Promoting a global culture of solidarity with the poor - in Haiti, Africa, and beyond. - for a more just and sustainable world . . .
Under the oversight of Fr. Patrick Eugene, CSSp and with the collaboration of the homeowners and local workman destroyed houses were rebuilt and damaged ones repaired. A local architect designed the modest. 4 room, "hurricane resistant" houses. Local builders executed the design with additional labor supplied by the women homeowners.
In October 2016 Hurricane Matthew, a category 4 hurricane with winds up to 145 mph, ravaged the southern interior of Haiti, uprooting trees, ripping off roofs, and collapsing houses. The Rich in Mercy Institute targeted assistance through the local parish of St. Pius X in the village of Ducis, prioritizing for reconstruction or repair a dozen houses of widows and single mothers based on the extent of damage and the degree of need.
Mme. Janine - a solitary, unmarried woman - carried rocks to cover the floor of her new house before a cement floor was poured. Smiling broadly, in spite of her advanced years, she boasted "I am not afraid of hard work" and expressed her deep gratitude and pride of ownership for the new house she helped finish through her own hard work.
Mme. Jolene, whose house was destroyed when an uprooted palm tree split it in two, declared "Only God can repay you enough"!
Funding for "Hurricane Matthew Recovery" came from the Ryan Memorial Foundation, the Bozzone Family Foundation, Mother of Sorrows Outreach (Mother of Sorrows parish, Murrysville, PA), the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, and many generous individual donors.