The DC houses situated in Port-au-Prince have been severely damaged and our Sisters have become homeless having to sleep outside in tents. They are trying to give basic services (nursing care, nutrition and accompaniment) in the middle of the general chaos. As soon as the disaster struck our Sisters from Santo Domingo and from Porto Rico left for Port-au- Prince to be available for the wounded. They also sent provisions, medical supplies and other aid by trucks from Santo Domingo and by small planes from Miami.
Daughter of Charity Assistance Teams
In response to a call from the Company, several Provincials have offered Sisters who are nurses to go to Haiti as part of a DC Assistance Team. Each team will remain about three months and be replaced by others. The generosity of the Provinces has been extraordinary. On the 20th January four Sisters (from the Provinces of Albany and Great Britain) arrived in Port-au-Prince, via Santo Domingo, to help the people. At the beginning of February, ten other Sisters (from the Provinces of Argentine, Bogota, Cuba, Mexico, Paraguay, Madrid St Vincent, Pamplona and Seville) will join this team.
The first Sisters came to Port au Prince in January 1973 from Porto Rico. Currently, there are thirty one Sisters of ten nationalities – 14 of whom are Haitians – living in five local DC community houses. Four of these are situated in and around Port-au-Prince and the fifth is in Gonaives. The Sisters serve in schools, dispensaries, Social Centres and are engaged in Pastoral work.
Tags: Daughters of Charity, Disasters, Haiti
