PARISH LENTEN PROJECT

Imagine the scenario – you’ve been out for a gentle jog; you’ve got the heart playing a musical beat in your chest; blood is coursing through your veins like a mountain stream; lungs are full of good clean air; all you need is a nice refreshing shower and you can take on the world! Which would you rather do – head into the bathroom, turn on the tap, check that the temperature is right, and stand under the invigorating spray, OR, go look for some decent container for water, head off at least as far as the end of the street, stand in a line and hope that they don’t run out of water from the truck before it’s your turn, stagger home with the full container, and then decide that it’s too valuable to be taking a shower with it?

You may very well say it’s not a choice we can make – there are no water tanks at the end of the street. In Cite Soleil, in Haiti, it’s not a choice they can make either, but for the opposite reason – it’s their only way of getting water. Haiti is one of those places that has appeared from time to time on the fringes of my consciousness – occasional reports about the political and social chaos there – stories of the harsh conditions in which many people live – but it was only when I began some research for a suitable Lenten Project for this year that I realised just how horrific life in Haiti is for so many of their people. Reading through some of the true-life stories on Fr. Rick’s website - www.compassionweavers.com - it was very difficult to keep a lump from the throat and a dry eye!

The problem in choosing a specific way in which to help was – where to begin! I mentioned last week in the notices just some of the areas of need – food, water, medical care, education, burial for the dead – the list could go on and on. After discussion in the Parish Council we decided to focus on two projects – provision of water, and education.

Maybe some of you share my instinct that in helping we should be attempting to deal with the long-term issues and not just providing a quick-fix that will leave the situation just the same in a year’s time – and that is what the education and training project is about – so why provide tanks of water rather than a well? To be honest, I don’t know the answer – but I do know that my instinct is to trust a man like our Fr. Rick, who for instance would take time out from his extraordinary mission work in order to qualify as a medical doctor so that he can add an extra dimension to his work for the poor. If he, the one who is actually there, the one who is giving his whole life to helping these people, says it’s the best way for the moment, who am I to say otherwise?

So our target this year is to sponsor one of the two tanks that they use to deliver water, and to sponsor 10 of the 20 training places that are used for setting up small businesses. The estimated cost of these two projects is $50,000, which at current rates is approximately €35,000 – about half-way between the amounts raised in our last two Lenten Projects. I know it’s an ambitious target ……