Delivering food, shelter, and hope to the poorest of the poor
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In today’s high-tech world, it’s hard to imagine that millions of poor people around the world lack access to even basic health care facilities. For families in developing countries, stocked pharmacies, clinics, and hospitals might be dozens of miles away, and even if facilities are nearby the poor usually can’t afford their services anyway.
Just nine months after a massive earthquake devastated Haiti, the country is facing another deadly challenge. In the last week, more than 250 people have died from a deadly outbreak of cholera and more than 3,300 have been infected.
Seven-year-old Grace Nachivula is blessed. She can walk, run, go to school, play with her friends, and get through the day without severe pain. What’s so amazing about that, you ask?
Sr. Irene Clare Duval knew she wanted to be a nun since she was 8 years old, but it wasn’t until she was 48 that she joined the Compassionate Franciscan Sisters of the Poor (formerly the Missionaries of the Poor – Sisters).
Last year, we met a Zambian woman named Christine who had gone from riches to rags because of AIDS. Once the owner of three houses, she sold all her properties in desperation and used the money to pay a medicine man to cure her. In the end, she was left with no money, no friends or family to support her, and a worsening illness.
While traveling through Haiti, Cross Catholic Projects Officers Mike Wilson and Claudio Merisio visited the camps where our mission partners are continuing to provide medical care for earthquake victims. They got to see firsthand the incredible work that so many doctors, nurses, and volunteers are providing on a daily basis in tent facilities or even outside.