| Home |
| Who We Are |
| What We Do |
| Where We Are |
| Are You Called? |
| Joining Us |
| Associates |
| Haiti |
| Duxbury |
| Boston Retreat and Conference Center |
| Events |
| Publications |
| Links |
| Support Us |
|
|
|
Connecting with Haiti We are receiving an enormous amount of inquiries regarding institutions in Haiti other than the Sisters of St. Margaret. Unfortunately, we do not have any more information than most of you. The Sisters of St. Margaret are no longer actively involved in the administration of the following organizations. The information below is for you to use if you would like to get in touch with these organizations directly. Please be patient as phone service and electrical service are very sporadic and in some places non-existant. This is all the information that the Sisters here in Boston have about these institutions at this time. The Episcopal Church of Haiti The Rt. Rev. Jean-Zache Duracin The Episcopal Theological Seminary of Haiti The Very Rev. Oge Beauvoir, Dean of the Seminary Holy Trinity School Rev. Fernande Sanon Pierre-Louise, Director Holy Trinity Music School Rev. David Cesar, Director St. Vincent's School for Handicapped Children Rev. Sadoni Leon, Administrator The Haiti Partnership Program Rev. Kesner Ajax, Coordinator The Children's Medical Missions of Haiti The Right Reverend Roger White, Chair Episcopal Medical Missions Foundation
606 Rathervue Place
Austin, Texas 78705-3128 |
|
A Plea for Patience! Monetary donations may be sent to: The Society of St. Margaret 17 Highland Park St. Boston, MA 02119 For a secure page to donate on-line to the Sisters of St. Margaret, click here You may donate from your checking account, savings account or Visa or Mastercard. PLEASE NOTE: The Sisters cannot accept donations that are earmarked specifically for a certain institutition in Haiti except for the ones in which they are currently administering: the Convent, the Foyer Notre Dame, and the Foyer Notre Dame guest house. If we receive donations specifically for other institutions, we must regretfully return them to the donor.
Donations may also be sent to:
Episcopal Relief and Development
For those wishing to donate material goods
Click on AGAPE FLIGHTS. They post a DAILY list of the most needed items. The Sisters have used Agape Flights for many years. Their website says, "YES, Agape Flights is flying often and able to land in Port au Prince. Agape Flights' planes are being met by the missionaries we serve. The supplies are reaching the medical clinics, orphanages, schools, and churches through the 130 missionary families we regularly serve in PAP. Mike Labady, Agape's Emergency Field Director is on the ground in Port au Prince working to coordinate activities. AGAPE NEEDS:
"We have a critical need for tents that can be used for shelter as well as back packs or duffel bags for the homeless in Haiti to have something to carry whatever belonging they might have with them. We are accepting back packs and duffel bags with supplies for those in Haiti. Back packs are for either a single female or a single male and the duffel bags are for families. Please be sure to label the bags accordingly for easier delivery and distribution!! All bags need canned/pouch meat, a blanket, a sheet, a towel, peanut butter, crackers/cookies, plate, fork, cup, 8 foot plastic rope, toothpaste, deodorant, small scissors, wipes, shampoo and bar soap in a baggie. If you are packing a bag for a female, please add some sanitary products or for a male, please add a razor. Family duffel bags just need double the amount of supplies." ALL ITEMS SHOULD BE SENT DIRECTLY TO: AGAPE FLIGHTS 100 Airport Avenue Venice, FL 34285-3901
For those wishing to go to Haiti
This is from Bishop Duracin's letter to Robert Radtke, President of Episcopal
Relief and Development:
"Finally, I wish to make it plain: I know that many of our partners wish to come to Haiti right now to help. Please tell them that unless they are certified professionals in relief and recovery, they must wiat. We will need them in the months and years to come, but at this point, it is too dangerous and too much of a burden for our people to have mission teams here." The Latest News
1/28/10 UPDATE on the Sisters of St. Margaret in Haiti
Sr. Marie Margaret, Sr. Marie Therese
and the 2 pre-postulants remain camped out on the soccer field at College St. Pierre, along with
Bishop Duracin, some members of the diocesan staff, and about three thousand other people.
Sister Marjorie Raphael is in Cange where daily living is far less stressful. We have not been
able to make contact with Sr. Marie Margaret for the past week. We have spoken to the Bishop
who assures us that the Sisters are well. A generous Associate has offered the Sisters a house
for temporary refuge, but at present they have not moved from the field.
