His letter moves quickly from morning prayers to warfare in Port-au-Prince.

The former notes that morning Mass included a send-off for two volunteers heading home for the holidays. The latter, that Haiti’s capital is now patrolled by MINUSTAH, the United Nations peacekeeping force and the national police.

The Rev. Marc Boisvert, a Lewiston native, lives outside Les Cayes, a southern city only somewhat removed from the violence that engulfs what he calls the “war zone” of Port-au-Prince.

Boisvert runs Project Hope. The Catholic mission includes an orphanage that cares for nearly 250 youngsters, three schools, a health clinic, a soup kitchen and nearby, a planned farming village where older orphans learn skills and trades to help them later in life.

Project Hope has been taken under the charitable wing of St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Lewiston as well as organizations like the local Rotary Club.

One of St. Mary’s doctors, Cynthia DeSoi, regularly flies to Haiti to work with Father Marc, as he’s known, and the orphans. Volunteers from St. Mary’s also visit several times each year to bring medical supplies and help with the children and where ever else they’re needed.

The year 2004 should have been a celebratory year in Haiti, the French-speaking half of the island of Hispaniola. It was 200 years ago that the Haitians revolted against the French.

Instead, the year was filled was turmoil.

Revolution, Jeanne

First, another popular revolt overthrew the government of Jean-Bertrande Aristide and sent the one-time president into exile. The gangs that still roam Port-au-Prince began their terror during the political upheaval of last winter.

Then came Tropical Storm Jeanne. It killed hundreds, some say thousands, and left devastation in its wake.

Boisvert says that today in Port-au-Prince, many businesses and offices remain closed.

“The effect on us is a shortage of almost everything. High prices hurt us and it means that we have to cut back on essentials like food, propane, health and personal hygiene items,” he says via e-mail. “MINUSTAH, the U.N. forces here, joined forces with the National Police yesterday and entered Cite Soleil, a slum in P-a-P and stronghold of Aristide supporters. The belief is that much of the violence in Haiti begins in that area. Killing, maiming, stealing have become commonplace” in the capital.

As for Jeanne, he notes: “The poor of Gonaives are still struggling for the basics like clean water, food and shelter after the devastation of Hurricane Jeanne. International support has been sporadic and now, unfortunately, it is old news and not headline material.”

In Les Cayes, Boisvert says, things are better.

“We in the south are blessed as there’s very little violence here and MINUSTAH is everywhere,” he notes.

“Our work at the village is on hold due to shortages of money and supplies. Eighty of our younger children will be moving to the village right after Christmas. We need to build a primary school ($70,000) and a small clinic ($20,000) to care for the children and our neighboring villages. We have a proposal going into a major charity asking for funds for a decent medical/dental clinic but that will take a long time in coming if it ever does. In the meantime the kids get sick and bumps, bruises and contusions are daily things. More homes for the children are needed.

Angels of mercy’

“Dr. Cynthia DeSoi of Lewiston and a team of health care professionals from St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center are coming down in January. They’ll be bringing much needed medical supplies and will do immunizations while here.

“The people of St. Mary’s have been absolute angels of mercy. They are committed to helping the less fortunate and the city should be proud of them. Dr. DeSoi is our long-distance medical director and we are profoundly appreciative of her time, expertise and faith.

“The boy who was shot during the upheaval in late February and March is doing well. He’s got a 10-inch scar on his lower abdomen which he will gladly show you.

“Sadly, another one of my graduates was killed in Port-au-Prince. He moved there hoping to find employment and was caught in the crossfire. Fritz, nicknamed MasterBlade as he was a talented singer, was only 18.

“Our truck has been repaired thanks to the generosity of a friend in New Jersey. Buildings, trucks, roads, bridges can be fixed but children carry the effects of violence their entire lifetimes. You mentioned that the children are resilient. Yes, they are as they have been forced to adapt in order to survive but they are also scared down to their bones. There are now 246 children here and the recent arrivals take longer and longer to adjust.

“Moving the little ones to the village where there’s plenty of fresh air and room to play can only be good for them.”

Dr. DeSoi said people should know more about Boisvert’s mission.

“I think it is important to relate that I don’t think that anyone in Haiti has attempted anything on the scale of the project Father Marc has created,” she said. “That he can sustain such faith in the midst of such desolation is awe-inspiring … and I know that he does it all for the kids. I have no choice but to try to help.”

People who would like to help may send donations to Project Hope, c/o Jack Reynolds, 2303 West Market St., Greensboro, NC, 27403 ([email protected]), or contact Dr. Cynthia DeSoi at St. Mary’s in Lewiston.

Haiti at a glance

The latest report from the United Nations and the Haitian government states:

• Fifty-five percent of the population exists on less than $1 a day. Seventy-six percent get by on less than $2. The country has not experienced a lasting period of economic growth in 25 years.

• Approximately 38,000 children under 5 die each year, and the rate of deaths at birth (118 per 1,000) is the highest in the hemisphere.

• The food supply covers only 55 percent of the population. Some 2.4 million Haitians cannot afford enough food to support recommended caloric levels.

• An increasing number of women are dying in childbirth, and 80 percent of Haiti’s mothers do not deliver their children with the help of a hospital or health professional.

• One in 10 Haitians will have HIV/AIDS by 2015, and malaria and tuberculosis continue unchecked.