First off...

We thank, with all of our hearts, the families, friends, and parishioners of Saints Peter and Paul in San Francisco for their generous donations which made this trip possible. We carried 150 pounds of supplies and gave a sizable donation to the Salesian Sisters in Haiti on behalf of all of you! Merci beaucoup!!

You may notice the lack of school supplies as you look at the classroom (tent) photos. The schools are in great need of puzzles, Legos, French storybooks, paper, posters, as well as French children's music. It is our goal to purchase what they need and send it to them to start their upcoming school year. If you would like to help us, please send your donation to:

ATTN: Haiti School Supplies
Saints Peter and Paul Pre-K
666 Filbert St.
San Francisco, CA 94133

Please make checks payable to Saints Peter and Paul Pre-K (write 'Haiti' on the memo line so we make sure it gets to the schools). Again- thank you so much!

Saturday, July 17, 2010

PORT-AU-PRINCE: Seems like Only Yesterday

On Sunday June 20th, we flew from New York City to Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital and largest city. From the airport we drove all the way to the opposite side of the city to the Provincial House of the Salesian Sisters, which became our 'home base'. The Provincial House is located on a hill overlooking the entire city of Port-au-Prince. The view of the city and the surrounding area from the Provincial House was absolutely beautiful, however, after driving through the city we knew that life in the city was anything but beautiful.

The view from the Provincial House

When the earthquake occurred on January 12, 2010, the majority of the Haitians affected were from the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, since its epicenter was about 20 minutes outside of the city. Most buildings and houses are completely destroyed, with only remnants of their original foundations still standing. The streets are completely packed with people, as well as hundreds upon hundreds, of tents on the sides of the roads. The city looks like the earthquake hit yesterday because nothing has changed. A vast amount of Haitians, who were affected by the earthquake outside of PAP (Port-au-Prince), have moved to and camped in PAP because that is where all the foreign relief and aid is coming from and being distributed. So, in other words, the city has become even more densely populated, and with that, trash and debris flood the streets and sidewalks, like an open dump. As we saw all of this from an air-conditioned car, we couldn't help but feel a little bit guilty for the life we live, and for complaining about things that really mean absolutely nothing- especially when you see people in tents laughing and having a good time. These people may have no money or home, but they are still happy and upbeat- why can't we be that way too? It really put our lives into perspective.

Tents on the middle of a boulevard.

A building destroyed from the earthquake. That was 6 months ago.

Trash on the street. There is no education about litttering

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