A YOUNG MAN surveying the damage caused by last Saturday’s earthquake.

 

By FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

MELROSE — Last Saturday, at 8:29 a.m., the rural commune of L’Asile, Haiti was assaulted by the earth itself. This tranquil collection of villages in the hills of Haiti’s southern peninsula stood just four miles from the epicenter of one of the most violent earthquakes in Haiti’s recorded history. Now much of it no longer stands. Over 30 are dead, over 500 injured, hundreds of houses have collapsed, and everyone is now sleeping outdoors for fear that yet another aftershock will topple what remains. This catastrophe comes in the midst of debilitating political chaos, and hurricane season has already begun. Yet there is hope for L’Asile, and it comes from Melrose.

Sisters Nunotte and Wildie Zama were born and raised in L’Asile, and immigrated to America decades ago, eventually settling in Melrose. Here, they have found a new home, but they have never forgotten where they came from. In 2011, they founded Haiti Global Youth Partnership to raise money to support the education and welfare of children in L’Asile. Through this registered non-profit, they have sent tens of thousands of dollars in direct aid to the schools of L’Asile. Because they remain in constant contact with their old friends and relatives in L’Asile, they have been able to ascertain how the money is being spent, ensuring that resources are allocated prudently. Up until the advent of Covid and the recent bout of Haitian political violence, they were also able to travel to the community every year to examine firsthand the progress of their investments.

About a year ago, our church approached HGYP about undertaking a mission partnership with them. Although it has not always been easy to fundraise in the era of Covid, we were able to raise money earlier this year to fund a mobile health clinic and a community food-bank. Two weeks ago, our mission team had just agreed to fund a summer school program in L’Asile, and had met to strategize on further fundraising to pay for school supplies for L’Asile’s children. Then the earthquake hit, and everything changed in an instant.

There are no longer schools in L’Asile. The school buildings have collapsed. Instead of attending summer school, L’Asile’s children will now join their families in the struggle to find clean water and food. They will have to build new shelters to shield themselves from the inevitable storms. They will live in fear of another earthquake.

Our church will now be raising money for direct emergency aid for the people of L’Asile, which will be disbursed through HGYP. We cannot do this alone. The need is too great. We urge everyone in Melrose who cares about Haiti to give what they can to HGYP. Following the 2010 earthquake, many Americans gave generously to Haitian charities only to discover later that their donations were consumed by the salaries and administrative overhead of massive nonprofits. After a year of working with the Zama family and HGYP, we can attest that they have been completely transparent partners who have used their intimate knowledge of L’Asile and wide range of contacts there to ensure that donations go directly to those who need them most.

You can learn more about HGYP on their website at https://haitiglobalyouth.wixsite.com/website. There you will find a link to their Paypal account, where you will be able to give directly. Through your generosity, you may help to restore hope to people who now feel hopeless. Through the Zamas, Melrose has an unexpected personal connection to one of the neediest places in world at this moment. It would speak well of our community if we recognized that connection and opened our hearts to address that tremendous need.