Fraternite Notre Dame teams up...

Haiti: Fraternite Notre Dame teams up with UNICEF, and the US & Canadian Armed Forces to benefit the population in the mountains

Our nuns, friars and priest are based in the mountains, where all dwellings were destroyed, except for our chapel, and the statue of Our Lady of Frechou, Mother of Mercy and Mother of the Church: it was found under the rubbles of a collapsed building.

The US Army forces help our Religious to deliver food and supplies, using choppers, to the victims in the mountains, because the roads are actually blocked, and each day, to go down to the city, they have to walk for at least 4 hours.
UNICEF already gave us 3 large tents to be able to run our meal services, offer school and dispensary. American engineers are due to come on the grounds to assess the water situation, for at this point springs are very far away and this is a major problem for hygiene and also for vegetable growing.
FAO is convening a meeting with the various NGOs, of course we will be attending, because our current effort right now focuses on getting the youth's attention towards agriculture.
It's important to know that almost all of the slum areas residents are former farmers who came down to the city because their hope was securing a job. What we are doing in the mountains is trying to keep the youth around as long as possible; they grow their own vegetable gardens and tend some cattle.
But of course, they've lost everything with the earthquake. FAO is going to give seeds so this sector can be given a new start. WFP is also going to give food to all the people we take care of.
Everybody is really happy to have our Priests, Brothers and Sisters, living in their midst. A US journalist who experienced terrible times asked for confession before leaving.
At a hospital by the airport, where over 200 doctors dedicate themselves to treat over 1,000 patients, the principal got really happy when he saw Father Louis Marie: he asked him to visit all his patients right away.
A nun who has lost 16 of her fellow nuns was very glad to see our sisters, reciting their rosary, and she asked them to be given a set of rosary beads too, as hers got lost when the earthquake stroke; she was used to say it every morning!