Pieta - When Demonstrations Cause Babies to Die

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Pieta - When Demonstrations Cause Babies to Die

When I returned to St Damien Hospital at about 5pm yesterday afternoon, after spending the day buying medicines for our hospitals, there was a woman in the hallway holding a small child, and I sensed something was very wrong.
She was not crying, but her face revealed a restrained panic. 

Her one year old daughter, while seemingly asleep in her arms, was, to my eye, lifeless.
The child was dead, and this poor mother could not accept it.

This is the kind of thing that happens when roads are blocked with violence, when hatred rules the streets, when mothers are afraid to risk the roads with their sick children.

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World Day of the Sick, February 11

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World Day of the Sick, February 11

February 11, World Day of the Sick, was first instituted in May 1992 by Pope John Paul II. At our St. Luke Hospital, we celebrate this holiday every year. This day is an opportunity to pay special attention to the condition of the sick, and, more generally, to give us the opportunity to show how much those who suffer are valued in our eyes.

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In Remembrance of Jephte Lorin, a St. Luke Student

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In Remembrance of Jephte Lorin, a St. Luke Student

Jephte Lorin was born on March 15, 1996. In 2016, he was part of the first class, called the Quintessence, to graduation from the Academy for Peace and Justice, the largest school of the St. Luke Foundation. Lorin first entered the school in 2012 when he was beginning his 3rd year of secondary education (in Haiti, secondary school comprised of 7th through 12th grades). He spent four beautiful years amongst our students.

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The Fermenting of Wines and Revolutions, Fr. Rick Addresses the Political Situation in Haiti

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The Fermenting of Wines and Revolutions, Fr. Rick Addresses the Political Situation in Haiti

Social and political tensions in Haiti have reached their flash points over the past number of months, and we have been living, with more intensity these days, what seems like the dangerous and cynical unraveling of a nation. 

The spiral of violence and destruction is both tragic and maddening.

The simply stated reason for all of this is that the cost of living has become impossible, 

in a country where it was already hard enough to stay alive.

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St. Joan Margaret, a Special Needs School

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St. Joan Margaret, a Special Needs School

Shortly after the earthquake in 2010, Madame Judith, the school’s director, helped start St. Joan Margaret school for the blind, deaf, and developmentally delayed. She had previously worked with another special needs school that sadly fell during the earthquake. With the limited resources following that earth shaking event, the school started out in a shipping container. Thanks to our wonderful partner, The Rava Foundation in Italy, we were able to build a beautiful school with nine classrooms for children in pre-kindergarten to 6th grade. St. Joan Margaret now provides primary education for over 190 children, 80 of whom have hearing disabilities, and 12 of whom have vision impairment.

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Fr. Rick Reflects on the 9th Anniversary of the Earthquake

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Fr. Rick Reflects on the 9th Anniversary of the Earthquake

When Haiti was devastated by the infamous earthquake of 2010, the world had not seen a comparable disaster since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. It was also one of the first disasters in the age of the cell phone and instant messaging. The size of the disaster, and the ease of instant communication worldwide, sparked immediate and universal awareness, concern and mobilization to help the suffering.

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USAID Meeting at St. Luke Hospital

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USAID Meeting at St. Luke Hospital

Through the American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (“ASHA”) grant that St. Luke received in 2014, we were able to build a conference and education center at St. Luke Hospital. The meeting took place in our conference room and organizations such as Restavek Freedom, the Caris Foundation, Mission of Hope, Samaritan’s Purse, Christianville, and Catholic Relief Services were represented at the discussion. St. Luke was honored to host this meeting, and hopes that the discussion and collaboration will continue.

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Restoring Dignity in Haiti, A Visit from GSD Healthcare Inc.

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Restoring Dignity in Haiti, A Visit from GSD Healthcare Inc.

After receiving treatment at Mayo Clinic Arizona, Fr. Rick, knowing that many people in Haiti could also benefit from his same procedure, suggested to Dr. Patel and Dr. Humphreys to find a way to bring that kind of care to the men of Haiti. Elderly men are often a neglected population within this country. They don’t generate a lot of aid; they are not cute and marketable, like babies and young children. With little aid for this demographic, these men are often left to live for years with catheters, some even unable to work and care for their families because of difficulties and challenges that come with incontinence.  With this knowledge, Dr. Patel and Dr. Humphreys set out to restore dignity to men in Haiti, and the group GSD was birthed.

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Christmas when Darkness seems Darker, a Letter from Fr. Rick

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Christmas when Darkness seems Darker, a Letter from Fr. Rick

As Christians approach the revered celebration of the birth of Jesus, these words from a singer-poet illumine the meaning of Christmas, in a world and in a Church that are darkly and dangerously troubled:

Ring the bell that still can ring, 
sing the song that still can sing,
There's a crack in everything- 
that's how the light gets in.
(Leonard Cohen, "Anthem")

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A Visit from the Rava Foundation

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A Visit from the Rava Foundation

At the beginning of December, the St. Luke Foundation had the pleasure of receiving a visit from our long time friends and partners, Mariavittoria Rava, Dr. Enrico Casano, and Donatella Dipaolo, from the Rava Foundation in Italy. Dr. Casano has been an integral part of our breast cancer screening program that we began with the Rava Foundation’s help at the beginning of 2017. Since the start of the program, we have been able to screen over 2,000 women!

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