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JRS plans for long-term Haitian relief

Posted February 20, 2010

(Washington, D.C.) February 20, 2010 – In the days following the January 12 earthquake in Haiti, Jesuit Refugee Service was able to provide emergency food relief to about 50,000 people, while JRS-affiliated medical teams treated about 4,500 people who were injured in the quake or became ill in the aftermath.

While continuing to serve the emergency needs of the affected people – three million, out of a population of nine million, were directly affected by the disaster – Jesuit Refugee Service is now, in collaboration with the Haitian people, planning sustainable projects to help the population recover and move forward.

“The humanitarian situation in Haiti is undoubtedly improving day by day. But we are under no illusion about the scale of the challenges still ahead for the next weeks and months,” United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes told the Security Council Friday.

In partnership with Fe y Alegria (a school system providing educational opportunities to underserved populations throughout Latin America), JRS plans to improve the infrastructure of at least 12 educational centers by building new classrooms or repairing school buildings damaged in the quake. This is another step in the JRS tradition making education a priority. Given educational opportunities, whether it is children in a traditional class setting or adults in vocational classes, people have the potential to rebuild their lives, to help rebuild their communities and thus to strengthen and stabilize their country for generations to come.

In the coming months, JRS will also provide psychosocial services to people recovering from the trauma of the earthquake and the destruction it caused.

A JRS staff member who “is a psychologist will coordinate the team of psychologists involved in post-trauma accompaniment,” said Fr. Mario Serrano, S.J., National Director of JRS - Dominican Republic. (The mission to accompany is the basis for the work JRS does around the world.)

“We will also be working in Toussaint Louverture, a displacement camp with more than nine thousand people. There are so many difficulties in working with other agencies: limited or no access to trucks, partner agencies needing more time to cut tarpaulins, security needs for the distribution. We have told these partner agencies that we could take care of everything if needed to expedite the delivery of aid: we can provide our own delivery trucks from Santo Domingo, community people from the camp can themselves cut the tarpaulins, we even can coordinate with friends in the Haitian police to help us with security (in fact most security comes from the same entity, but sometimes people from some partner agencies insist on having tanks for security ...),” said Fr. Serrano.

For many years Jesuit Refugee Service has had a grassroots presence in Haiti and has provided humanitarian assistance to displaced Haitians in both the Dominican Republic and along the Haitian border. In addition, JRS has responded to the needs of Haitians following successive natural disasters, a food crisis, and repeated hurricanes.

Building in Haut Turgeau area of Port-au-Prince. (Fr. Ken Gavin, S.J. - JRS/USA)

Because of the history of JRS on the ground in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Jesuit teams already there and others throughout the world began responding to the overwhelming needs of Haitians when disaster struck on that January afternoon. The earthquake killed more than 230,000 people and has displaced about 700,000 from the Port-au-Prince area.

Jesuit Refugee Service in the Dominican Republic helped form a network of organizations — Ayuda a Haiti (Help for Haiti) — that has gathered and shipped more than 50 large container truckloads of non-perishable food stuffs, water, fruit juices, personal hygiene items, tents, medicines and medical supplies to the victims of the earthquake.

Jesuit Refugee Service established warehouses in key locations throughout the Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo, Santiago and Barahona) where emergency provisions have been stored and then transported to 12 key centers throughout the affected area.

The Jesuit novitiate community in Tabarre, on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, has become the center of JRS relief efforts. Although the community building suffered extensive damages, the Jesuits there have welcomed volunteer medical teams and Haitian family members who lost their homes in the quake to live in tents on the novitiate grounds.

“These past weeks the large grassy area behind the house has become the home and staging ground for many JRS team members, Jesuit family members, and visiting emergency medical teams from the U.S., Brazil, France and Puerto Rico.

“The normal tranquility of novitiate life was transformed overnight into a bustling, economy-scale hotel atmosphere. In the evening, after a long day of caring for victims of the earthquake, volunteers would gather together in conversations that transcended the boundaries of language and culture,” said Fr. Ken Gavin, S.J., National Director of JRS/USA.

