The devastating earthquake of 12 January has reduced a large part of the country into a desolate pile of rubble. News arrives bit by bit and tells of an apocalyptic scenario, whilst aid is still slow to arrive and fraught with problems.
The number of victims and people dispersed in the disaster is still unknown: the only certainty is that thousands of people have died, including many children.
The Salesian Family, which has lived and stood alongside the people of this luckless island for years, was also seriously hit by the disaster: as well as an elderly Salesian and two young novitiates, among the confirmed dead are 500 children that frequented the Enam centre in the capital, buried under the rubble of the building. The structure, which housed primary and professional schools and a centre for street children, was completely razed to the ground by the earthquake. The wing of the building that was home to the Opera delle piccole scuole di Padre Bonhem was destroyed.
Many Salesian missions were hit: the Vice Province of Drouillard is greatly damaged, Gressier dormitory collapsed, the Missions of Fleuriot and Thorland were seriously damaged, as was the chapel of the latter. The church and parochial centre of Cité Soleil were destroyed. Despite also suffering serious damage, the Pétion-Ville Mission, together with the Thorland Mission, is offering temporary hospitality to 3500 people.
Many of the Missions of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians crumbled, without causing any victims: the Salesian Sisters are already working to assist the wounded and dispersed.
The Santo Domingo Salesian Provincial Centre delivered food and staple commodities to Port-au-Prince by land, despite a multitude of difficulties, and continues to work untiringly to provide other aid.