September, 2008 Volume 2 No. 6

                  Hurricane Ike Hits LaGonave As you probably have heard, the people of Haiti have been in even greater need over the last few weeks due to the unremitting rain and gale-force winds of several hurricanes which ravaged the country in quick succession. In the past few weeks, three hurricanes have hit Haiti. Gustav caused extensive damage to the southwestern peninsula region, including Jacmel. Hurricane Hanna caused horrific conditions in Gonaives on the northwest coast of the mainland, and also caused some damage on LaGonave. Trou Jacques, a village on the far southeastern part of LaGonave was literally washed into the sea when Hanna hit. Miraculously, there were no deaths in the village, but all homes and possessions were lost. The inhabitants of other villages on LaGonave considered themselves blessed that there was not island-wide destruction.

                When Hurricane Ike hit the Caribbean last Sunday, all that changed. LaGonave was directly in its path, and emergency conditions now extend over the entire island. The first reported deaths were of eight people who were in a small sailboat on the sea when Ike hit. They had been traveling to the mainland to attend a family funeral. They didn’t have time to get to land and their boat capsized. Most of the boats on the island, including Fr. Roosevelt’s, were destroyed or seriously damaged by the storm. Many homes were washed away. In the mountains, entire crops were lost and many livestock were drowned. Right now, Fr. Roosevelt has several homeless families living in Our Lady of Pointe-a-Raquette Catholic School. There are other homeless families living in the high school and the jail.

               The government has declared that schools cannot open until October 6th, but Father has arranged for the schoolchildren to continue to come to the school so we can feed them. The availability of food is a big problem. Until Thursday, no boats were able to cross the sea to Mirogoan or Port-au-Prince. The only food available was that which was already on the island. Everyone is hungry, and parents are unable to feed their already malnourished children. There were three chaloups (large sailboats) that were in Port-au-Prince when Ike hit the island, so they were not damaged. These three chaloups, two which travel between Anse-Galets on the north side of LaGonave and Port-au-Prince and one which travels between Pointe-a-Raquette and Mirogoan, are the only way to leave the island at the present time. The fares for travel on the chaloups have skyrocketed to $8.00 US one way. This is a fortune for most people living on LaGonave, and they are virtual prisoners on the island. Most of the roads (which would be considered dirt tracks in the US) have been washed away, and travel is very difficult and dangerous. Anyone who can walk down from the mountains has come to the rectory asking for relief.

               
We have already sent emergency funds to Fr. Roosevelt to purchase 5,000 pounds of rice and will continue to send additional funds. He distributed food on Monday, the day after the hurricane struck, and again two days later. There are still areas where the people cannot be reached until a smaller boat is available to travel up the coast from Pointe-a-Raquette. We are very concerned that the people at Father’s chapel at Picmi will run out of food before anyone can get to them. We were able to send additional funds to Father in this emergency because of the generosity of many donors over the last several months.

               Thank you for your continued support. If you have been considering making a donation to Haiti Outreach Foundation, please think about doing it now. Your support will allow families to recover from this disaster and get back on track in the effort to improve their lives through sustainable ventures. Donations may be sent to the address on the letterhead or dropped off at the St. Francis Parish Office. Please pray for Fr. Roosevelt and the people of LaGonave. Father himself had a terrifying experience last week. He was traveling to the hospital in Gonaives with a sick parishioner when Hanna hit there. He was forced to climb onto the roof of the 2-storey house where he was staying to escape the floodwaters. Father and several others were trapped on the roof for two days, without food, until the water receded enough for them to come down. There were hundreds of people drowned in the waters that day. The survivors were helpless to save them. Most international aid and government aid has been targeted to go to Gonaives where there was such tragic loss of life. We are working with our diocese and our government officials to try to get aid for LaGonave as well. Please feel free to call Linda Kofeldt 885-7763 or Colette Petitt 255-1693 for more information. The next meeting of the Haiti Outreach Ministry at St. Francis will be held on Monday, September 29, at 7pm in Assisi Hall. All who are interested in the work being done in Haiti are welcome to attend. Men anpil chay pa lou=Many hands make the load lighter