Reiser Relief - Haiti

My thoughts often go to Haiti and the 2010 January earthquake in which thousands died. With churches, schools and homes demolished, people have been living in camps and sleeping under makeshift tents surrounded by rubble and sewage. I think of these people often when I go to bed, which is clean and warm, because the conditions they are surviving under are truly unbelievable. And now, they face the scourge of cholera.

With the help of our donors, Reiser Relief can continue to save the lives of these extremely impoverished people! We live among abundance; the Haitians live in extreme poverty. They await your generous response and we pray for God’s abundant blessings upon you. With deep gratitude, we thank you for helping us to "Keep the Wheel Turning!" Together, we make a difference in touching the lives of thousands of people!

We are compelled to provide the essential services to aid in day-to-day survival. The services Reiser Relief provides include: fresh water, food centers, education, and eldercare facilities. Many outreach projects are in or near Cité Soleil; the suburb of the Haitian capital of

Port-au-Prince. Reiser Relief provides assistance to Haiti focused on the basic necessities of life: Food, Water, Education, and Building Facilities.

In 2010, Reiser Relief provided aid to thousands of people suffering after the earthquake made possible by hundreds of generous donations. We continue to provide monthly education, food and clean water various area in Port-au-Prince. We support the transportation of the food we ship which is provided through Feed My Starving Children. Each the three shipping contains 500,000 highly nutritious packets of food, with each packet keeping one person alive for one day.

Reiser Relief funds a water truck that operates six days a week making four deliveries too many poor neighborhoods/tent cities/clinics in Cite Soleil and provides water free of charge, reaching numerous impoverished families where the local people carry the water home in 5 gallon buckets. The little red truck got a lot more use in 2010, for having water is critical for life, it was a life line for the many in need. Your help is needed to keep this truck on the road.

Some reconstruction was needed for Terre Promise Primary School in Cité Soleil, which was left standing and still solid, but needed various repairs to some walls and damaged plumbing and a new expansion for classrooms. Three other non-profits and Reiser Relief funded this project which is now complete.

Grace Village buildings took some damages after the earthquake but now the new concrete walls are complete and roof sheathing is installed two dormitories and a central feeding center. Plumbing including cistern and septic tanks are roughed in and capped. We are also excited for the street children and elderly and the impact that the new Feeding Center will have on their lives. Bringing food to those that often go hungry will provide us with the opportunity to share God's loving touch to those in need. As we look to building completion, we are now pressed to provide site cleanup, and a security wall around the property. The security wall must be build to protect those who come for food as well as those who live there. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB3d2sQRLj8

My past visits with poor Haitians convinced me that I always need to advocate for them and remember their needs and I ask you to share with our brothers and sisters in Haiti. The Lord will bless you for your gift.

A very blessed New Year to you and your loved ones. I shall include you in my daily Mass and prayers.

Father Bernard Reiser

December 2010