How you can help the people of Haiti

The recent images of the violent, gang-led coup in Haiti are so lurid it's easy to forget about the innocent people caught in the chaos. But they're there, trying to go about their daily lives in a barely functioning society.

So are the many charities trying to help them. Sending money to Haiti can seem like a fool's errand; the country seems to attract more than its share of foreign grifters and bloated, ineffectual NGOs.

A doctor-priest finds hope amid the horror.

Nobody is getting rich from the organizations founded and/or run by Father Rick Frechette, but they have enriched the lives of thousands of Haitians.

In his more than 35 years in Haiti, Fr. Frechette has seen misery that few Americans can imagine. (Although this harrowing and vivid account written in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake will give you an idea.)

He moved there after meeting Fr. William B. Wasson, founder of Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos/Nos Petits Frères et Soeurs (NPH), a mission helping poor children in Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean.

After working in a hospice for mothers dying of AIDS, the Connecticut-born Frechette went on to establish an orphanage. When he realized how badly his new home lacked doctors, he returned to America to get a medical degree, then came back to Haiti to oversee NPH's pediatric hospital, St. Damien's.

In 2000, Fr. Frechette worked with young Haitians (many of whom began their lives in the orphanage he started, some of whom he delivered at St. Damien's) to found the St. Luke Foundation, a Haitian organization that provides health care and education to the poorest of the poor.

Read Fr. Frechette's tribute to one such colleague and friend here.

Despite all the people the foundation has helped, the temptation to despair is always present. For a long time, much of Fr. Frechette's ministry was simply to provide the nameless dead crowding the streets and morgues with a dignified burial:

"Sometimes with horrible things, you really feel there is nothing you can do. Nothing. You’re just useless," Fr. Frechette has said. "But over time, you start seeing that to do the right thing no matter what has tremendous power.”

No doubt the current situation in Haiti has done nothing to dispel that sense of futility. But Fr. Frechette and his team soldier on. NPH USA representative Jennifer Rayno gave Align this update:

Despite the difficulty, St. Damien is one of few hospitals that continues to provide 24/7 care. We have implemented a rotation system that enables the staff, mainly medical personnel, to be on site for 24 hours or more to minimize moving back and forth as safely as possible. We have been in a red zone for some time and as a result we are receiving complicated and critical cases due to understandable hesitation.

With lack of supplies and increased demands, expenses have risen exponentially. We would be grateful for any attention you can bring to the good work at St. Damien Hospital and our current pressing needs for medical supplies, food, water, and fuel for the generators that keep the hospital running. Folks can be directed to: www.nphusa.org/helpStDamien