Dr. Bill Greene's Update

On Tuesday, January 12, Haiti was rocked with one of the most destructive earthquakes in modern times. We have all been inundated with information on the news media. Countless supporters of our efforts have inquired about the children, the schools and our projects.

We have received fragmented information which I will share with everyone. Pere Val and Carmel and their immediate family are safe. Carmel was nearly crushed when a building collapsed in an aftershock. She was rescued by one of her children. To the best of our knowledge, none of the children or the teachers was injured at school, although not everyone is accounted for. The lower grades were out of school were not in class when the earthquake struck. Regretably, upper grades in other locations were in class; countless students and teachers were crushed to death.

The church and school at Croix des Bouquets suffered minimal damage. The church in Gorman was destroyed. The classroom there was outdoors with woven walls and roof. To the best of our knowledge, churches and schools at Fonds Pariesian and Thomasseau are intact. Crochu suffered significant damage. The Catholic Cathedral was demolished and the Catholic Bishop died in the earthquake.

Thankfully our 2 new water/sanitation projects at C de B and Gorman were unharmed. They are providing invaluable water in those communities. Re-opening the schools is a top priority, but this cannot take place for at least 2 months. In the U.S. as a result of the economic downturn, many generous benefactors have had difficulty making payments for the children’s scholarships. But, this is more critical than ever. Scholarship payments will go to provide salaries for classroom teachers to permit the schools to re-open. So, if at all possible, we ask that commitments continue to fund education.

Bill Greene