Aid to the Church in Need: Haiti WYD 2008: We want to be there, no matter what it takes!”

Haiti WYD 2008: We want to be there, no matter what it takes!”

Posted by Projection description on 10/6/2008, 11:14 am
Message modified by board administrator 7/8/2008, 1:28 pm

Haiti
WYD 2008 – “We want to be there, no matter what it takes!”

“To encounter God and Jesus Christ in the company of other young people from all over the world“ -- this is what the 67 young people from Haiti are hoping to experience as they get ready for their journey to World Youth Day in Sydney. “And after that, they must share their experiences with those at home. We are determined, no matter what, to be represented by a delegation”. So writes Bishop Simon Pierre Saint Hillien, auxiliary bishop of Port-au-Prince and president of the episcopal commission for the youth apostolate in Haiti.

Anyone who understands the precarious situation his country is in, knows full well why this wish is so important to him.

Haiti is one of the poorest countries on earth. About 56% of its 8.2 million population live in extreme poverty (less than $1 a day). Almost 70% of the population of Haiti suffer from malnourishment, with children most affected. As a result of poor nutrition, the people are very susceptible to a wide range of illnesses. On top of this, only a quarter of the Haitian population have access to drinking water. As for electricity, where it exists at all, then it is only for a few hours a day. Healthcare provisions are catastrophic, and the roads are disastrous.

Photo:Youth from the Diocese of Port-au-Prince

Little has changed since 2002 when Bishop Pierre André Dumas, of the Port-au-Prince diocese, wrote to the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need with the prophetic words: "The news from Haiti is not very good. The country is deeply in need, the economy bled dry, violence is everywhere. There is a great sense of hopelessness in people's hearts and in their faces; their poverty is increasing and their purchasing power dwindling to nothing. Inflation is soaring out of control and their money is worthless. The Church makes her own the hopes and fears of our people. Their sufferings find an echo in our hearts."

At one time around 85% of the eight million or so Haitians were Catholics. Today they make up less than 50% of the population with many having only a hazy understanding of the teachings of the Church -- especially those unable to afford the "luxury" of an education. Instead, superstition is everywhere. Voodoo, which is native to Haiti, is still very much alive today. But a still greater threat is posed by some of the fundamentalist sects, who are now flooding the country from North America and winning people over with offers of free education and free health care.

This depressing situation in Haiti represents a major challenge for the Catholic Church and needs to be countered with the help of soundly-trained priests, religious and lay pastoral workers. Today Bishop Dumas writes: "Our young people, the future of the Church, must be brought up in a healthy, sane and peaceful environment so that they can proclaim to the world that God is here." Thankfully, there is no lack of vocations. Dimitri, a seminarian in Port-au-Prince, tells us: "Economically it is a poor country, but there is a great human richness, an extraordinary warmth, sharing, love of life... I have great hope for the future. The Church is poor economically, but spiritually rich. We are rich in vocations - that is the greatest grace the Lord could give us."
But these young people need to be encouraged and nurtured. The aim is to help them to recognise and accept their responsibility in the Church, to encourage them to grow in the Faith and to strengthen their sense of commitment -- for the common good generally and for the good of the community of the Church in particular. Their participation at the past two World Youth Days in Rome and Cologne has given a whole group of these young people a real sense of belonging to the Universal Church. On several occasions interdiocesan congresses have been organised in the country, with around 5,000 young people taking part; their aim is to strengthen this sense of belonging and togetherness in the Christian Faith.

WYD 2008 in Sydney will once again present such an opportunity.

But it costs money to pay for their travel, and the poverty-stricken Church in Haiti can scarcely give any help here. Without the intervention of generous benefactors from abroad, these initiatives would undoubtedly have to stop. The Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need has for many years supported the youth apostolate in this country and contributed $32,000 to enable the Haitian delegation to participate in WYD. In the present situation of turmoil and uncertainty, the charity’s help is needed more than ever.
Yuri, a young man travelling to WYD summed up what it means to the youth delegation travelling to Sydney with the following words: “We thank you with all our hearts. Christ has a preferential love for the poor, and when you come to help people in a developing country like ours, we see the face of Christ”.

For further information please contact the Sydney office of ACN on (02) 9679-1929. e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org or write to Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148. Web:www.aidtochurch.org

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Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148 ABN: 62 418 911 594
Ph/Fax (02) 9679-1929 e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org web: www.aidtochurch.org