Dame Marie Haiti Relief Fund
Donation protected
Hi, my name is Julie Baron and I'm from Sammamish, WA. Since 1998 I have participated in 14 one-week medical missions where I have had the opportunity to live with the Haitian people and learn about their country. I have witnessed firsthand the genuine kindness, resilience, and unwavering faith of my Haitian brothers and sisters.
Dame Marie is a remote coastal town at the tip of the southern peninsula of Haiti. Dame Marie stole my heart at the age of 15, when I began my missionary work as a medical volunteer through the Parish Twinning Program of the Americas
(https://www.parishprogram.org).
Unfortunately, Haiti is no stranger to poverty, underdevelopment and natural disasters like the magnitude 7 earthquake of 2010. On October 4, 2016 a Category 4 Hurricane (Matthew) directly struck southwest Haiti, home to more than one million people. As you can see in the image below, Dame Marie, located at the tip of the peninsula, did not stand a chance.The results have been catastrophic. The photos are heart wrenching.
The seafront of Dame Marie – once lined with tiny boats and fishermen’s shacks -- has been decimated. Wind-broken and leafless trees and crops look like the aftermath of a forest fire. Any homes left partially standing are without doors, windows, or roofs. So too the school building we had built to educate the poorest children in the community. The entire southwestern peninsula of Haiti is in a state of upheaval and utter devastation.
Father Jean Antoine is the pastor at Our Lady of the Nativity Church in Dame Marie and pillar of the community. A week after the devastation occurred, he was back in what was left of his church, saying Mass. His strength and faith will help guide the people of Dame Marie. But they need our help.
During natural disasters such as this, it is often difficult to get aid to remote towns, which have been made even more isolated with the destruction of roads and unsafe traveling conditions.
The best way to aid the people of Dame Marie is through a direct connection to the parish, where the community would be naturally motivated to work together and help Father Jean Antoine support their neighbors. Father Jean is the man we can trust to wisely direct resources to those in greatest need.
I am currently working with my friend Tom Bernadzikowski, who set up a non-profit foundation, Centre de St. Jean Bosco, in 2013 specifically to support Father Jean's programs for education, nutrition and healthcare for the children of Dame Marie and Jeremie. All contributions made through gofundme will be used for emergency relief in Dame Marie.
The primary concern right now is basic survival. The people of Dame Marie do not have shelter, food, or water. Cholera is spreading rapidly in the most decimated areas. The wreckage left behind by the hurricane has created perfect conditions for spreading this waterborne disease. Pregnant women afflicted by cholera, Zika, and chikungunya need treatment and prenatal care. As of this writing, no international aid has reached Dame Marie, perhaps because the town is too small to be noticed.
We need your help! It may seem like an overwhelming task. But there is an old Haitian saying ... “Bit by bit, the bird builds its nest.”
Bit by bit we can help the people of Dame Marie. We can save and restore lives. Please help by donating whatever you can.
If you prefer to donate by check to get the full tax deduction or company matching, please send directly to Tom Bernadzikowsk's non-profit foundation at the address below and you will recieve a receipt in the mail. You can put my name, Julie Baron, or "Dame Marie Haiti Relief Fund" in the memo--and please let me know so that I can thank you properly!
Centre de St. Jean Bosco
333 Biddle Street
Chesapeake City, MD 21915
Employer Identification Number (EIN) for Centre de St. Jean Bosco: 464357263
Please check back for updates.
Dame Marie is a remote coastal town at the tip of the southern peninsula of Haiti. Dame Marie stole my heart at the age of 15, when I began my missionary work as a medical volunteer through the Parish Twinning Program of the Americas
(https://www.parishprogram.org).
Unfortunately, Haiti is no stranger to poverty, underdevelopment and natural disasters like the magnitude 7 earthquake of 2010. On October 4, 2016 a Category 4 Hurricane (Matthew) directly struck southwest Haiti, home to more than one million people. As you can see in the image below, Dame Marie, located at the tip of the peninsula, did not stand a chance.The results have been catastrophic. The photos are heart wrenching.
The seafront of Dame Marie – once lined with tiny boats and fishermen’s shacks -- has been decimated. Wind-broken and leafless trees and crops look like the aftermath of a forest fire. Any homes left partially standing are without doors, windows, or roofs. So too the school building we had built to educate the poorest children in the community. The entire southwestern peninsula of Haiti is in a state of upheaval and utter devastation.
Father Jean Antoine is the pastor at Our Lady of the Nativity Church in Dame Marie and pillar of the community. A week after the devastation occurred, he was back in what was left of his church, saying Mass. His strength and faith will help guide the people of Dame Marie. But they need our help.
During natural disasters such as this, it is often difficult to get aid to remote towns, which have been made even more isolated with the destruction of roads and unsafe traveling conditions.
The best way to aid the people of Dame Marie is through a direct connection to the parish, where the community would be naturally motivated to work together and help Father Jean Antoine support their neighbors. Father Jean is the man we can trust to wisely direct resources to those in greatest need.
I am currently working with my friend Tom Bernadzikowski, who set up a non-profit foundation, Centre de St. Jean Bosco, in 2013 specifically to support Father Jean's programs for education, nutrition and healthcare for the children of Dame Marie and Jeremie. All contributions made through gofundme will be used for emergency relief in Dame Marie.
The primary concern right now is basic survival. The people of Dame Marie do not have shelter, food, or water. Cholera is spreading rapidly in the most decimated areas. The wreckage left behind by the hurricane has created perfect conditions for spreading this waterborne disease. Pregnant women afflicted by cholera, Zika, and chikungunya need treatment and prenatal care. As of this writing, no international aid has reached Dame Marie, perhaps because the town is too small to be noticed.
We need your help! It may seem like an overwhelming task. But there is an old Haitian saying ... “Bit by bit, the bird builds its nest.”
Bit by bit we can help the people of Dame Marie. We can save and restore lives. Please help by donating whatever you can.
If you prefer to donate by check to get the full tax deduction or company matching, please send directly to Tom Bernadzikowsk's non-profit foundation at the address below and you will recieve a receipt in the mail. You can put my name, Julie Baron, or "Dame Marie Haiti Relief Fund" in the memo--and please let me know so that I can thank you properly!
Centre de St. Jean Bosco
333 Biddle Street
Chesapeake City, MD 21915
Employer Identification Number (EIN) for Centre de St. Jean Bosco: 464357263
Please check back for updates.
Organizer and beneficiary
Julie Baron
Organizer
Sammamish, WA
Thomas Bernadzikowski
Beneficiary