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Shelter remains concern in both Haiti and Chile as seasons change
 Providing shelter for people left homeless by earthquakes in Haiti and Chile remains a prime focus for Catholic Relief Services.
Donations from Northeastern Wisconsin to CRS for Haitian earthquake relief have surpassed $727,457, said Margie Sumnicht of the Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Green Bay. There have been donations of $600 for earthquake relief in Chile. Nationally, CRS has received donations of $121 million for Haiti and has pledged $250,000 for Chile.
Concerns about weather
Haiti’s rainy season peaks in May, but hard rainfalls have already turned many temporary tent camps around the capital, Port-au-Prince, into a muddy mess, Isaac Boyd, a CRS emergency shelter expert, told Catholic News Service.
In Chile, where autumn has begun, CRS will work with local construction companies to pre-fabricate the walls for a 100-square-foot houses. After the walls are ready families will be able to finish their homes, which have two bedrooms and a small living space, in a day and a half.
Haiti: Better housing needed soon
In Haiti the concern is improving housing for hundreds of thousands of homeless people. That improved housing could be a sturdy tent on safe ground, Boyd told Catholic News Service.
Boyd said Haitians salvaged what they could from collapsed homes and destroyed businesses, including cushions, pillows, sheets, blankets, rope and even a little wood. Some have an emergency shelter kit, plastic tarps or small tents. None of that is permanent.
A major concern is the 35,000 people on the Petionville Club golf course, where the U.S. Army provides security and CRS oversees aid and food distribution.
A recent overnight downpour left no doubt that another alternative is needed quickly for the tent city, Boyd said. As the rainy season approaches, CRS' focus is moving from food -- the agency has fed 600,000 people -- to transitional shelter to replace the sheets and curtains that provide no protection against inclement weather.
More than 400 similar camps
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Options to donate for aid in Haiti, Chile
Donations can be made:
- By mail to the Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Green Bay, PO Box 23001, Green Bay, WI 54305-3001. All donations will forwarded to CRS. Checks can be made payable to Catholic Relief Services or the Catholic Foundation -- with the memo: Haiti Earthquake Relief or Chile Earthquake Relief.
- By phone: 1-877-HELP-CRS
- Online to Catholic Relief Services:
Of the $727,457 contributed in the Diocese of Green Bay for Haitian earthquake relief as of March 30, $537,125.21 is from parishes and schools, $175,332 from individuals and businesses, and $15,000 from endowment funds.
There have been donations of $600 for earthquake relief in Chile.
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Petionville is only one of more than 400 similar camps -- 21 of which have at least 5,000 people -- in city parks, parking lots, and open land. The only sanitation facilities are a few hundred portable toilets. Most camps have no clean water and seven, including Petionville, are in flood and mudslide zones.
Boyd said engineers are determining which buildings in Port-au-Prince could be repaired so people could move back into them. Other people may be asked to stay with family and friends outside the city. Agencies would assist both host and relocated families.
Meanwhile, the rainy season looms. Dennis Warner, CRS senior technical adviser on water and sanitation issues for CRS, said heavy rains will create runoff that pushes human waste into camp walkways and even into tents. That could result in a major disease outbreak Warner told CNS.
Global responsibility
Miguel H. Diaz, U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, called for continued global aid to Haiti just before the start of the United Nations’ International Donors Conference for Haiti.
The United Nations and the World Bank have estimated that Haiti will need many years and $11.5 billion to rebuild, Diaz said, including about $3.8 billion over the next two years.
Diaz also called on public and private donors to continue meeting ongoing humanitarian needs. CRS Haiti country representative Scott Campbell briefed former U.S. presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton on the humanitarian relief effort during their late March visit to Haiti.
Aid to Chile
Catholic Relief Services is working with Caritas Internationalis in providing aid to Chile after the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that ravaged the country’s northern coast on Feb. 27. Registered as the fifth largest temblor recorded since 1900, the quake killed more than 400 people, damaged or destroyed 500,000 houses, and affected more than 2 million Chileans.
More information on relief efforts
Prayer
Prayer God of all creation, as we weep with our family in Haiti, console us.
In this time of crisis, open our eyes to look beyond the disaster to see Christ in our brothers and sisters in Haiti, as Christ sees us.
Be with us as we stand in solidarity with those living and working in Haiti.
Be with us in our mourning and guide our efforts to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, comfort the grieving and stand for justice.
With your mercy, sustain us at this time as we continue to work for peace and justice.
Amen.
Intercessions: For our Brothers and Sisters in Haiti Affected by the Earthquake
Response: Lord, hear our prayer.
For the Haitian people, that help comes to them quickly and comfort comes to those who hurt.
Lord, hear our prayer.
For the lost or buried, that they are found and reunited with their loved ones.
Lord, hear our prayers.
For the relief workers, that they have the tools they need, the courage and the strength to respond fully.
Lord, hear our prayers.
For the families in Haiti and in the United States who are waiting to hear from loved one, that good news comes to them.
Lord, hear our prayers.
For those whose who have perished, may their souls rest with you, oh Lord, where they will find eternal love.
Amen.
Information for parish bulletins
Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the official international humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic Church, is responding to victims of the massive earthquake in Haiti. To donate, please call 1-877-HELP-CRS, donate online at www.crs.org or send a check to Catholic Relief Services, P.O. Box 17090, Baltimore, MD 21203-7090. In the memo portion of your check, please write: Haiti Earthquake or Chile Earthquake
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