October, 2004

Dear Friends of Project-Starfish:

We begin this month’s newsletter with a poem written by George McPhee, a resident of St. Monica’s Home for the Abandoned Elderly in Kingston, Jamaica. Mr. McPhee, blinded and disfigured by leprosy, has a big and beautiful heart. He expresses his spiritual vision through his poetry.

DRINKING FROM A SAUCER

I have never made a fortune and it’s probably too late now.
I don’t worry about that much, I’m happy anyhow.
As I go along life’s journey, reaping more than I have sowed,
I’m drinking from a saucer, ‘cause my cup has overflowed.

I don’t have lots of riches, and sometimes the going is tough.
I have a family that loves me, and that is quite enough.
I thank God for his blessings and his mercies he’s bestowed.
I’m drinking from a saucer, ‘cause my cup has overflowed.

I remember times when things went wrong, my faith got a little thin.
Then all at once the dark clouds broke, and the sun peeked through again.
Lord, please help me not to gripe about the tough rows I have hoed.
I’m drinking from a saucer, ‘cause my cup has overflowed.

If God gives me strength and courage when my way grows steep and tough,
I’ll not ask for other blessings. I’m already blessed enough.
May I never be too busy to help another bear his load.
I’ll keep drinking from a saucer, ‘cause my cup has overflowed.

(From All You Really Need to Know About Prayer You Can Learn From the Poor by Louise Perrotta)

NOVEMBER NATIVITY CHURCH TRIP TO HAITI CANCELLED

Food For The Poor has decided to cancel the pilgrimage trip to Haiti set for November 8th through November 12th, 2004. Fifteen parishioners and friends of Nativity Church in Burke, Virginia were scheduled to travel to Haiti to visit the projects and people they are assisting. In announcing this decision, Barbara Fazekas of FFP said “The continuing violence and lack of effective law enforcement, especially in the areas where we would visit, contributed to the decision. The local Haiti staff of Food For The Poor has advised that conditions in the Port-au-Prince area are not stable enough for our safety and it does not look like the violence and danger will abate in the near future.”

Some 48 people, including 5 police officers, have been killed in Port-au-Prince in a recent 2-week period. The Peace Corps has recalled all their volunteers and the State Dept. has issued an updated travel warning. Commenting on the decision, Nativity’s Project Starfish Coordinator, Jim McDaniel said “I believe Food For The Poor made the right decision, for our safety. We will try again after the first of the year when, hopefully, conditions will improve.”

Fr. Richard Martin, Pastor of Nativity Church, asked his parishioners to “save a little space in your mind for the poor of Haiti, who suffer the ultimate pain of this instability and violence. In your prayers, please ask that they be blessed with God's compassion and that we be given another opportunity to reach them soon.”

The latest violence in this torn and broken country is coming from two sources: frustration over lack of adequate response to the humanitarian crisis resulting from recent floods and hurricanes; and political unrest continuing from the ouster of President Bertrand Aristide last February. According to the New York Times, the current emergencies are both in Gonaives, where international aid efforts have been hampered by looting and lack of civil order, and in Port-au-Prince, where a battle is looming between former military officers and pro-Aristide activists.

Nearly 3,000 people perished in the September floods in Gonaives. All crops were destroyed and all livestock was killed. Hunger and disease are widespread.

In Port-au-Prince, violence has continued to grow all summer. It spiked on September 30th when Aristide supporters marched on the capital to demand his return. Gunfire erupted and shooting and beheading have continued over the last few weeks. U.N. forces have arrested more than 120 people, but only half of the promised U.N. troops have been provided by their respective countries.

Where all this will lead is uncertain. What is certain, however, is that the poor of Haiti continue to suffer and our prayers for them are needed more than ever.

STARFISH STORIES

LEG BRACES ENROUTE TO HAITI Nativity parishioner Heather Malecki, a physical therapist, became aware of a supply of new children’s leg braces that were no longer needed. Working with Food For The Poor, she has arranged to have them shipped to Our Lady of the Poor Clinic in Port-au-Prince, where they will be fitted to handicapped children who desperately need them. Nativity parishioners have visited this clinic in the past, where 2 twin brother physicians are doing innovative work with HIV positive pregnant women to prevent the transmission of the disease to their newborns. Thank you Heather!

SHARING BIKE DRIVE INFO After reading a story in this newsletter about Curt Larson’s trip to Haiti, Lisa Macey wrote to Larson. She was intrigued by Cecil Bjork’s Pedal Power bicycle drive and the fact that Curt actually saw one of Cecil’s bike’s in Haiti with a River Falls, Wisconsin license on it. Lisa passed along information about “Pedals for Progress,” a non-profit organization based in New Jersey that sponsors used bicycle drives in several states. We are happy to see the newsletter used for this kind of networking. If you would like more information about “Pedals For Progress” go to www.p4p.org. Thank you Lisa, Cecil and Curt!

HAITIAN PRIEST ARRESTED

Sr. Kathleen Koll, who traveled to Haiti with a Nativity Church pilgrimage last year passes along the following information:

On Wednesday, October 13, 2004, hooded and heavily armed police forcibly entered St. Claire Church located in Petite Place Cazeau, a poor neighborhood in the Delmas section of Port-au-Prince. Father Gerard Jean-Juste was arrested without a warrant and transported to a police station holding cell where he is now being held incommunicado. He was dragged from his rectory against his will when he refused to leave the feeding of 600 children as he does every Wednesday and Friday. A well-known journalist reported that the priest was punched, his foot was injured, and he was bleeding from the wrists because of the handcuffs.

