Commemoration of January 12 in Haiti 10 years later
"Haiti will not be forgotten" (Don Bosco), Haiti has not been forgotten and Haiti has not forgotten either
On Sunday, January 12, 2020, around their provincial, Fr. Jean-Paul Mésidor, the Salesians gathered to celebrate the Eucharist in the chapel of St. John Bosco in Petion-Ville. During this celebration it was an occasion for them to remember the approximately 250,000 people, including three (3) Salesians, who died during the earthquake of January 12, 2010. During the homily, the provincial pointed out that the physical traces are no longer quite visible, but we remember it as if it were yesterday. But had we really learned the intensive lesson of those few seconds? ...] Certainly, through this disaster, an appeal had been made to us. It was a call to be faithful to our responsibility.
After Mass, a ceremony was organized by the Rinaldi Foundation, the planning and development office of the Vice-Province, to mark this tragic date. Indeed, it was an opportunity for the management of the Foundation to award plaques as a sign of gratitude and recognition to certain partners and collaborators for the work accomplished during these ten years for the benefit of the poorest. These institutions and persons are :
1 - VIA DON BOSCO OF BELGIUM
2- MISSIONES SALESIANAS OF SPAIN
3- DON BOSCO MONDO FROM GERMANY
4- SPANISH COOPERATION
5- CARITAS ESPANOLA
6- SCREWS FROM ITALY
7- DON BOSCO MISSION OF GERMANY
8- JUDGEEND HILFE WELWEIT FROM AUSTRIA
9- JOVENES Y DESAROLLO OF SPAIN
10- JUDEND EINE WELT OF SWITZERLAND
- MISSIONI DON BOSCO OF ITALY
- US SALESIAN MISSIONS
- FONDAZIONE DON BOSCO NEL MONDO DE L'ITALY
- ASBL FARNIÈRES HAITI DE LA BELGIQUE
- FUNDACION DON BOSCO OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
- SUPPORT FOR THE SALESIAN WORKS OF HAITI IN FRANCE
- MISSIEPROCUUR DON BOSCO DE LA HOLLANDE
- CATHOLIC RELIEF
- DON PASCUAL CHAVEZ VILLANUEVA, SDB
- MGR. DUCANGE SYLVAIN,SDB
- FATHER JACQUES CHARLES, SDB
- FATHER ORLANDO GONZALES, SDB
The Rinaldi Foundation has also released a catalogue to present the main achievements it has been able to achieve 10 years later, as well as the challenges and prospects that lie ahead. The director of the Rinaldi Foundation, Father Victor Auguste, expressed himself in these terms: "In this sense, in the name of the Salesians of Don Bosco in Haiti, the management of the Rinaldi Foundation presents its gratitude first of all to our Rector Major Emeritus Don Pascual Chavez Villanueva, who one month after the earthquake visited the country and then mobilized our entire Congregation to support the work of Don Bosco in Haiti. This was done! We are very grateful to the whole Salesian world.
Our gratitude goes to all our donors and benefactors, our partners in Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, France, Austria, Switzerland, the United States, Canada, all the countries of the Inter-American Region, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
In presenting you with our gratitude for these ten years of solidarity and collaboration, we are also announcing that we continue to count on your support in carrying out this noble task of education and training, which is constantly being renewed. »
