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Sent: Tue, May 25, 2010 5:45:06 PM
Subject: Earthquake Refugees Find New Life in Terrier Rouge
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"We will not stop helping as long as we are living and as long as we have people of great heart providing the means."
- Pere Jean Monique Bruno on providing aid to refugees of Haiti's earthquake
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 Volunteers
assemble bags of food to be distributed at the school.
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Along with adults, many children wait in line
for food for their families.
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We provide staples such as bean, rice, pasta, and oil
to each family.
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Roughly 1,000 refugees have poured into
our small community of Terrier Rouge since the earthquake on January 12th. Although Haitians here are welcoming their
family members from Port au Prince, the burden of additional mouths to feed has become impossible for many. In response,
we have organized regular food distributions from our school. Filling bags with staples such as beans and rice, we give
according to need and no one leaves empty handed. What has become most apparent is the fact that the earthquake continues
to haunt this country in myriad ways. But goodness also abides here. Your support of Bethlehem Ministry is making a difference in the life of
a refugee every single day in Haiti. Along with you, we will continue to stand side by side with our Haitian brothers
and sisters, never giving up hope for a strong, prosperous and joyful Haiti.
At our food distribution site, new friends are made.
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Sent: Thu, February 25, 2010 6:27:28 PM Subject:
Relief update.
February 25, 2010
Dear friends,
I am really sorry for myself. I missed a big and
exciting adventure. But I am not discouraged for I am hoping to enjoy it in a very near future. I had planned a trip to Leogane
with my two Haitian Colleagues Priests who work in the Dominican Republic, to deliver food and other supplies to the many
victims of the earthquake who have not received any assistance up to now. Leogane is the devastated town close to the epicenter
of the earthquake. The trip was intended and the plan developed after I received Sunday afternoon (February 21st) a call from
one of my friends to intervene there.
I called the “Esperance &Vie”
Operation Center in Terrier Rouge (Northeast of Haiti) and made all the arrangements to have the food prepared and the truck
ready to hit the road. Our team moved fast and by Tuesday February the 23rd everything was in place for
the great adventure.
According to our plan I was going to leave Santo
Domingo early on that Tuesday and would join my two friends in Barahona (Southwest of Santo Domingo) to form a caravan of
three four wheel drive vehicles loaded with 60 camp colts, corn flakes, water, chocolate, candies and cookies to cross the
border at Jimany and into Haiti. In Port-au-Prince we would meet the big truck loaded with 15000
pounds of rice, 1000 pounds of beans, many cases of oil, dry fish, evaporated milk, sugar, pasta, butter and charcoal.
Unfortunately I stayed behind in Santo Domingo
and did not make it. The previous day (Monday) my medical doctor told me that I had to have some tests done. But
my absence did not hamper the realization of the plan. The caravan left as planned without me.
My friends crossed the border, stopped in Port-au-Prince, met the truck at my in-law’s place and headed for Leogane
with the supplies destined to the people there.
When they arrived in Leogane (South of the Capital),
they distributed food to three different tent villages in the area. The camp colts were not enough because
so many people are still sleeping on the floor. My two friends were acclaimed as heroes when they arrived with the food and
other items which went to 400 families. One person told them that a pound of rice when you can find it costs US$ 1.20.
People sang joyful hymns,
praised the Lord, blessed my two friends, and blessed you, their benefactors. They sent their heartfelt
thanks to you who made that mission possible. They sent them back with the request that we continue to help them and would
like us to add to our shipment some single mattresses or more camp colts. The two priests promised that they will transmit
me the message.
The truck unloaded the food which was sent to
two other communities in different places from Croix- des- Bouquets (15 miles) to Delmas (part of Port-au-Prince) where many
are still waiting the international aid which has not arrived yet.
The Capital of the country
and the surrounding areas has started to show a new face. Although people are still searching for their loves ones, the big
moment of surprise and emotional distress is almost over. People are taking another step. They are thinking
more reasonably about their lives. They are moving everywhere trying to find ways to survive. It is a good sign when you see
the streets venders installing their merchandise on the walkway. Their products are limited to a few articles, but at least
they are out. Some people are back to their previous work places when they were not destroyed. In the midst
of the rubble, life seems to catch up. But the fear of another earthquake, like a ghost, still haunts the spirits.
