Story posted Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Tragedy In Haiti Hits Home
By TIM O'CONNOR Journal & Topics Reporter
When Deacon Jim Ernst visited Haiti more then 10 years ago he saw for the first time the desperate poverty the nation's poor live in every day.
"You can't imagine what poverty really is and lack of sanitation," he said.
In a country that has no public restrooms everything public becomes a restroom. Electricity runs for only three hours a day. The cities are masses of uneducated people moving around without purpose.
"It plays hard on you," he said. "You have to get used to conditions that you cannot possibly imagine and now it's even worse."
Haitian officials have estimated more than 100,000 dead from the earthquake that hit Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, on Tuesday, Jan. 12. Hundreds of buildings were leveled, including St. Joseph's Home for Boys, one of three children's homes Ernst and Our Lady of Hope Church in Rosemont helped keep running.
Our Lady of Hope partnered with Hearts with Haiti, the organization that established St. Joseph's along with Trinity House, a boys home in Jacmel, and Wings of Hope, a home for disabled children in the mountains near Port-au-Prince. It was the dedication for Wings of Hope that brought Ernst and other volunteers from the church to Haiti in 1999.
All of the 20 children living at St. Joseph's survived the quake. However, Ernst, who has had contact with St. Joseph's, said one volunteer from Dubuque, Iowa, was killed. Another fell seven stories but survived with a broken rib.
The children from St. Joseph's were moved to Wings of Hope, which experienced only minor damage to the building's rear. About 65 kids are now living in the undamaged part of the home.
Wings of Hope has a power generator and Internet access allowing Ernst to communicate with volunteers at the home. Through those volunteers, Ernst learned that Trinity House, located about 25 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, is undamaged. However, the road between the cities is impassable.
"What little infrastructure there was has been destroyed," Ernst said.
Ernst was already planning a volunteer trip back to Haiti this November but going will now depend on how much help they can be to recovery efforts.
"That will depend on what the people from Hearts with Haiti tell us and what we can do," Ernst said.
Until then, Ernst said all he can offer are prayers and fundraising. Our Lady of Hope will take a second collection during mass this weekend to donate to Hearts with Haiti. Ernst said he hopes to raise $4,000.
Already, one group of out-of-towners gave $300 after last week's mass. Another woman handed Ernst $50 after explaining she wouldn't make this week's service but wanted to give.
"Right away they're feeling the compassion and the need," Ernst said.
He said he hopes that compassion continues to find the Haitian people. For all the poverty and desperation what struck Ernst most was their faith. He recalled spontaneous prayer groups breaking out in the street and how the sound of people singing carried over the valley at night.
"They are resilient," Ernst said. "And they are very spiritual."
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