Fr. Kawas Francois, S.J., the Coordinator of the Jesuit relief work, has formed a group of key representatives from Haitian society — educators, members of the clergy, human rights leaders, business people and students — to discuss the role of the civil society in the reconstruction of Haiti.

Leogane, a city west of Port-au-Prince devastated by the January 12 earthquake – some say 90% of the town is either rubble or uninhabitable – is one of the 12 centers where the Jesuits distribute food, water and medicines.

Fr. Alfredo Infante, S.J. and Fr. Marat, pastor of the destroyed Santa Rosa of Lima’s Church (background)
in Leogane. (Fr. Ken Gavin, S.J. - JRS/USA)

“We visited with the pastor of the Church of Santa Rosa, which was destroyed, said JRS/USA National Director Fr. Ken Gavin, S.J. “He spoke with sadness of the urgent need for food distribution in his city and among his parishioners. Fr. Louis Gabriel Blot, the pastor of the Church of St. Andre, came close to tears as he showed us the two shattered walls – all that remains – of his parish church.”

Church of St Andre in Leogane, destroyed in the earthquake of Jan. 12.
(Fr. Ken Gavin, S.J. - JRS/USA)

From the rubble of San Andre Church in Leogane parishioners have pulled a mangled crucifix, a statue of an angel, and the church’s bell, which is still used to call the neighborhood to prayer every Sunday. Mass is now celebrated under a blue plastic canopy that also serves day and night as a shelter for the some of the neediest families of the parish.

JRS believes strongly that the rebuilding of Haiti should be an effort led by Haitians, and not based on outside interests. "Haiti demands a reconstruction rooted in decentralization, diversification and specialization," said Fr. Regino Martinez, S.J.

“Planning meetings in various camps (with people affected by the quake) will help us develop ideas. We have proposed to begin as soon as possible providing care to vulnerable children and training teachers by using staff from the camps,” said Fr. Serrano.

“Careful planning will make a great difference in the quality of our ability to reach out in love to the struggling Haitian people as we accompany, serve and defend their rights,” said Fr. Gavin.

“There are no instant solutions. It will take time to cover all these needs, and care to maintain help to the most vulnerable without creating dangerous aid dependency,” said Mr. Holmes, who is also UN Emergency Relief Coordinator.

“But we must not waver in helping several million people not only survive this catastrophe, but also rebuild their livelihoods and lives in a new and better way.”

“God willing, next week we will have many actions in place,” said Fr. Serrano.

Learn more about JRS in Haiti here.

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Jesuit Refugee Service is an international Catholic non-governmental organization whose mission is to serve, accompany, and defend the rights of refugees and other forcibly displaced persons, witnessing to God’s presence in vulnerable and often forgotten people driven from their homes by conflict, natural disaster, economic injustice, or violation of their human rights.  

As one of the ten geographic regions of the Jesuit Refugee Service, JRS/USA serves as the major refugee outreach arm of U.S. Jesuits and their institutional ministries, mobilizing their response to refugee situations in the U.S. and abroad. Through our advocacy and fund raising efforts, JRS/USA also provides support for the work of JRS throughout the world.

JRS/USA gives help, hope, ear and voice to vulnerable people on the move by being present to and bearing witness to their plight; by relieving their human suffering and restoring hope; by addressing the root causes of their displacement and improving international responses to refugee situations.

In addition, JRS/USA inspires the Ignatian family and others to respond together to the needs of refugees and displaced persons worldwide and forges strong partnerships with like-minded institutions and agencies devoted to the cause of refugees and displaced persons.

JRS works in more than 57 countries worldwide to meet the educational, health, social and other needs of refugees and other forcibly displaced persons. JRS services are made available to refugees and displaced persons regardless of their race, ethnic origin, or religious beliefs. JRS provides primary and secondary education to approximately 170,000 children, and undertakes advocacy to ensure that all displaced children are provided with a quality education.

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