NEW ROCHELLE — Gang violence in Haiti has not stopped a Catholic organization’s humanitarian efforts, which the group’s U.S. leader vows will continue no matter what dangers exist in the Caribbean nation.
Father Michael Conway, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. arm of the international religious order Salesians of Don Bosco, said the group recently worked with the organization Rise Against Hunger to ship thousands of food packages to Haiti and then had workers on the ground deliver the food to schools and community centers.
Salesian Missions, which is based in New Rochelle, also shipped solar panels to Haiti, where many parts of the country go without electricity for days at a time.
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However, because of the stranglehold gangs have on the capital city of Port-au-Prince, where they control the airport and most of the roadways, Salesian Missions has had to think outside the box, Father Conway said.
“In light of the political turmoil and the situation with the gangs, we’ve had to shift some of our usual support from Port-au-Prince to the northern part of the country,” he explained. “And part of that has been very challenging because it’s very difficult sometimes to get containers of food and supplies to some of the ports.”
The work is fraught with danger, he said.
“We know that, particularly those who work in the Port-au-Prince area, they’re very much susceptible for gangs entering into their premises, breaking into their homes and schools and really causing some major issues, particularly in the sense of even kidnapping them and holding them for ransom,” Father Conway said, adding that while none of the Salesian Missions folks have been targeted, it “has happened with other priests and groups in the area.”
The recipients appreciate the food shipments, said Rodnel Ball, a 16-year-old who lives in Port-au-Prince.
“The meals are important to me because they give me strength and they taste good,” Rodnel said.
Rodnel added that getting regular, nutritious food has helped him in other ways, including with his schoolwork. “Not only did I gain weight by eating the meals, but I found the motivation to study. I study better,” he explained.
Salesian Missions, a non-profit Catholic organization, was founded in 1947 as a U.S. arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, the religious order of priests and brothers founded in 1859 by St. John Bosco. John was his given name. Don was a name bestowed on him as a sign of respect for his role as a priest. The formal name of the religious order is the Society of St. Francis de Sales, hence the Salesian in the title.
The Salesians of Don Bosco work in 130 countries around the world, primarily with at-risk young people. The religious order operates schools, health clinics, and community centers, and provides job training in many of the countries it serves.
Its members strive to follow the example set by Don Bosco, Father Conway explained.
“For Don Bosco, his work was primarily with poor and abandoned youth,” he said. “And if there is a country where there are poorer and abandoned youth, then it’s Haiti. It is the poorest country and the Western Hemisphere.”
The mission is not only to feed the hungry, but to “also give them the opportunity to better themselves and their families.
“We believe that education is very important in helping to overcome institutional poverty.”