We have been deeply touched by the outpouring of prayer and concern for the Sisters’ welfare. Many have donated funds and many people have also written touching notes which we are saving for the Sisters in Haiti once they are in a position to read them.A special account has been set up at the Boston Convent for the Sisters in Haiti. The funds received will be used to restore and re-establish the mission of the Society of St. Margaret in Haiti. Initially, some of these donations may provide respite care for the Sisters once they are able to move to more beneficial living quarters. Among our contacts within the Episcopal Church we hear talk of rebuilding. But it is far too soon to be able to say in any detail what the plans might be. What we can say is that the ministry that has been is continuing and will continue. We pray for a stronger and renewed presence of the Society of St. Margaret in Haiti in the coming months and years. Click here to
watch an audio slide show about the Sisters and their work in Haiti Click here to
read an article featuring our Associate, the Rev. Canon Oge Beauvoir Click here to
read the letter from Bishop Duracin of Haiti to Episcopal Relief and Development Click here to
read an inspirational article about Sr. Claire Marie's cousin, Romel Joseph Click here to
read an article about Holy Trinity Music School and the Petits Chanteurs Click here to
read "Next up: Haiti needs sanitation & housing" Below is a message from
Father Kesner Ajax, Executive Director of the Bishop Tharp Institute, an Episcopal Relief &
Development program partner
January 23, 2010
Dear Sisters and brothers in Christ,
Please let me take some time to give you some update of the situation of Haiti and your beloved
partners in the Episcopal church of Haiti. God has saved the lives of the bishop, the 32 active
priests, 9 retired priests, the 6 deacons, the 17 seminarians, 3 nuns and the 4 missionaries and
their families. All private houses have been damaged to some degree, but all churches, schools,
rectories clinics, and hospitals from Croix des Bouquets to Miragoane are not permitted to be
used. In Port au Prince and Leogane, all structures of the Episcopal Church have been completely
destroyed. We cannot evaluate how many parishioners and staff members we lost. In the south, BTI
is ok but the Saint Sauveur rectory is not safe to sleep in. The seminarians went back to their
home town; one of them is a physician, and he has stayed at College St Pierre in Port au Prince
to give first aid to the people. The Episcopal Church of Haiti has set up more than 7 centers
to support victims, mostly in the worst hit areas where the bishop is based with whatever
supplies they have been able to receive.
On behalf of Bishop Duracin the partnership program and the people of Haiti, I would like to
begin to thank you for your continuing prayer and assistance, especially Episcopal Relief &
Development and our brothers and sisters of the Dominican Republic who share our same island
home. We appreciated very strongly the sacrifices of Canon Bill Squire , Dr. McNeelly and other
team members who flew across the DR border to visit us. Your notes and emails of sympathy are
very important to us. Please continue to send your notes of encouragement.
The Episcopal Relief & Development is doing a very remarkable work to support Haiti during the
dilemma, both with emergency support and beginning to plan to be part of the rebuilding of the
Episcopal church in Haiti. You can see that Rev. Lauren and Dianne are encouraging you to share
information about your work in Haiti. It is very important to cooperate in that survey, because
while Port au Prince and Leogane areas are more directly affected by the damage, many victims
are returning to their home towns to breath a little bit, find food to eat and a safe place to
sleep. However, the movement of people from Port au Prince to the countryside is overwhelming
our ability to provide for them, and no relief agencies are yet providing supplies to the
countryside.
Episcopal Relief & Development is working together with the bishop and a Haitian emergency
commission of 15 people where The Canon Oge Beauvoir is the coordinator.
Please continue to support Episcopal Relief & Development with your emergency support. Do not
forget your partners in Haiti. You can still send money to your partners by check via lynx and
your wire via Citibank. For two days all of the banks have been open in other towns in Haiti,
and today they opened in Port au Prince. Remember when you send support to your partners;
please copy me and also the diocesan accountant Mr Frantz Antilus in order
to facilitate the process. You already know what to do when you want to send your emergency
to Episcopal Relief & Development who are helping us a lot now.
More news: From Darbonne: Miron Beaudoin, Assistant Coordinator of the Community Health Worker Training Program, Pere Samuel, the Episcopal Parish Priest, and the Water Project Staff, all at Darbonne are also safe. Père Diègue is safe.
Sadly, we have casualties to report. These were reported to us by Associates and friends: We received an e-mail this afternoon from Pere Sadoni. He reports that six children and employees of St. Vincent's School for Handicapped Children died in the quake. Those remaining are living on the soccer field at College St. Pierre, near the Presidential Palace. The Rev. Canon Bill Squire did arrive and delivered supplies to help for the immediate future. Pere Sadoni was meeting with Bishop Duracin to see if he could move the children to Montrouis, the former seminary of the Diocese. There they could find shelter, food, and some protection. He said all the basic living supplies --- clothes, soap, tooth brushes, drugs, etc. were stolen from St. Vincent’s. He hopes to repair the wall to protect what is left. Just met a woman who had daughters at music school and she said there were only a few deaths, but the professional (trade) school - sadly, most are gone. Madame Roy and Gladys Garnier were killed when their home collapsed on them.
