CHF International Recovers Archives From the Catholic Church in Haiti

HUMANITARIAN AID GROUP RESCUES HAITIAN HISTORY IN DOCUMENTS DATING BACK 200 YEARS

SILVER SPRING, Md., March 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- CHF International (CHF), the Silver Spring-MD based international development and humanitarian assistance organization, has recovered important historic documents and records from the Port-au-Prince Cathedral of Haiti, which sustained major damages in the January 12 earthquake.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100302/DC63416 )

Representatives of the office of Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot, who was a victim of the earthquake, approached CHF to help recover the archives – documents including marriage certificates, baptismal certificates and building papers.  These documents date back to when Haiti first gained independence over 200 years ago.

CHF worked on the site with heavy machinery for three days and managed to recover 90 percent of the archives.  The Ambassador of the Vatican to Haiti was onsite for one of the days to ensure CHF recovered the most important documents, and members of the archdiocese collected the documents as CHF removed the rubble.  

"The population of Haiti is over 80 percent Catholic, but these documents aren't just important to the Catholic Church.  They represent the cultural and social history of Haiti, stretching back the full existence of the country as an independent nation.  We knew what an important task this was for the welfare of Haiti moving forward because these records aren't available anywhere else," said Alberto Wilde, CHF International Country Director for Haiti.

The Port-au-Prince Cathedral, a seminary, and some archdiocesan offices sustained major damages in the earthquake, which among its many victims were General Vicar Charles Benoit, the Chancellor, and many seminarians, as well as the sister of His Eminence, Paulo Evaristo Cardinal Arns, the Archbishop Emeritus of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Since 2006, CHF's team has been undertaking the largest USAID-funded infrastructure rehabilitation and job creation program in Haiti, and had been focusing many of its efforts on repairing vital infrastructure damaged in the 2008 tropical storm season.

ABOUT CHF INTERNATIONAL

CHF International is an international development and humanitarian assistance organization, currently working in more than 25 countries around the world. The organization's mission is to be a catalyst for long-lasting positive change in low- and moderate-income communities around the world, helping them to improve their social, economic and environmental conditions. CHF International programs are community-led initiatives designed to build a better world.  For more information, visit www.chfinternational.org.

SOURCE CHF International