French Film Festival: Fatal Assistance

French Film Festival, Richmond VA

21-24 March, 2013

Award-winning Haitian-born filmmaker Raoul Peck invites us inside his 2-year investigation of the challenging, contradictory and colossal rebuilding efforts in post-earthquake Haiti.

Fatal Assistance powerfully illustrates the work behind the scenes and the twists and turns of international aid in Haiti, all the while questioning its impact and consequences.

 Friday, March 22 – 7:00 p.m at the Byrd Theater ~ 1h40 ~ General Audience

 Click here for more film information.

Will 'Made In Haiti' Factories Improve Life In Haiti?

by Jason Beaubien

February 14, 2013













Three years after the devastating Port-au-Prince earthquake, one of the largest international relief projects in Haiti isn't anywhere near where the quake hit. It's an industrial park on the north coast halfway between Cap-Haitien and the border with the Dominican Republic.

Aid agencies are pouring millions of dollars into the project to encourage people to move out of the overcrowded capital and create jobs. Critics, however, say the jobs don't pay enough to lift people out of poverty.

The Caracol Industrial Park is one of the most tangible developments to come out of the billions of dollars in post-earthquake aid to Haiti.

Continue reading...

My visit to Cerca Carvajal, Haiti

Kathy Gross, of St. Edward's Haiti ministry, spent six weeks in Cerca Carvajal, Centre, Haiti.

During her stay there, Kathy kept a journal of her experiences, insights which will give anyone a unique look into the daily lives of the people in Haiti.

We highly recommend reading her blog.  Follow this link to her blog, go to the bottom of the page and start reading up!

Kathy's Blog

Haiti - Country of Dreams

by Adele DellaValle-Rauth
special to The Catholic Virginian

I am not long back from my trip to Haiti Dec. 5-14.
A favorite scripture of mine, upon returning, is always: Luke 10:17 “The disciples came back rejoicing.” That is how I feel.

How can this be after visiting a country plagued still by endemic poverty, with virtually no infrastructure — roads that defy gravity — no government concerned about the people, a broken justice system? I could go on and on.

The flip side is that Haiti is a country of dreams, of visions and visionaries, of mystics, of hope beyond hope. This is the Haiti that I have come to know and love and which calls me to go again and again, burdened with an urge to “tell the story.” So, another feeble attempt.

With me were my husband Bob, my brother Jim Della Valle and his son Jason, age 25. It was Jim and Jason’s first mission; they are the first of my family to go and gave me a feeling that perhaps it was time to “pass the torch!”

Continue reading...