The repeated aftershocks reinforce their beliefs. People are still afraid to go into buildings. It will take a long
time with many sessions of formation and education before the mentality may change.
The truck went back to Terrier Rouge the next
day and my friends crossed the border in the opposite direction with the two vehicles loaded this time with sick and injured
people who will be attended at the hospitals in Santo Domingo.
On our next trip to Leogane we will make sure
that at least we take 100 or more mattresses, camp colts, and food, among other supplies (sheets, covers, clothing and so
on).
I did not make the trip myself but I shared the
joy of a well accomplished mission which has allowed us to put food in the plate of 1000 more families, provide beds to some
people and my friends to accomplish their pastoral and humanitarian duties.
I thank you for your
generosity which facilitates our local NGO “Esperance & Vie” to do the job via Bethlehem Ministry and others.
God’s willing,
I promise you that I will not miss the pleasure and excitement of the next adventure.
Yours always,
Jean Monique Bruno+
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Sent: Mon, February 15, 2010 6:15:10 PM
Subject: Haiti update
Dear friends,
Last Friday (February 12), the rented truck did
not leave for Port-au-Prince as planned because it was a day of fasting. Throughout the whole country,
the entire weekend was consecrated to prayers, meditations and reflexions on the consequences of the earthquake which struck
the Capital of the country and the surrounding areas a month ago. People in different communities gathered
to implore God’s grace over Haiti. We cried out to God asking Him to alleviate our sufferings and to give us the necessary
strength, faith and wisdom to continue to exist as a nation. Everybody also asked for forgiveness.
Those three days ( Friday 12th
– Sunday 14th) were centralized on prayers and praises to the Lord. There was no activity in the public or
the private sectors. Few cars were on the streets. In the North it was decided that
only the emergency vehicles will circulate.
Yet among all the mourning,
tears, and hopeless cries heard last Friday, there was also a spirit of hope. For in the midst of our tragedy we Haitians
live with the hope that a new day will come when we will rebuild what has been destroyed. We believe that there will be not
only a new Capital or a new Jacmel but also a new nation, a people united by the same spirit of solidarity and love that we
have witnessed during this time of trial.
On Thursday the 11th, at Saint Barthelemey’s
School in Terrier Rouge, all the children with their teachers and the administrative staff gathered in our auditorium and
spent the whole morning in prayers, bible meditation, songs and praises to the Lord. Different teachers made intervention
explaining what had happened and how the Lord is compassionate and good.
Yesterday morning (Sunday 14th), the truck left
Terrier Rouge for Port-au-Prince with sufficient food, water, charcoal, several camping tents, toys for children and cookies
for everyone. On this strip we brought supplies for four new communities in the Capital. As I have mentioned it earlier in
my updates we target the groups who have not received any international help. Our strategy is producing good returns. Every
ten or eight days we renew the supplies for the communities we serve. So every family receives enough food
for at least a week.
At the School we have received thirty new students.
Most of those children came without any documents at all as their families have lost everything in the earthquake. We had
to give them a little exam to accept them in the grades they were in. To those children we provided uniforms, books and so
on. I asked the teachers to facilitate their integration in the classes. I have a meeting with the parents
of those children to talk about the way we can help them to settle in the area. We will have a special program of rehabilitation
and integration for them.
Only the Lord knows how long this mission will
last. But as far as I am concerned I am doing my part, leaving the other part to the Lord who is using you, dear brothers
and sisters to reach out to those people through your generosity. I am pretty sure that the flow of blessings
will not stop. God will continue to provide the means for His work.
Yours,
Jean Monique Bruno+
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Sent: Tue, February 2, 2010 4:22:28 PM
Subject: Update from Haiti
What follows is the latest news we’ve received from Haiti, this time from one of Bethlehem Ministry’s Board
members, Frank Marchman. Frank returned Sunday from a week in Haiti.
Jan 31, 2010
Dear Friends,
I have just returned from Terrier Rouge and hope that this update will help you better see what is happening in Haiti.