If you would like to know more about this case and other social justice needs in Haiti, please contact:
Sr. Kathleen Koll (kkoll@ssjphila.org), or
Bob DellaValle-Rauth (delrauth@aol.com), (540)297-6493

NEW STARFISH VIDEO AVAILABLE

Food For The Poor has just released its latest film about Project Starfish. This video, just 9 minutes in length, gives an overview of the Starfish Program. It discusses the history of Project Starfish, shows in graphic detail the nature of the problems in Haiti, and portrays in positive, upbeat fashion the simple solution possible in any church or congregation. Interviews with Protestant and Catholic clergy and lay families are included. Narrated by FFP President Robin Mahfood, this video is an effective new tool for anyone who is considering trying to help the poor.

For your own copy, contact Barbara Fazekas at 954-427-2222 x6258; barbf@foodforthepoor.com. Web: www.foodforthepoor.org.

Copies are available for loan to parishioners and friends from the Church Office, Nativity Church, 6400 Nativity Lane, Burke, Virginia, tel. 703-455-2400. Or contact Jim McDaniel (jim@project-starfish.org).

OCTOBER PRAYER REQUESTS

Our readers have submitted the following prayer requests for this month:

† For all our college, high school and elementary students, and for their teachers, that God may bless them all with a safe and fulfilling school year;

† For Sr. Francis Annice, that her doctors and her health decisions be guided by God’s gentle hand;

† For the people of Haiti, that the violence may subside, and that the international community come together to help alleviate their suffering;

† In appreciation for the freedoms and quality of life we enjoy in this country, and especially for those who are giving their lives right now in service to our nation, may they rest in the peace of Christ, and may their families be comforted by God’s love;

† That we may be ever mindful of God’s chosen ones – the poor, especially those who have touched us in Haiti;

† And for all those who work here and abroad to alleviate suffering, especially our friends at Food For The Poor.

For these and all our intentions, hear us, Oh Lord…

NEWS BRIEFS

• We received the following note from Msgr. Robert P. Deely, former pastor of St. Ann’s Church in Quincy, Massachusetts. While Msgr. Deely has been assigned to the Vatican in Rome as a canon lawyer, his heart remains with the poor.

Dear Jim,

Thank you for your thoughtful note. Your promise of prayers is especially appreciated as I embark on this new journey. The first few weeks have been good. It is a very different world over here but I am adjusting.

I am pleased to hear of your efforts now in Haiti. It is dearly needed. The Quincy parishes have had an involvement there for many years. I am so sorry to see that this massive hurricane appears to have done terrible damage there at the moment resulting in great loss of life. Those poor people have suffered so much. It is good that organizations and efforts like [Project Starfish] are reaching out to that very poor part of the world.

All the best. Know that you are remembered in prayer.

Peace,

Msgr Deeley

• Mr. Allen Thames of Columbia, South Carolina, writes to inform us of a new resource on the web that explains the critical problems with water in Haiti:

Dear Friends of Haiti,
There is a top drawer presentation on a subject that is difficult to convey to those of us who leave the water running in the kitchen. The website is as follows:
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/index.html

Allen Thames

• Barbara Fazekas points out a web site that has all the latest news from Haiti. Go to www.haiti-news.com.

HAITIAN WISDOM

Pafwa nou pa gen diferans
Ak ravèt e krikèt.

Yo pase bò Bib la.

Yo menm manje nan paj li yo,
Men yo pa fè sa li di.
……………………………………… ..

Sometimes we’re no different
From the roach and the cricket.

They pass by the Bible.

They even eat at its pages,
But they don’t practice its teachings.

--- Baptist Haiti Mission

PROJECT-STARFISH WEB SITE UPDATED

Visit us at www.project-starfish.org . The Welcome Page has been updated and there are photos from the flood in Gonaives.

For information on Food For The Poor’s programs in Haiti, contact Barbara Fazekas at 954-427-2222 x6258; barbf@foodforthepoor.com. Web: www.foodforthepoor.org.

CLOSING THOUGHT…

“Don’t economize in almsgiving – cut off nothing in charities, rather increase them if anything. ‘Give and it shall be given to you. In the measure that you do to others so shall it be done to you. What you give to the poor you give to me.’ The best way of always having enough is to generously share with the poor, seeing in them the representatives of Jesus himself. And then be full of confidence. ‘He who gives life will also give the nourishment. He who gave the body will give the clothing. Seek the Kingdom of God and his Justice (that is to say, perfection) and the rest shall be given unto you.’ This is said for all Christians and not only for monks. Be full of confidence. Keep yourself from all anxiety.”

--From Meditations of a Hermit by Charles de Foucauld

God Bless You…

PROJECT-STARFISH NEWSLETTER (Vol. III, Issue 8), Oct., 2004: 0410newsltr
Edited this month by Jim McDaniel (Jim@project-starfish.org)

PROJECT-STARFISH: MAKING A DIFFERENCE, ONE PERSON AT A TIME

As a young boy walked the beach at dawn, he noticed an old man ahead of him picking up starfish and tossing them into the sea. Catching up with the man, the boy asked why he was doing this. The old man explained to the boy that the stranded starfish would die if left in the morning sun.

“But the beach goes on for miles and there are millions of starfish,” exclaimed the boy. “How can your effort make any difference?”

The old man looked at the starfish in his hand and then threw it safely into the waves. He turned to the boy and said, “It made a difference to that one.”