IN MEMORY OF PIERRE ST-AMOUR – EN MÉMOIRE DE PIERRE ST-AMOUR
On Jan. 12, 2010, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
The devastation:
· More than two million people were affected.
· Nearly 190,000 houses were damaged; of those, 105,000 were completely destroyed.
· More than 500,000 survivors remain homeless – a population as large as Oslo, Norway; Panama City, Panama; or Las Vegas, Nevada.
I’m proud and honored to announce that I’ll be joining the “Grace Fuller Center” and “One Small House" in spring 2012 as we travel to Haiti to build simple, decent homes for families displaced by the devastating earthquake of January 2010. We will partner with homeowners and local Haitian craftspeople to construct six homes as part of a 56-home development already underway in Lambi, a site located between the cities of Carrefour and Leogane, not far from the epicenter of the earthquake.
We will not be building temporary shelters, but permanent homes, designed to withstand earthquakes and category 4 hurricanes, and positioned to be at the center of a new community. Prior to the earthquake, Haiti was the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Afterward, conditions became immeasurably worse. Granted, we all have the natural tendency to block out horrible news, political strife and economic corruption. We think: What can I, one person, do? In Haiti, however, progress has been made. Rubble has been cleared. Rebuilding has begun, and some people have moved out of their temporary quarters and where possible, returned home. The Haitian people are determined and hardworking and deserve the assistance of us, their more fortunate neighbors. Why go? We will not cure all of Haiti’s ills, but in the words of Edward Hale, “I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.”
For those of you who remember my brother Pierre, or the family cottage we used to own, one thing we always said in french: “A gang, on peut le faire”. In english, “All together, we can do it”.
It is with great privilege that I’m dedicating this trip to the memory of my brother Pierre, who would always put the needs of others ahead of his. No matter what the consequences were. At the moment, I’m planning on attending trip no. 90029 (March 25-31). With your help, and generosity, I would like to spend three weeks in Haiti. There is another build on April 8 to 14 (trip no. 90030) and the Residence Filariose, where we will be staying in Léogane as accepted for me to do some volunteer work for them, should I choose and afford to stay.
I love you Bro, and I hope I’ll make you proud.
Little Bro
xo My fundraising goal is $3,000.
Stéphane St-Amour
Canada
We'd love to hear your comments!