While I was there I was able to get a good feel for how the quake has affected the minds and souls of all Haitians. This will
not be a report on the school, clinic or other projects-those will come later. Instead here I will try to tell you more about
the current “psyche of Haiti.”
The news coverage that you have seen of the earthquake in Haiti has been very good at showing the damage and extreme hardships
caused by this tragedy. However, that news coverage has not been able to depict the resulting tension and fear that pervade
the country at this moment. The physical destruction was minimal in the extreme north and other parts of the country, yet
the mental impact of the quake has affected all Haitians. Everyone is coping with a fear of the unknown. It is obvious in
their conversations, and some cases mannerisms.
One evening about 3:00 am I awoke to a sudden sound of wailing coming from the direction of the clinic. This chilling cry
of fear rose up and down in volume as if someone was on a roller coaster. I found out later that there had been a slight aftershock
and that cataract patients sleeping overnight on the floor in the clinic had felt it.. The wailing I had heard was their collective
cry of fear and dismay. I had not felt a single tremble in the ground yet for those Haitians sleeping on the hard floor it
was all too real.
This collective fear has manifested itself in many ways throughout the country. For example, there are many people in the
affected regions of the south that are not getting help from the massive aid campaign currently going on there. According
to Pere Bruno and others who have been in the south there are many Haitians who stay away from the aid distribution points
because they fear the fighting and violence that sometimes occur in and around those points. As a result there are Haitians
“falling through the cracks” in terms of getting food, water, and shelter. These are the unseen citizens of Haiti
that the news outlets don’t really know about.
These are the people that Haitians like Pere Bruno can effectively reach with aid. His trips to the south have been to
areas where he “knows the ground.” It is his extensive local contacts and knowledge of how to feed large numbers
of people that has helped him be very successful in reaching and feeding hundreds of Haitians in and around Port Au Prince.
He has targeted individuals and groups not being helped by aid groups. This has been critical for saving many lives.
Pere Bruno was due to leave again today and make the long 8-10 hour drive down to the city with another truckload of aid
supplies. On the return trip he will once more bring back Haitians who are in dire need of medical care or have relatives
to stay with in Terrier Rouge. He hopes to do weekly trips for as long as possible.
Terrier Rouge and the clinic are starting to see a steady influx of refugees from the quake area. I also saw an increase
of injured citizens coming to the clinic for additional treatment on their injuries. There were many people on crutches or
with obvious recent injuries present in the streets. Who knows how many more injured are in homes of friends and relatives
in Terrier Rouge. I know that several of the staff at the clinic have dozens of people staying at their homes- homes already
crowded in normal times. This influx of refugees will only grow as people in the south are able to escape the ruined capital.
The recent outpouring of aid and generosity from you have made it possible for Haitians like Pere Bruno to step up and
help their fellow citizens. I can’t tell you how great a medicine this is for the minds and souls of Haitians. It is
very important that we continue to do all that we can for the months of repair that loom ahead. Terrier Rouge and other places
of the North will come to be seen as places for safety and repair of the mind and soul. It will put an increased sense of
urgency upon Pere Bruno and others as they attempt to reach out to their fellow citizens.
Pere Bruno asked me to tell everyone that every Haitian feels supported and “loved by your efforts.” He has
insisted that we understand that Haitians know and appreciate that Americans care and are helping. Knowing that people are
praying for Haitians and providing aid will help get them through the dark nights of the coming months.
Please continue with your prayers and your contributions in the months to come. All of it is vital to help Haitians like
Pere Bruno and others help others in their time of need.
Sincerely,
Frank Marchman
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A second update from Fr. Bruno, followed by 2 e-mails from a Navy intern serving on the hospital ship COMFORT:
Sent: Thu, January 28, 2010 4:26:27 PM
Subject: Update from Haiti
Dear Friends,
The Lord has been very good to us. We began our relief work with only a little money contributed by close friends and family
members. As we were reaching out to the people severely affected, God multiplied our actions by sending us the means to do
the work. He has poured innumerable blessings on us and the flow is continuous. As I go about my everyday routine, I see that
our participation is very important in the relief work. We are touching people that maybe no other organization would have
reached. Despite the massive help the international community is bringing to Haiti, some people are simply not accessible
to them. They are the ones we are reaching out to in the name of Christ and thanks to the generosity and compassion of our
supporters.
