Letter from Haiti

Bart Smoot passes along this letter and adds, I see good future potential for mission trips that involve rebuilding.

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 ERD 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. McNelly 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 and Development ( ERD) 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.

ERD 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 ERD 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 ERD who are helping us a lot now.

School will not open in the West department , but schools and universities will open soon in the other 9 departments and will welcome children and students from other departments.

Thank you for your attention to my note, do not hesitate to ask questions: Ask for the state of your projects. Ask for your beloved friends if they are safe or hurt.

I continue to serve as the partnership coordinator and the DJ’O(Diocesan Jubile officer) and Rev. Frantz COLE serves as the development officer for the Episcopal diocese of Haiti. The Rev. Roger Bowen is still cooperating with me for the National Association Episcopal School. And Rev. Lauren Stanley who assists in the Partnership and Development program will coordinate with ERD in USA.

Thanks you all, may God continue to bless you.

The Rev. Kesner Ajax
Executive Director, Bishop Tharp Institute (BTI)

See here for worthy charities for your support.

Here’s a video showing the frightening destruction of the Cathedral.