Parish News

The Haiti Committee is asking all OLL parishioners to pray for the safety of Fr. Effener and all parishioners of our sister parish, Sts. Anne and Joachim in Labranle, Haiti. The situation in Haiti is dire, with gang violence and political instability constantly increasing. Below are two recent messages we received from Fr. Effener explaining the situation in his parish. Thank you for your continued financial support of our sister parish, which has funded teacher salaries and a water purification system.

A Message from Fr. Effener

I thank the committee for having approved the monthly salary of the teachers and the tuition for the two students who are in teacher training in Gonaives. On behalf of the students, their parents, and the teachers, I thank you very much.

I thank you for your incessant prayers for the parishioners, students, and teachers. We need peace and security. Everyone suffers from it. One of my brothers bought a plane ticket for me to travel at the beginning of March, but I couldn’t go because there were no flights. I hope after Easter the flights will start again.

There is no problem going to the bank to get the money. In Gonaives, there are no acts of banditry, though sometimes a small group of people stage demonstrations. There are no kidnappings or crimes like in Port-au-Prince. You cannot leave Gonaives to go to other cities (L’estere, Saint Marc, Port-au-Prince, etc.), but there is no problem getting around Gonaives and transfers are secure.

School activities are going very well. In the countryside, as in Labranle, we have no problem of insecurity. In Gonaives, some schools that are in places where people are demonstrating do not work. However, the other schools work well. We work every day, although the situation has consequences on the children, but that does not stop them from working and learning.

The water system continues to function perfectly and serve the community. Gradually, we are seeing a small increase in the number of people coming to buy water. Frankly, people really like this water. They even talk about it in Gonaives with other people. We sometimes meet certain people who come from Gonaives when coming to visit their loved ones in Labranle. They bring gallons to buy water since it is cheaper than in Gonaives.

God bless you!

In Christ, Fr. Effener

Update from Fr. Effener

“In Haiti, we continue to survive under insecurity, which continues to multiply deaths every day. What’s worse is that we can’t move around. Everyone remains prisoners because the roads are controlled by bandits who rape, kidnap, and kill people in the streets.” Please pray!