OLMC Concert Benefits Haiti Relief Group

On Friday, the Philadelphia Boys Choir and Chorale will sing in Doylestown for the benefit, perhaps, of boys their age who live 1,500 miles away.

It's the third year in a row that the boys choir will perform at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church. The benefit concert will help raise money for the church's mission to Haiti, which supports the people of the St. Simon and St. Jude community in Port au Prince.

Tom Kardish founded OLMC’s Haiti Ministry Team in 2008 to bring health care and education to some of the Haitian capital's slums.

"It started out providing the first medical care" in the area, Kardish said last year. "Most had never seen a physician before or had access to medications."

The mission teams usually include about a dozen people - physicians, those with medical experience and pharmacists. They go to Haiti for a week at a time, and usually are able to treat about 1,000 patients during that week.

The group goes about four times a year.

Besides providing medical care, they distribute toothpaste, Tylenol, nutritional products and vitamins, among other items.

But Haiti - already poor - has struggled to recover from the devastating 2010 earthquake.

To illustrate how important the help of groups like those from the Doylestown church are, just read the words in a recent update sent to Kardish from Father Andrew Labatorio, a Catholic priest with whom the group coordinates in Haiti.

"I find it heartening to see the incredible impact of his mission as well as see the evidence of all the help you have provided these past few years," wrote Kardish to the OLMC team's supporters. "I can attest to being able to see real tangible progress in the St Jude parish each time I visit Port au Prince."

Here is Labatorio's letter:

2012 Update: Saint Jude HAITI

A grandmother came over to my rectory few days ago carrying in her arms a beautiful healthy baby, “Father, can you take this child. I can’t afford to feed him.” I thought she was joking and trying to get my sympathy. But no she wasn’t, she is too old and too poor to have another soul to take care with. The baby’s mother died at child birth and no one knows the Father. One of the many common stories you hear in the community. I told the old lady to bring the child to the orphanage run by the nuns of Mother Teresa. She said she will and I hope she did.

This is not a new story to me. Every day, mothers would knock our doors begging for help, often not for themselves but for the sake of their children’s welfare. One of the medical doctors who came down here recently commented on how Haitian mothers genuinely care for their children. It is very true. I am witness to Haitian mothers’ lifetime sacrifices and struggles to raise a family. Haitian women remain a very important backbone to the nation’s survival. Our women livelihood program is helping few mothers to become economically independent. For the past 8 months, we are now able to provide livelihood assistance to about 30 most vulnerable women in the parish community. We are praying and hoping to receive more gifts so we can extend our program to able and responsible fathers in the community as well. We hope to bring Haitian men to step up to their responsibility in caring for their families. In Saint Jude we hope to start this small step and make a difference.

Last year, the president promised to provide free education to first graders in the country as part of his massive campaign for better education. As usual, promises in Haiti often remain an empty one. Many complain that education in Haiti is very poor and sadly going backward. With literacy rate just barely 50% high, education is a priority no matter what. This year, Saint Jude took a bold step to support about 150 children in primary education along with few students in high school. We believe that education is a life time legacy we can provide to Haitian people. By providing education to a Haitian child, we are providing him/her a chance, thus providing this nation a chance to change.

Health care is a serious issue in Haiti. Generally, Haitians will not go to a hospital unless it is matter of life and death situation. It is all about money. They don’t have it. With about 2$ wage a day, they don’t have anything to spare for health care, it is not even enough for their daily bread. However, given a chance to access medical care for free, Haitians will endure waiting for hours to get it. It has been true to every medical mission clinic we provide in the parish community. The OLMC Doylestown last medical mission trip (February 2012) had proven again how desperate Haitians to get medical care. On children day alone, we have seen more than 400 children and sadly had turned others away. The nearly completed clinic building (thanks to the generous support of St Henry –Dayton OH and many others), we hope to extend affordable, if not free, access to basic medical care to so many poor Haitian families. The parish community is so grateful for this health care facility.

One of the positive signs happening in the country especially in Port au Prince is cleanliness. Never mind the road condition. There is a growing awareness about the importance of making their surrounding clean. People are now making effort to throw their garbage in areas designated for easy clean up. Saint Jude engages members of the parish to educate people on this seriousness of the need of a cleaner environment. Our recently opened plastic recycling collection center generates enormous response in the community. It is so amazing to see children bringing plastic bottles and cans in exchange for small penny. This project hopes to create sustainable livelihood, help keep communities cleaner and eventually will changed peoples’ mentality on how to take care of their environment.

Two years after the January 2010 earthquake, we are now facing serious concerns on the reality of evacuation camps or camp communities. Camps owned by private individuals are facing imminent eviction.  As much I am supporting closures of camp communities, doing so needs careful planning and mutual agreement between refugees and the government. It will remain a complex issue. NGO’s and other humanitarian agencies have suspended their operation in refugee camps long time ago. Saint Jude extends services to the camps in limited ways as well.

In spite of all these, Saint Jude maintains its mission in the community and opening its doors to new initiatives and ideas. Our clean water project is still very much part of our campaign. Lately, we are exploring another new project like ‘rooftop gardening’. This project is a dream project where we hope to provide families in living a densely populated community like Saint Jude a possibility of growing something , that there are always alternatives even it seemed to be impossible.

All these positive progress and signs of hopes are made possible because of so many unknown individuals here and abroad who keep on believing. Our shared faith is making real life stories of miracles. Few months ago, we are using the basement of the church building (church is still under construction) for our liturgies. But the growing number of people coming into the church, it is now impossible to accommodate them under it. Using tarps and woods, we put a temporary roof on the church so we can put a whole congregation together in one joyous and hopeful celebration. Haiti never fails to amaze me. After almost 12 years of missionary life here, I have no doubt faith really make a big difference in their lives. It is humbling to know, that even as a priest, I still have so many things to learn from them.

Friday's concert starts at Our Lady of Mount Carmel at 7:30 p.m. and will run for two hours with a brief intermission.

Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children; donations above the ticket price also are welcome.