We have told them that they are in your prayers and that additional help is promised. We have commitments of an additional $1,600.00 and about 125 St. Philip parishioners are mailing additional gifts. A special thanks to the Knights of Columbus. Some of the money will be used to buy seeds to plant as they start their recovery.
Recovery and rebuilding is starting. The water is receding. The school and clinic survived without damage. Several families used the second floor of the school as their emergency shelter when their homes were washed away. They will, of course, have to move out soon so school can resume in a week or so. The diagnostic equipment and the beds in the clinic were not damaged. Although some supplies such as bandages were damaged, the clinic will be operational and able to treat patients quickly. This is important since so many of the villagers suffer from chronic undernourishment. They are vulnerable to infections and virus disease rapidly escalating if they are not treated. The rugged hand pumps survived and the wells your generous gifts funded are able to provide clean drinking water. This is, literally, saving lives. Overall, it is much better than it would have been without your help. Thank you.
Meanwhile, we are also looking beyond hurricanes to long-term assistance. Our primary goal remains to build infrastructure that accelerates achieving self-supportability. Please continue your daily sacrifice to put something in the “Happy Box” each day. These will fund long-term village development like the Tilapia Farm. We will provide updates on this website, http://haitianpilgrims.org/. If you do not have a “Happy Box” and wish to add your support, click on this Hyperlink, How can I help? .