Students,
staff and parents from St Ignatius' College, Riverview have raised $10,000 for
survivors of Haiti's devastating earthquake. Jesuit Refugee Service will use
the funds to provide ongoing relief assistance to those left homeless or
injured by the January 12 disaster.
'A few days
before term started we alerted them that we hoped each boy could donate $5',
said the Rector of St Ignatius' College, Fr Andy Bullen SJ. 'As well as praying
for the people of Haiti, contributing to a collection establishes a connection
with their suffering; it's another way of touching them.'
With up to
150,000 people feared dead, the number of people believed to be living in
temporary sites in Port-au-Prince could be as high as one million, while food
assistance has reportedly reached more than 500,000 out of an estimated two
million in need.
'JRS has
about 20 staff working on the relief effort for Haiti at the moment', said the
Director of JRS Australia, Fr Sacha Bermudez-Goldman SJ. He said that while it
was very difficult to make sense of events in Haiti, reflections from JRS staff
working there could help us to understand the needs of both earthquake
survivors and relief workers.
'We are
still seeing seriously wounded people who have yet to see a doctor', wrote
Jesuit Brother Jim Boynton 25 January. 'We are seeing tent cities that have
thousands of people living in a crowded space with no water, food, or sanitary
conditions. On one level life continues, but on another level it will never be
the same. Ten minutes ago I translated for a young boy who barely spoke. His
head was soft as a rotten pumpkin, and his leg was infected. His grandfather
brought him to the Jesuit compound because he knew there were doctors here. No
one else in his family could take him because they have all died. Today was the
first day the grandfather found his grandson, and today was the first time the
boy saw a doctor.'
Rafael
Jimenez, social program coordinator for Jesuit Refugee Service in the Dominican
Republic, said that convoys of at least three large trucks collect relief
materials from parishes and social groups in the Dominican Republic, Haiti's
neighbour, every other day. They are then transported to Haiti's capital city, Port-au-Prince,
where the food, water, medicine and other supplies are quickly distributed. In
comparison, Jimenez says that many of the relief materials sent from far-away
countries to Haiti have been stuck at the airport and docks due to poor
infrastructure and a lack of established networks in Port-au-Prince.
'The people [needing
help] in the communities are the ones doing the work. They themselves are doing
the organising', Jimenez said after returning from Port-au-Prince on 24 January.
Even with aid being delivered more freely, there was still a lot of hunger, he
said.
Fr Kawas
Francois, SJ, who is coordinating the JRS and Jesuit response to the disaster,
confirmed this, saying that the need for doctors and more food aid was huge. 'The
aid arriving is not sufficient to feed those needing help at our intervention
centers.'
Br Boynton
cites an example of the excruciating, unanaesthetised pain endured by victims
of the earthquake. 'One woman of about 60 years old had infected wounds in her
legs that (exposed) the bones. Our doctors dressed the wounds and she bravely
endured an hour long ordeal. We held her, we prayed, and we listened to her
scream. To keep her mind off the pain we started singing the few songs in
Creole that we knew. A crowd formed and joined in. We all sang at the top of
our lungs to keep the poor woman distracted from the tremendous pain. She
cried, held on tight, and sang. When it was over she said she will never forget
us.'
Fr
Bermudez-Goldman said the Riverview community was to be commended for solidarity
with the people of Haiti during a time of great need. 'Our Christian faith
calls us to imagine ourselves in their shoes and to imagine the way we would
like to be treated and helped if we were in their situation. Through the
support of initiatives like this, and through our JRS international network, we
can make sure that those funds are available to them straight away, and that
they are used to directly assist those in great need.'
Donations can be made to the Haiti relief effort
by calling (02) 9955 8585, or sending a cheque by post to PO Box 193, North
Sydney 2059, or by donating online
here (choose Greatest Need from the campaign drop-down menu).
Pictured: Br Jim Boynton SJ holds an IV for an injured person in Haiti (JRS USA).