Thank you to all the donors who have generously given to support our friends in St. Etienne.
Below is an accounting, to the extent we know, of where cash donations will go, and we still need any financial help you are able to offer.
In addition, however, we have received requests for in-kind donations, and again we seek the generosity of the St. Patrick’s community. Drop-off areas will be made available in the Church and School buildings for your convenience.
1) Shoes. Both adult and children, male and female. Shoes should be practical for mountain wear (no Manola Blahniks!), and for children, closed toes are especially helpful These shoes need not be new (although Payless often runs great BOGO specials). Look into your closets. What shoes are sitting there that are no longer worn? What about those your children have gently used, but have grown out of? Or never liked in the first place? Dust them off and bring them in; we will ship in large containers.
2) OTC medicines and supplies. Band aids are great, but we also need gauze, tape, bandages, hydrogen peroxide, children’s Tylenol and Motrin (check those lot numbers for recalls!), Benadryl, first aid spray – be creative!
3) Children’s vitamins: While the food situation is no longer described as dire, children are still not getting a fully balanced diet. Vitamins would help stem the tide of malnutrition.
4) School supplies: Long a St. Patrick’s staple, these children depend on us for their pens, pencils, crayons and paper. Supplies are very, very expensive in Haiti, and what was on-site before January was completely lost.
5) Musical instruments: Liturgical music is currently limited to vocals, as there are no instruments that survived the disaster. Do you have a keyboard that your family is not using? (Most of them operate on batteries, which will work until the generator at the church is ready to go.) How about an accordion? Drums?
Skills: Are you, or do you have an interested friend or colleague who is an architect, engineer, or other building or land use professional? One very plausible reason the St. Etienne School escaped most damage is because it was American designed and built to US building codes. If we could have similar talents to put to work at Christ Redempteur, perhaps the perpetual issues related to hurricane damage and erosion can be avoided in the future.
In the quest for full transparency, we share with the community where you funds will go.
1) School operations: In a normal year, St. Patrick’s shares the cost of operating the school with the parents, who all pay as their circumstances allow. Since the earthquake, monthly tuition payments have come to a complete halt, as any money people have is dedicated to rebuilding their homes and their lives. St. Patrick’s has committed to allowing ALL children to come back to school for the remainder of this term (which will run to August 12), regardless of their ability to pay.
2) In addition to the teacher salaries for the time when school is in session, we have committed to paying teachers and administrators for the time the schools were closed. These teachers were without a salary from the Jan 12 earthquake to April 11, when schools reopened nationwide. Since most teachers are making just above minimum wage, the loss of income for three months was devastating to families who live paycheck to paycheck. This back pay will assist them with their own rebuilding.
3) Rebuilding of the St. Etienne Church. As you can see from the photos, the church is literally a pile of rocks, and must be rebuilt from the ground up.
4) Rebuilding of Christ Redempteur School. Completely demolished, CRS must be rebuilt from scratch. We do not have any feel yet for the cost, but know it will be a long-term project, with classrooms being replaced as funding allows. The first step has already been taken, as funds were wired to pay for an architect to commence sketches and a geological survey. Since erosion has created problems over the year for the school, with the rebuild a new location (on the existing campus) has been identified.
5) St. Etienne School: While we are lucky that the damage was less at St. Etienne than at CRS, there remains a need for reinforcement, and also for temporary shelter until the buildings can be safely (and confidently) inhabited by students on a daily basis.
If you can help with a financial donation, please send it to the church office with HAITI written in the memo line.
