From Gerry: "Thanksgiving Day is not celebrated in Haiti. For me, every day I must give thanks to God for all those who have made the Santa Chiara Children’s Center a beautiful, loving reality since May 2015. Since then, we’ve served hundreds of children and provided a living for more than sixty impoverished families. If my dear friend Sr. Immacula, MC, had not been transferred back to India, she would tell me, 'Gerry, just trust in God.'"
That trust is especially necessary now. 2020 has not been a good year for any country, and Haiti is no exception. Covid, the increasing violence in the streets, and a dramatic decrease in the money exchange rate have all made this an especially trying year for Santa Chiara.
We are thankful that SCCC continues to operate, and that all of our children are able to live in freedom - freedom from poverty, from hunger, from ignorance, from intolerance, from fear. We are thankful for the donors that keep the children in school, and the nurses and doctors that keep them healthy.
As we enter into 2021, we are forced to make some hard decisions. The center is not sustainable at current levels; the budget doesn't allow us to house, feed and educate all 55 kids. We will need to make some changes - decreasing staff levels and placing more children elsewhere, possibly dropping down to as few as 35 children.