Thus far we have fed 600 families. Our truck has made two trips to Port-au-Prince. While in the Dominican Republic, I received
food, water and medicine from friends and parishioners. I am bringing the medicine to the hospital in our area and to our
clinic, and the food I am sending on to Port-au-Prince.
This weekend, my wife Marise and I, along with a group of volunteers, are cooking food to bring to the sick at the hospitals
in Cap-Haitien and Milot [two cities in Haiti overwhelmed by an influx of refugees]. We are experienced in cooking for many
people as we cook for 600 kids every school day.
Thank you and bless you for your continued prayers and generosity.
JMBruno+
Sent: Fri, January 22, 2010 10:52:29 PM
Subject: Heroes
Well, today has been one crazy day.
I’ve spent the whole day in casualty receiving with almost all of our internists and FP docs trying to keep up with
the flood of patients (the navy in its ever impressive wisdom only sent one ER doc on this deployment). We are all soaked
in sweat and exhausted. Our job is to quickly assess the patient and then get them where they need to go—surgery, admission
to the ICU, admission to the Int Med wards, etc. I’m still on call all tonight for the medicine wards. We decided to
do 24 hr shifts, alternating every other day. Hopefully, at night the patients will sleep so it will be more like a call day..
We’ll sleep most of the night and get paged occasionally for issues.
I’ve seen more fractures, open
wounds, and sad stories than all of the rest of my training combined. My first patient was a 25 yr old guy who was watching
TV when his house fell on top of him. The rest of his family died. I saw an older woman with possible fractured ribs. Her
apartment building collapsed around her and all of her extended family was killed. Beyond that, I’ve seen multiple bones
sticking out of the skin and many open wounds that have just been open and untreated for the last week. Most of them have
pus dripping out of them. My 25 yr old patient above had multiple fractures in his forearm and a 10 inch laceration across
his head.
The saddest is the children her are
so badly hurt and screaming when the doctor is examining them. They have no idea what is happening, and many of them don’t
have their parents with them, probably because the parents have died. Luckily we have plenty of pediatricians to see them.
I’m not sure I’m getting
all of the emails you send. I definitely did not get the email Madeline sent me.
Love
Tom
Sent: Fri, January 22, 2010 10:54:53 PM
Subject: Heroes 11
Things are quickly becoming exhausting. I worked all day yesterday,
including through all meals. They bring a tray of food plates up to the casualty receiving area and everyone grabs something
to eat in between waves of patients. The helicopters leave before light in the morning and continue all day bringing patients
back until it is dark. The injuries are horrific, and these are the patients well enough to have survived the last week with
minimal medical treatment. I can’t begin to describe everything I’ve seen. A few things that stand out in my mind:
The saddest:
-Two tough Navy corpsmen (with shaved
heads and tattoos), with tears streaming down their face as we told their patient, a 16 year old boy with a terrible crush
injury (and yet still conscious, barely) that we could not save him and that he was dying.
The most poignant:
-A middle age Haitian man with several
bad injuries, crying and yelling “God Bless America” to everyone who came over to see him.
The rest is mind-numbing to think
back through. The kids get to me the most. I’ve seen several the age of Madeline and Caroline. They are usually alone
(no one knows where the parents are…probably dead) and they have terrible injuries. They are scared, hurt, and almost
too tired/weak to cry anymore.
We finally have more internists and
they have now built in an “off day” every 4 days for us. We are still supposed to work during busy times on those
days, but are excused to go work out, email/call family, or do laundry, etc for part of the day.
Tom
Many thanks to our dear friend, Father Bruno, and to Bethelehem Ministry, for their continuing work in Haiti, especially
in this time of crisis. Below is an update on the situation there. Please send your prayers, and a donation, if possible.
Sent: Wed, January 20, 2010 8:53:57 AM
Subject: A message from Father Bruno
Dear friends, First of all I want to praise the Lord who has allowed me to make the trip to Port-au-Prince and be back
to Terrier Rouge. Thank you to all of you for your prayers and generosity. Thank you for accompanying the people of Haiti
in their moment of trial. We urgently need your continued help.
