What would Vincent or Louise have done if they found children roaming the streets fending for themselves after a killer earthquake? We know the answer, and that’s what Father Fredy Eli, a Haitian Vincentian, did.
Special Edition – Newsletter Vincentian Family Haiti Initiative
Keep the hope alive at the House of Children and Hope in Haiti
Now he runs the House of Children and Hope in Haiti, caring for 25 such children. But he needs your help to continue. The International Vincentian Family is matching donations up to $25,000 through Christmas to enable Fr. Eli to continue caring for the children.
He makes sure they have daily meals, provides appropriate supervision to keep them out of harm’s way and has enrolled them in school. He has 24-hour-a-day shelter for a dozen girls, but must send the boys back to the dangerous camps at night because he does not yet have
separate housing for them.
With your help, he will build a second floor to house the boys. He also will buy basic kitchen supplies and supplement the children’s academic education with sports, cultural and arts activities such as embroidery, cooking and music.
To raise funds for the house, the children’s chorus recently recorded a CD of religious songs and melodies that convey the reality of Haiti. It will soon be available for purchase on iTunes.Father Joseph Agostino, C.M., who coordinates the Vincentian Family Haiti Initiative, visited the house in October 2012. “It is an inspiring place. The kids were free to be kids. They were happy
and safe, a world away from the hard lives they left.”
Indeed, the house is a welcome refuge for these children. “Before the earthquake, some of them were already in quite horrible conditions,” Fr. Fredy says. “Most have never known their fathers and were raised in broken homes with only a mother and little access to education. The
earthquake made them victims a second time.”
Fr. Fredy is gratified by the progress the children have made. “Now, you can see that they have recouped some of the dignity that was lost by their living situation. They are part of a family
unit and are given access to what is a luxury for many living in their situations. “God is using me to change their lives, and it feels great,” he proclaims.
To learn more about The House of Children and Hope in Haiti, click here; or to make a contribution that will be doubled by the International Vincentian Family from now through Christmas, click here.
We appreciate your support of this worthy cause!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR
The Vincentian Family Haiti Initiative Team
Tags: Haiti, Matching grant, Vincentian Family
