Recent footage of a violent, gang-led coup in Haiti is so horrifying that it’s easy to forget about the innocent people caught up in the chaos. But they’re there, trying to live their daily lives in a barely functioning society.
So are the many charities trying to help them. Sending money to Haiti may seem like a fool’s errand. The country seems to have a larger concentration of foreign fraudsters and bloated and ineffective NGOs than its own.
A doctor and priest finds hope in the midst of fear.
No one makes money from the organization founded and/or run by Father Rick Frechette, but it has enriched the lives of thousands of Haitians.
In more than 35 years in Haiti, Fr. Mr. Frechette has witnessed devastation that most Americans cannot imagine. (This is tragic, but vivid account This article written in the wake of the 2010 earthquake may give you an idea. )
He moved there after meeting Fr. William B. Wasson, founder of Nuestro Pequeños Hermanos/Nos Petit Frères et Sur (NPH), a mission to help impoverished children in Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean.
Frechette, who was born in Connecticut, founded the orphanage after working at a hospice for her mother who died of AIDS. Realizing how scarce doctors were in his new home, he returned to America to earn his medical degree and then returned to Haiti to oversee NPH’s children’s hospital. St. Damien’s.
In 2000, Fr. Fréchette worked with young Haitians, many of whom started life in the orphanages he founded, some of whom he gave birth to at St. Damien’s Church. St. Luke’s Foundationa Haitian organization that provides health care and education to the poorest people.
Please read Fr.A tribute paid by Frechette to such a colleague and friend here.
Despite the many people the Foundation has helped, the temptation to despair is always present. For a long time, for many priests, Frechette’s job was simply to provide a dignified burial for the nameless dead who flocked to the streets and morgues.
“Sometimes when something terrible happens, you really feel like you can’t do anything, that you can’t do anything, that you’re useless,” the priest said. Frechette said. “But over time, you realize that no matter what happens, there is great power in doing the right thing.”
There is no doubt that the current situation in Haiti has done nothing to dispel that sense of futility. But Fr. Frechette and his team of soldiers. NPH USA President Jennifer Leino updated Align:
Despite the challenges, St Damien’s Hospital is one of the few hospitals that continues to provide care 24/7. We have introduced a rotation system in which staff, mainly medical professionals, are on-site for 24 hours or more to minimize back-and-forth as safely as possible. We have been in the red zone for some time and as a result we are receiving complex and serious cases due to understandable hesitation.
Expenditures have increased exponentially due to supply shortages and increased demand. Thank you for your interest in learning more about the good work St. Damien’s Hospital is doing and the current pressing needs of medical supplies, food, water, and fuel for generators to keep the hospital open. People can be directed to: www.nphusa.org/helpStDamien
