“The new evangelization calls for followers of Christ who are unconditionally pro-life: who will proclaim, celebrate, and serve the Gospel of life in every situation. A sign of hope is the increasing recognition that the dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil.”
- Blessed Pope John Paul II
Lift Up Your Hearts: Healing Haiti, Land of Hardship
By Anthony G. Alessi, M.D.
Foreward by Father Rick Frechette, C.P.
Passionist Press, 2010
Many of us admire the work done by Passionist Fr. Rick Frechette in Haiti and marvel how he mobilizes so many to join him helping the needy. If you ever wondered about those who help, what they do, how they have been changed by what they do, here’s their story, told by Doctor Anthony Alessi, a devoted volunteer who travels to Haiti frequently to team up with Fr. Rick and his associates.
His stories about his experiences along with so many others who brought healing to Haiti after the catastrophic earthquake struck that land on January 12, 2010 will lift your heart.
In his foreward to Dr. Alessi’s book, Fr. Rick writes, “human goodness shines brightly in the darkness of tragedy, the power of one person becomes the power of five people and becomes the power of a whole community, striving to make a difference.”
These volunteers came from many nations, spoke different languages and joined hands and minds and hearts to make a difference.
The Passionists are proud of those who give so much. Many of them knew the Passionists before the tragedy of Haiti. Doctors and health professionals from St. Peter’s Parish in Greenville, NC, Scranton, Pa and other places went at great sacrifice to reach into the rubble and misery of Haiti and bring healing to those in need.
Doctor Alessi, whose parents knew the Passionists at Riverdale, simply and movingly tells their stories.
Proceeds from the sale of this book ($10.00) will be sent to Fr. Rick Frechette, C.P., for his works in Haiti.
Purchase this book: http://www.crossplace.com/?p=226
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2010/July/Family-Continues-Daughters-Mission-to-Haiti-Orphans/
Molly Hightower a volunteer who worked with Fr. Rick Frechette, died in the Jan. 12 quake, in Haiti while gathering shoes for disadvantaged children.
Now, her family is determined to honor her mission. This is the first time they been to Haiti. They collected and delivered more than 180,000 pairs of shoes for the kids who Hightower believed needed them the most.
Please consider a donation to help the Passionists in their ministry to people living in poverty: Please make checks payable to PASSIONIST MISSIONARIES.
Passionist Missionaries Inc.
526 Monastery Place
Union City NJ 07087-3398
Tel: 888/806-6606
E-mail: DLisotta@cpprov.org
Donate on-line by clicking the button below.
The Donate Now button will redirect you to Caring Habits, Inc. (CHI) which is the credit card processing company for The Passionist Missionaries website.
Francisville cookies
My update of a few days ago did not include one extremely important project that I wanted to cover separately. This is a production and training center that we named in honor of St Francis of Asissi, called Francisville. The motto for this endeavor is “works of justice are works of peace.”
Francisville is envisioned to be a place where we produce what we and other missionaries need, of good quality and good price, and the production is intended to be also training. Many of the Francisville staff had training in Italy for all the pre-quake activities: producing cement block, baking of bread, a print shop producing our hospital forms and school materials, and preparation to open a vehicle mechanic shop. During the earthquake, we used the damage building to continue and even accelerate bread production to help combat hunger, and the warehouses of Francisville were an important base for the many containers of aid shipped to us from many countries, and also as a storage base for the Italian Civil Protection.
Marco with his apprentices
In the last six months, we have repaired most of the Francisville buildings and the perimeter walls, and we have begun the foundation for a huge warehouse area, and have increased our production to include cobblestone for making roads, and pasta to go with the bread in battling hunger. We will soon open a sewing center there, to make clothes, especially school uniforms.
Francisville runs at no expense to NPH Italy, NPH Haiti, or any NPH affiliate. The St Luke program manages Francisville as a mission cooperative, paying for the production often through grants, and donating the profit to NPFS Haiti.
Since January 2010 we have produced 950,000 small loaves of bread, 32,000 cement block, 4,000 cobblestone, and 360,000 printed forms. Most of the bread is used for the poor, some sold to restaurants and other charitable organizations. The block is used to help people rebuild their homes, missionaries rebuild their missions, and to rebuild Francisville itself. We just started the cobblestone and have not yet used it for paving. The printed matter is mostly for our hospital and 24 schools. The net profit to NPH Haiti over the last six months was US$ 32,116.
We are very proud of the progress of this creative and life generating center, managed by Nebez Augustin and Father Fhito Randal. We are especially grateful for the enthusiastic help from NPH Italy.
Other projects to be realized in the near future for NPFS Haiti include the construction of a trade school (by the government of Mexico) for our young adults from NPH, housing for the same students, and a secondary school (by Artists for Peace and justice) for the young adults of NPH and the St Luke program.
Again, thanks for your encouragement, prayer and support. It is important at this moment of Haiti’s history that help to the country be immediate, generous, concrete and involve forming young people through education and enterprise.
Best regards and God Bless you,
Fr Rick Frechette CP
July 22, 2010
Port au Prince
Please consider a donation to help the Passionists in their ministry to people living in poverty: Please make checks payable to PASSIONIST MISSIONARIES.
Passionist Missionaries Inc.
526 Monastery Place
Union City NJ 07087-3398
Tel: 888/806-6606
E-mail: DLisotta@cpprov.org
Donate on-line by clicking the button below.
The Donate Now button will redirect you to Caring Habits, Inc. (CHI) which is the credit card processing company for The Passionist Missionaries website.
Actress Olivia Wilde helps support the work of Father Rick Frechette as a member of Artists for Peace and Justice.
Artists for Peace and Justice in partnership with Father Rick have been able to make an enormous difference in the lives of thousands of Haitian children. Their commitment to providing education for the poorest children is what drives them forward as the country begins to rebuild. The children in their sponsored schools have suffered trauma that would destroy most people, and yet they somehow find a way to show up in clean uniforms, eager to learn, sometimes in sweltering tents that will serve as classrooms until the students once again feel safe stepping under a roof. They are commited to making sure the the children are fed, healthy, and safe while receiving an education that will encourage them to rise to their potential as leaders, so that Haiti‘s brilliant minds are no longer left untapped.
Read the whole article at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/olivia-wilde/returning-to-haiti_b_564045.html
