On February 2, four representatives from a Catholic order of nuns in Haiti and their headquarters Canada came to Hualien to thank Master Cheng Yen and the Tzu Chi Foundation for their help in rebuilding three schools destroyed in the devastating earthquake in January 2010. The two organizations share the belief that love crosses all borders and are working together to bring hope to the people of Haiti.
On January 21, 2012 the Foundation and the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Anne held a ground-breaking ceremony at the College Marie-Anne in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, for the reconstruction of three Saint Anne schools -- College Marie-Anne Primary School, College Marie-Anne Secondary School and Christ the King Secretarial School.
The four representatives of the order who came to Hualien were Sister Rita Larivee, the general superior of the Congregation: Sister Lucille Goulet, the general councilor: Sister Marie Eliane Raymond, the provincial superior in Haiti: and Sister Marthe-Marjorie Fevrier, the director of College Marie-Anne. They brought letters and gifts from Congregation members and the Haitian children of the schools to express their gratitude for Tzu Chi’s support.
At the meeting, Master Cheng Yen praised the Sisters’ long-term selfless devotion to the education of Haitian children and said: “although we are in different countries with different religions, we share the same compassion and love for people on this same planet. Love is like water. Even if we drill water in different grounds, the water is the same.”
The next day, a media reception was held in Taipei at which the Haitian Ambassador Mr. Mario Chouloute accompanied the Sisters of Saint Anne and Tzu Chi representatives in sharing their experiences. Ambassador Chouloute said that education was most important for the future of Haiti; he thanked the two organizations for their determination to help Haitian people despite the difficult situation after the disaster that made this mission far from easy.
Sister Rita Larivee, the general superior, said: “after the 2010 earthquake, many people said they would help, but they did not always come. Many people came to visit and said they would return, but they did not always return. The most important reason we came here to Taiwan this week was to thank the Tzu Chi Foundation for keeping their promise. They promised that they would come back and they did; they promised that they would help us build the schools and they did.” Sister Fevrier from College Marie-Anne said that the experience of working with Tzu Chi had inspired their children. “The children want to learn from Tzu Chi volunteers to take the responsibility in creating a better world,” she said.
The earthquake of January 21, 2010, in Haiti, caused the death of more than 310,000 people and destroyed countless homes, schools, and buildings across the country. In accordance with its principles of disaster relief of “directness, priority, practicality, respect, gratitude, and timeliness.” Tzu Chi volunteers have been working continuously to provide immediate, mid-term, and long-term relief to the survivors since the earthquake. They have distributed blankets, food, tarps, and tents, provided medical care, launched food-for-work programs, built temporary shelters, and are in the process of rebuilding schools and promoting and growing a sustainable nutrition supplement – Moringa trees.
The Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Anne was founded in 1850 by Esther Blondin in a suburb of Montreal, Canada, with a mission to improve the poor situation of rural schools. Until now, the order has opened many schools for children in need and is devoted to education and health care in Africa and the Americas, including Haiti.
Tzu Chi and the order have a great friendship with each other. They share the same belief that love transcends all borders, ethnicities, and religions as they work together to bring hope to the people in Haiti.