Episcopal Schools that were destroyed, according to the National Association
of Episcopal Schools (NAES):
The work of the Sisters of St. Margaret in Haiti before the earthquake - scroll down
|
Click here to
read the latest article on Haiti by the Wall Street Journal
Click here to
read the article "Haiti, Music and the Aftermath."
A Prayer for Haiti:
Almighty Father, God of mercies and giver of comfort, deal graciously, we pray, with the people of Haiti in the midst of the great suffering caused by the catastrophic earthquake. May they cast all their care on you and know the consolation of your love. Give us the courage, zeal, wisdom and patience to assist them, not only in these first days and weeks of urgent need, but as they continue to need the care and partnership of all their sisters and brothers around the world in the long and difficult work of healing and rebuilding. Grant eternal life to those who have died, healing to the injured and strength to all the survivors, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (by the Ven. Dr. J. Fritz Bazin Archdeacon for Immigration and Social Concerns Diocese of Southeast Florida) "Cast all your anxiety upon the LORD because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7
Associates and Others:
The Rev. Oge Beauvoir, Dean of the Seminary, and his wife
Serrette, are okay. They are both Associates of the Society of St. Margaret.
The Foyer Notre Dame was partially collapsed, but it appears that its residents and employees got out safely. We have just received word from Sr. Claire Marie's brother Willie that her family in Gros Monde are all safe. Praise God! Sr. Promise has received word that all of her relatives are safe. Sr. Kethia has learned that her sister and brother are safe but she has lost 3 cousins in this tragedy, 2 of whom were babies. Please pray for her and for the Jean-Simon family. We have recieved reports that Fr. David Cesar, Director of Holy Trinity Music School is okay. We have another report that Nicole St. Victor of Holy Trinity School in Port-au-Prince is injured, but alive. Praise God! We have a report that Hilda Alcindor, the Dean of the Episcopal University's nursing school in Leogane, is alive. We have received a report that the Rev. Fernande Sanon Pierre-Louis is okay. We have received reliable info on St. Vincent's School in Haiti that the children and Fr. Sadoni Leon survived without serious injury. Praise God! We have a report that everyone in Mathieu, Leogane, near Darbonne, is safe. Seminarian Margarette Saintilver is safe in Les Cayes. The Buildings: The Convent has been destroyed along with Holy Trinity School, Holy Trinity Cathedral, and Bishop Duracin's residence. St. Vincent's School for Handicapped Children has been damaged.The Foyer Notre Dame has been damaged.
The Work of The Sisters of St. Margaret in Haiti before the Earthquake
The Sisters of St. Margaret
established their convent in Port-au-Prince in 1927, and have worked tirelessly for the people
of Haiti ever since. The Episcopal/Anglican Church began its work in Haiti in 1861, with the
arrival of the African-American priest, James Theodore Holly and his company of emigrants.
They were seeking a country where people of color were not only legally but truly free.
From their Convent in Port-au-Prince, the Sisters directed a scholarship program for children who otherwise would be left out of school for lack of ability to pay even minimal fees. The Sisters directed the making of hand-embroidered church linens. They also directed Foyer Notre Dame, a home for elderly, indigent persons that includes terminal care and burial. This work has been in continuous service since 1962, and is supported entirely by donations. The Foyer Notre Dame Guest House not only provided with a temporary and comfortable place to stay, but also is a source of income for the Foyer residents. The Sisters interact and collaborate with local clergy and parishes throughout the Diocese of Haiti. Living close to the people they love, the Sisters share the undying belief of the Haitian people that God is good, “Bon-Die-Bon”, and that the words of the 46th Psalm are for them: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble... It is he who makes war to cease in all the world.”
FUNDRAISERS
Concerts to raise money for Haiti earthquake relief
Saturday, Feb 6, Grace Episcopal Church, Waterville, NY, 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm Sunday,Feb 7, Messiah United Church of Christ, Washington Mills, NY, 7:00 - 9:30 pm Friday, Feb 12, Grace Episcopal Church, Utica, NY, 7:00 - 9:30 pm Saturday, Feb 13, Bridgewater United Church of Christ, Bridgewater, NY, 7:00 - 9:30 pm Sunday, Feb 28, 2010, Church of Christ Uniting, Richfield Springs, NY, 7:00 - 9:30 pm For more information about hosting a fundraiser concert, please contact Robert Peters at (315) 822-3420.
|
|