Haiti Disaster Relief Needed - The Religious of Jesus and Mary

The Religious of Jesus and Mary - U.S. Province

UPDATE FEB. 3, 2010 As we live in the mystery of this heart-wrenching tragedy, please know of the RJM community’s gratitude for the tremendous outpouring of donations to the RJM earthquake relief fund from family, friends, associates, colleagues, students, neighbors, religious communities, organizations, and RJM provinces throughout the world.

P.S. Sr. Vivian Patenaude, who was injured in a fall at the time of the earthquake, is back in the USA and will undergo shoulder surgery on February 4th. Please keep her in your prayers.

Hait Map FEB. 3, 2010 - As you know from the news, the needs of the Haitian people were overwhelming prior to the earthquake and continue to be so today. The scope and depth of this tragedy continue to call for both immediate and sustained, long-term intervention. The Religious of Jesus and Mary were here in Haiti yesterday and will be there tomorrow. Our commitment remains strong, and we intend to be there for the long haul.

The Religious of Jesus and Mary, a Roman Catholic Congregation of Sisters, have ministered in Haiti since 1997. Six sisters serve the poor in three areas of the country: Port-au-Prince, Gros Morne and Jean Rabel. They speak Creole, the Haitian language, as do our pre-candidate and volunteer, and all use both the language and their personal skills to meet the needs of the poor wherever they serve.

Photo by Brittany Galvin

In the weeks since the earthquake, five RJM sisters, our candidate and volunteer remain in Haiti, actively at work in various relief efforts:

Sr. Jackie Picard and Brittany Galvin, volunteer, have been in Port-au-Prince at Sacre Coeur Hospital – still taking care of people’s deep wounds, now infected, and unattended broken bones. Sr. Isa Sola is working on a mountainside outside PAP with Sr. Genevieve, a physician, providing services to people who have not yet been served. Their hearts ache as they minister to people with such great needs.
Sr. Patricia Dillon and Gardyne Jean Jacques, our candidate, are preparing to welcome the first of six container trucks carrying food for thousands of people who have returned from PAP to their families in Gros Morne. They pray that the distribution goes well.
Srs. Nazareth Ybarra and Rose Kelly continue to work with town and hospital people in coordinating relief for the 7,000 Haitians who have arrived in Jean Rabel from PAP. They will begin classes to deal with the psychological effects of having experienced the heartache of an earthquake, as well as classes for students who have come from the trauma in PAP… sewing, art, math, languages, sports, etc.

The sisters are looking forward to having three volunteers join them from Spain to help with relief efforts. They are two doctors and a nurse: M. Dolores Herrero Mendoza, Blanco Herrero Mendoza and Jose Martin Ruiz.

Since most of Haiti is still in the recovery mode, we are responding to the immediate needs of the people for food, water, shelter, and medicine. We are beginning to wire money safely to our sisters in Haiti from the RJM earthquake relief fund. How grateful we are for the generosity of our donors!

We are committed to sharing ourselves and our goods with our Haitian brothers and sisters for as long as we are able. To this end, we invite and welcome your prayers and financial support. No donation is too small!... and your donation is tax deductible!

The RJMs have set up an earthquake relief fund – P A P E R – i.e. Port-au-Prince Earthquake Relief. Donations can be sent directly to that fund:

c/o Sr. Janet Stolba, RJM
Religious of Jesus and Mary
125 Michigan Ave. N. E. 4th floor
Washington, DC 20017

Or you can donate online through our website:

Select "RJM Haiti Fund" in the Program Designation drop-down menu, and your donation will go for immediate disaster relief.

Correspondence regarding RJM Earthquake Relief may be sent to Sr. Janet Stolba at:
rjmearthquakerelief@yahoo.com.

Photo by Brittany Galvin

Photos by Brittany Galvin

You can also donate through other relief organizations such as Catholic Relief Services.

For those interested in volunteering, please phone Theresa Patterson at (615) 673-3501, as she organizes volunteer groups. Or Google search PTPA (Parish Twinning of America).

Plans are underway to have a special Mass for the victims of the earthquake.

Go to the The Religious of Jesus and Mary U.S. Province website.