I left Terrier Rouge on Sunday 17th at 5.00 am with a truck loaded with food for 250 families affected by the earthquake
and 10 young volunteers. After eight hours on the road we arrived at the Capital of Haiti. Immediately we started our relief
work by visiting the most affected areas. I could not believe what I saw. The City where I grew up does not exist any longer.
The Holy Trinity Cathedral, the Church attended by my family, the temple which witnessed my ordinations was completely destroyed.
My primary and high school where I had my education was leveled. Most of the government buildings including the National Palace
either were severely damaged or do not exist any longer.. One cannot describe the scene. One has to be there. TV coverage
shows only part of the devastated Port-au-Prince.
I went to one of the Episcopal high schools, named College St Pierre to see the Bishop and saw the damages. This school
which was the pride of the Diocese for their academic performance fell down and killed lots of students. In the court yard
the sisters of St Margaret, the Bishop and two other priests along with more than a thousand people took refuge there. They
live under camping tents. The Bishop was not there but I visited with the two priests. One of them was the Dean of the Seminary,
The very Rev. Oge Beauvois who explained to me that they do not have the means to feed the people there. I promised him that
I will send food for them this coming Friday.
Everywhere in Port-au-Prince people live in the streets or they use any park or space they can find.. They sleep under
the stars. Their temporary shelters are made of sheets some of them have recovered from the ruins. Praise the Lord it is not
raining. Tears came down as I was walking between the bodies of the dead who were still laying on the pedestrian walk way
waiting to be picked up by the truck to be buried in a common grave.
As I was walking I visited a community of 300 families gathered together on a small property without water, food and so
on.. They were practically dying. I stopped and was watching them. One guy who happens to be their leader approached me and
talked to me.. He asked me for help for those people. I agreed to provide food to them. Immediately he gathered the community
and we discussed how we will proceed. They formed a committee for the distribution. The next day we drove the truck there
and they received the food which was going to be distributed. I gave them food for two hundred people but they told me that
everybody will find something. They started reducing the packages we had prepared in Terrier Rouge so instead of 200 families,
300 may have something to eat. They show a real concern for everyone.
The remaining 50 packages were distributed in the area where my family lives to the neighbors. With the volunteers we participated
in the recovery of the bodies of my cousin and her granddaughter who were under the rumblings. After we found them, we buried
them not too far from their destroyed home.
The needs are countless. I felt since the moment of the tragedy that I had to intervene in a way or other to bring my support
to fellow citizen. Families are living the Capital and are moving the country. I am helping also in this area. On our way
back the truck was loaded with people from Terrier Rouge we brought to their families.
What we are doing is very small compared to the massive aid that the international community is pouring on Haiti. But it
is very significant in the sense that in distributing our help we do not need an army to protect us. We use the channel of
community leaders. We do it with discretion. Nobody has noticed that we were transporting food for the victims. There was
no fight, no riot and everyone we reach had received something. Neither I nor the volunteer ever felt threatened, on the contrary
we did our work with joy trusting in the Lord’s power for protection.
When I had to leave for Port-au-Prince, there was no gasoline in the whole country. I crossed the border and talked to
the DR authorities in Dajabon and they allowed me to buy the quantity of diesel fuel I needed for the whole trip. The food
also is bought there. So I do not have any problem to get the food to Port-au-Prince.
An idea of what I took to Port-au-Prince: rice, beans, corn, charcoal, oil, spaghetti, matches, cassava, bread, biscuits,
candles, dry fish and water.
I am going back to Santo Domingo this Saturday after sending the truck again and will come back next week will make another
trip to Port-au-Prince.
I urge you to be part of this relief work. You can give to any organization of your choice but believe me any penny you
give our Organization “Esperance & Vie” through Bethlehem ministry will go right away to the suffering people.
For the time being school is closed in the whole country. As I was writing this report, we have received an aftershock in
Terrier Rouge and this happen from time to time. Last night, the people in Cap-Haitien experienced the same phenomenon. People
are still living in a very panic situation. They do not want to take any chance to stay in their homes. We continue to count
on you prayers and generosity.
Please forgive me for the length of this report.
This comes with the assurance of my prayers,
Your servant
JMBruno+
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