TexT By CAROL SCHuCK SCHeIBeR

HARI t Y OF C ERS ug H t D A HE t OF ESY R t O u C

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Religious communities offer help in Haiti

After the devastating earthquake in haiti, religious communities have been responding to people’s needs with faith, dedication, and service.

THe Daughters of Charity minister in Cité Soleil, a desperately poor neighborhood in a large slum near port-auprince. Here the sisters who work there regularly stand with five sisters of the Daughters of Charity, who came from other regions to help after the earthquake.

tExt by Carol sChuCK sChEibEr

on JAnUARY 12, 2010 a massive earthquake struck the Caribbean nation of Haiti—already the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. About 220,000 people died and hundreds of thousands more were injured. The disaster also created a humanitarian crisis: More than 180,000 homes were ruined or

Carol Schuck Scheiber is content editor of VISION. destroyed, leaving 1.5 million people homeless and 100,000 at critical risk from storms and flooding. nearly 5,000 schools suffered damage or destruction.

The earthquake affected religious communities as well, with many sisters, brothers, and priests suffering injury or death and community facilities damaged. Yet, many religious men and women were also in the forefront of relief efforts. on the following pages are a few of the many stories of the ways religious communities are helping Haitians to recover.

SISTeR LORRAINe malo, C.S.J. has worked as a physical therapist in Haiti for many years. She rode out the earthquake and its aftermath and today continues to provide service. Above she works with mylove and her mother in a therapy session.

FATHeR TOm Hagan, O.S.F.S. (left) celebrates mass in Haiti. Founder of the community development organization Hands Together located in the Cité Soleil area, Hagan left his post as Catholic chaplain at princeton university and moved to Haiti in 1997.

COuRtESY OF tHE I.H.M. SIStERS, SCRANtON THe DAugHTeRS of Charity continue their work of delivering healthcare to those in greatest need. Sister monica Juan (left) cares for a leg injury.

TWO memBeRS of the Little Sisters of St. Thérèse (below) outside the destroyed national major seminary, Notre Dame d’Haiti, near port au prince. Twenty-six of the more than 200 seminarians there died in the earthquake. Surviving seminarians have been studying in temporary facilities, and plans for constructing a new facility are underway.

THe LITTLe Sisters of Saint Thérèse (right) are a Haitian religious order devoted to teaching and healthcare.

THe xAVeRIAN Brothers, who run an orphanage in Hinche, Haiti, welcomed 500 displaced people after the earthquake, including these three boys (below) who the Brothers say adjusted well and love playing with puzzles from the game room.

COuRtESY OF tHE xAVERIAN BROtHERS

E D L AN g LOIS , C AT h OLIC S ENTINEL

SISTeR DeNISe Desil, a nurse and midwife and a member of the Little Sisters of Saint Thérèse, on a u.S. fundraising tour. =