Caritas Australia supports education and literacy programs in many developing countries in working toward MDG 2 — achieving universal primary education.
Mourners at the
funeral for the Archbishop outside the Cathedral in
Port-au-Prince.
Katie
Orlinsky/Caritas 2010
Search and Rescue teams
working for Caritas Haiti, work to rescue a woman from a cathedral in
the center of Port-au-Prince 6 days after the earthquake. Katie Orlinsky/Caritas 2010
Funerals commence in Haiti as relief efforts scale up
As Caritas relief efforts extended to more than 50,000 people in
Haiti, mourners yesterday commemorated the life of Port au
Prince’s Archbishop and vicar General, killed in the January 12
earthquake.
More than 1,000 people, including many Caritas staff who have been
working tirelessly in the relief efforts, stopped to celebrate the lives
of Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot and Msgr Charles Benoit.
Held amidst the shattered ruins of the Port au Prince Cathedral where
many were trapped when the quake struck, Jack de Groot CEO of Caritas
Australia said the funeral was symbolic for many who had perished in the
quake.
“This marks the symbolic end for many, many people who will not
have funerals, who were buried under the rubble or trapped in unmarked
graves by the devastation of the earthquake”.
“The situation for many of the survivors also continues to be
extremely difficult. Coordination efforts have improved and the security
situation is stable. Caritas has a hospital open and we are delivering
relief supplies including water, food and shelter but the need is just
simply enormous.
Lane Hartill, from US Caritas affiliate Catholic Relief Services, who
are coordinating the operations at St Francois de Sales Hospital
said although “almost destroyed in the earthquake (the
hospital) is now once again taking care of people. The Haitians there
will break your heart”.
“Ninety-nine percent of the people at the hospital are trauma
cases” Hartill explains. “Like Sara, a 6-year-old with a
left leg broken in multiple places. Stessy Jeannot, 18-months old,
asleep on a bed in a frilly skirt and red velvet top, with part of her
hand crushed. Dore Lalanne, 12, sleeping in his underwear next to a
French bible, with severely injured legs.
Hartill explains, “It was only a few days ago that patients lay
listless in the courtyard here. The doctors seemed shell shocked when
they told me during the quake the pediatrics ward collapsed on the
maternity ward that collapsed on some surgery rooms. Nobody knows how
many people are trapped inside. Some say 50. Others say 75. The truth
is, nobody knows.
“”Things seemed so hopeless that the medical director
considered closing the hospital down. Then Anna van Rooyen showed up.
“Anna’s got a personality that won’t quit. She speaks
four languages and can multitask like a pro. Most impressive: Even in
the chaos of Port au Prince, she has a sense of humour.
“She was determined to get St Francois de Sales, one of the oldest
hospitals in Port au Prince, up and running again. Anna was named head
of the CRS health team and helped organize the visit of a team of
Belgium doctors and fire fighters. The firemen dug into the rubble of
the hospital and accessed the medical supply room. Anna arranged for
more medical supplies. Volunteer nurses and doctors from around the city
started examining people in the courtyard. She got people cleaning up a
building that had not collapsed, one that CRS helped build; it would
serve as the operating room. She even got the hospital an ambulance.
“Now three operating rooms are going at once; they do a lot of
amputations. A refrigerator was pulled out of a destroyed building and
cleaned up to be used for blood storage. Anna contacted the United
Nations for blood. St Francois de Sales is back up and running“,
explains Hartill.
You can support the Caritas Australia Haiti Emergency Relief Appeal by
calling 1800 024 413 or donate
online.
Out of respect for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia, Caritas Australia acknowledges the traditional owners of the land on which all of its offices within Australia are located.
