Recovery as a Way of Life

By Barbara Wander

“Oh no! Not again.” This was my immediate reaction when I found out that another earthquake had hit Haiti the night of Oct. 6. I had been in Haiti in September. Then we were trying to get as many students back in school with the help of scholarships, and we still were continuing to try to rebuild structures that were destroyed in the 7.1 earthquake in 2010.

This 5.9 quake struck up north. The Little Sisters of St. Therese had three schools and five convents come down in this earthquake. Because this quake struck at night, the death toll is only about 20. Otherwise, many students would have perished in the schools.

Little help seems to be coming for this latest earthquake as it only made the news for one day. They are trying to clear away the rubble enough so that they can stretch tarps to continue the schools. We know it will be hardest to rebuild the convents as donations for them seldom come.

The Little Sisters will continue their work to help the poor in Haiti. They have much to teach us. Their unshakable faith is really remarkable. In the past 18 years I have had the honor to work with them, I have seen them find ways of coming back from hurricanes, earthquakes, mudslides, government violence, robberies and even violence against sisters. They are clear about their mission and trust that God and the goodness of others will allow them to do this. They are very grateful for all the support, prayers and good wishes from the Loretto Community. I can attest that every day I would hear them praying for us and our work.