By the providence of God, none of the members of the Orthodox Mission in Haiti, nor any of its facilities, have been harmed by the devastating meteorological and political events of the past year. The excruciatingly slow process of recovery from devastating floods in the southeast early in the year and even more catastrophically at Gonaïves in September continues, despite the woefully inadequate response of the international community. [The lightning massive response to the admittedly even more devastatingly tragic tsunami floods in southeast Asia stands in heart-rending contrast. In disaster relief as in so many areas, “it all depends” on who are the victims.]

Health problems, however, are too much a part of our lives in Haiti, with sadly inadequate means for responding to the needs. Sick babies must be hauled by tap-tap to the fly-ridden courtyard of a woefully understaffed clinic to wait for hours in the broiling heat for an attempt to relieve a fever of typically unidentifiable origin. Women in need of emergency Cæsarians travel and/or wait for hours, often losing their babies (if not their own lives) because of the delays. Complex problems can’t be addressed at all: Fr. Grégoire may have to leave the country to obtain a needed MRI for a better assessment of the recurrent crippling arthritis which has prevented him from leaving his home for weeks at a time twice in recent years. There’s little we can do directly — but our informed prayers, and informed voices in the halls of power (and financial contributions) can indeed help. There is no excuse, human or political, for the most powerful nation on earth to do so little to alleviate the misery of the citizens of one of its nearest neighbors, the poorest country in the hemisphere.

What can the Mission do? What does the Mission do? A few drops here, a few drops there — and, as you may remember, that’s the only way to fill the bucket. By God’s grace and your support, the Mission has been able to provide the basis for decent (if even yet wholly inadequate) housing for a few of the faithful. Miraculously, Juliette is no longer on the streets of Les Cayes, but now lives in her own room at the Foyer de Sainte Marie d’Égypte — a room found immaculately clean when I visited there this month.

Next to Juliette’s room another room has been added, to provide housing for one of our families until now living in a tumble-down stick-and-mud hut… and unable, most of the time, to afford the rent even for that. The new home will bring the children next door to the school, and provide considerably better security both for them and for Juliette. Not far away, near Katherine’s new home (which still desperately needs enlarging — would you be willing to live with 13 people in a 12x12 foot square room?), on the newly purchased land for a someday church, another parish family has been installed as caretakers. Their own new stick-and-mud home (looks pretty nice now, but I think the lifespan of these buildings is about 3-4 years) is well underway. For the future… a deep potable water well on the property, to serve both the church development and other families in the area unable to afford such a project.

At far-away Cyvadier, near Jacmel on the south coast, the “heat is on” (pun intended) for something more adequate than the presently rented room, which can no longer hold more than about half the people for many services (20 people showed up for an unannounced weekday vespers service while I was there). A good well has been completed and encased. Next project is a storage depot, to completely enclose the well, provide a point of attachment for electricity (astonishingly, the area enjoys full-time power) and secure storage for tools and building materials as work goes forward. About 12x18 feet, the expected cost for the building (with foundations and concrete roof adequate for the addition of a second story in the future if needed) is $7,000. Building in Haiti is not cheap!

All the way across the country to the north, at Cap-Haïtien, no hope yet even of renting, let alone building, anything. But that doesn’t mean nothing is happening. This trip I was able to pay a long-overdue visit (attempt to get there last year for the parish feast of St. Nicholas had to be abandoned due to political conditions), serving vigil and liturgy for the patronal feast. Regrettably, Fr. Jean was unable to go with me, as Fr. Grégoire was yet unable (due to his arthritis) to cross the city to serve at the Nativity parish. Land travel to the north is all but impossible at present (that is, considerably more impossible than always), so all visits to the parish must now be made by air. [Happily, both the airline’s equipment and the Cap-Haïtien airport have seen some considerable improvements since I last made the trip two years ago!] This is of course costly, but vastly less wearing and probably considerably safer than land travel: air time is 20 minutes, versus 8-12 hours on the ground if one gets through at all. For Fr. Jean and a reader to help him to make the trip, the cost is $250, once a month — assistance warmly welcomed!

In the course of this trip, persistence paid off, and the manager of the Roi Cristophe Hotel generously offered us the use (for the present, for vigils and liturgies only, when a priest is present) of a covered gallery at the side of the hotel for the services. While far from ideal, it is a vast improvement over the 8x12 room in which I first served there, or a hotel room. By the prayers of St. Nicholas, may the community continue to grow and be blessed with a permanent home!

And, everywhere — hungry children (and adults). A little has been done here and there to provide at least some nutritional support for some of the children at some of the schools. Glory be to God, we now have a pledge which opens the possibility of establishing much more stable programs at at least two of the schools. Such a project is, of course, much more complex in Haiti than it would be here: no refrigeration; vermin-tight and theft-proof storage must be purchased or constructed; cooking facilities for large numbers of people of course don’t exist in anyone’s home or any of the schools (and such equipment is terribly expensive); and, of course, someone actually has to do the cooking and dish-washing! More help is needed, but the planning is underway, with hope to begin with at least a few meals a week throughout the second semester at St. Nicolas and the Foyer d’Amour.

So that’s how you fill the bucket, brothers and sisters. Without your help, not much can be done. With it… quite a lot. Please keep us all in your prayers, and in your hearts and minds and consciences every time you reach for a checkbook or wallet.