself, “What would happen if an international effort really existed that worked together to build the necessary infrastructure in order for the people of Haiti to live an authentic quality of life? It has taken nothing less than an enormous catastrophe—the January earthquake—for the so-called “global community” to gain consciousness and begin helping the Haitian people.

The earthquake has caused widespread loss of life and property. Almost the entire population has become homeless. Those whose homes were not destroyed, have structures that suffered extensive damage. Many fear their home could collapse at any moment. In the midst of this unprecedented disaster and chaos, religious communities have had to reinvent their ministries.

The Dominican Friars, who are dedicated to theology in Port-au- Prince, now sleep in their patio. A community of sisters is sleeping in the cemetery, while they continue to care for hundreds of homeless people. School teachers are left without classrooms, as schools lie in ruins, and having lost their jobs, they are unable to feed their families.

The earthquake is a national crisis. Thousands of people from the rural areas, which is 80 percent of the country, have left their villages to earn a living in Port-au-Prince. The people who live outside the capital had somehow managed to support their family in rural Haiti, but having lost everything, they are leaving their rural towns in search of their own survival. However, Port au Prince, the only center in the country that had some resources, is currently paralyzed.

As a missionary community, Amor en Acción is personally and spiritually connected to this disaster and called to assist through our network of religious communities and agencies of the Catholic Church. May we become involved with our hearts in some restoration aspect for people of Haiti.

For reflection
Do you wait for a catastrophe or calamity to happen to help someone in need? In what ways can you become involved in helping out with this situation or other of extreme poverty that the children of God, your brothers and sisters, are suffering?
 

 Alicia C. Marill founded Amor en Acción in 1976.