By Tom Reichert, Special To The Bulletin

Even after his death and resurrection, Jesus continues to bring “good news to the poor, and liberty to the oppressed.” In Jesus we have a tangible reminder that “what is done even unto the very least, is done unto me.”

Six parishes in the archdiocese twin with a sister parish in Haiti through the Haiti Parish Twinning program of Nashville, Tenn. Sacred Heart Parish in downtown Atlanta is one of them. Sacred Heart has now sent five delegations to St. Pierre, Haiti, where we have helped paint the church and school, provided educational scholarships, financed a solar generator and brought a medical team. With the help of the parish St. Vincent de Paul Conference, Sacred Heart is working to build a medical clinic there and has hired a doctor from Port-au-Prince, the capital, to work in St. Pierre two weeks each month.

Sacred Heart is looking for another area parish to work with us in trying to meet at least minimal educational and medical needs in St. Pierre. A commitment to help would include taking a delegation from your parish (possibly a medical team) to visit St. Pierre, helping to supply medicine and support a doctor for the clinic and working with the schools. I believe this relationship will help you and your parish even more than it will help St. Pierre.

The road to St. Pierre is mountainous and during the rainy season it’s sometimes impassable. There is one priest for 40,000 parishioners, most of whom are illiterate and poor. There is little to no access to medical care. When our medical team visited in February 2001, hundreds were gathered outside the church at three in the morning waiting for the clinic to open. By morning, there were thousands. And through it all, lives were saved.

One such incident occurred on the road to St. Pierre. A mother had been waiting helpless since the day before. Her baby had died in her womb. A little arm had made it out, but that was it. The mother needed a doctor and this time there was one. This one impression points out why we do what we are doing. It’s a chance to use our gifts to care for others who are suffering through no fault of their own.

If you would like to help, please contact Tom Reichert, social concerns coordinator at Sacred Heart Church, at (404) 522-6800, extension 26.