Croatian Relief Services Inc.

Orphans Found a Home at the Cardinal Stepinac Children’s Center.

Haiti was hit with a catastrophic earthquake on January 12, 2010. Several days after the quake, a Priest from the Croatian Catholic mission in Fairview NJ, USA. Fr. Giordano Belanich, arrived in Haiti.

Fr. Gio, a Preist from the Island of Ilovik, who currently resides in the USA, formed an organization called Croatian Relief Services during the war in Croatia. His mission was to help the people of his homeland. Towards the end of the conflict in Croatia, Fr. Gio redirected his attention toward Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The catastrophic earthquake prompted Croatian Relief Services to help the people of Haiti. Fr. Giordano found a parcel of land on which he established an orphanage, dedicated to the Blessed Cardinal Aloysius Stepinac. At this time, there are 47 orphaned and abandoned children living in the center. The majority of the children living in the center are between 3 and 8 years old. The youngest, Widson, will turn two in March 2012, and the oldest girl, Naelle, is 15. The center is being run by local women, with the help of two Croatian women and one American. The residents of the center welcomed Fr. Gio during his most recent trip in February 2012, with a song and a smile.

On Sunday, February 10, 2013, in a nearby church run by a Haitian Priest named Father Coupe, the residents of the Cardinal Stepinac Children’s Center celebrated the feast of the  Blessed Cardinal Stepinac. At that time, Fr. Belanich baptised little Widson. His God parents are Ivan Baric and Sanja Boban, Croatian who reached out to help this abandoned child. Widson was brought to the Cardinal Stepinac Children’s Center by the religious sisters of Jesus and Mary in the city of Gros Morne. He was just 22 days old when he arrived. He had lost his mother in childbirth, and his father, who had other children, could not afford to care for him. When the sisters brough him to us, he was so tiny that he could fit in the palm of your hand, and his very existence was in jeopardy. Despite many obstacles, including tuberculosis and bronchitis, he managed to survive. He was baptised during mass in the presence of the Children, residents of the Children’s Center, and friends. The children were overjoyed that the youngest member of the group became a member of the church.

However, the situation in Haiti is continually deteriorating. The children suffer most of all, due to lack of food, medicine, and basic necessities. We know that our center is supported by many Croatians in our homeland, and we are grateful to them, from the bottom of our hearts. The motto of our center is: “let us save at least one child.”

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Father Giordano Belanich

Proslava Stepincevo po prvi put u povijesti Haitija

Siroce pronaslo dom kod kardinala Stepinca Nekoliko dana nakon katastrofalnog potresa koji je 12. January 2010 Godine pogodio Haiti, u glavni grad- Port-au-Prince, stigao je dusobriznik Hrvatske Katolicke Misije iz Fairviewa u New Jerseyu, Vel. Giordano Belanich.

Za vrijeme Domovinskog rata ovaj hrvatski svecenik porijeklom s otoka Ilovilka I s prebivalistem u Americi, osniva organizaciju pod nazivom Croatian Relief Services (CRS) s ciljem slanja pomoci u domovinu I regiju. Po zavrsetku Domovinskog rata pater Gio, kako ga zovu od milja, napore CRS-a usmjerava prema Haitiju, tada najsiromasnijoj zemlji zapadne hemisfere. Veliki i katastrofalni potres koji je u sijecnju 2010. Godine udario Haiti potaknuo je Croatian Relief Services na hitno djelovanje I pomoc zrtvama potresa.

Silom prilika vel. Giordano Belanich pronasao je zemljiste na kome je utemeljio sadasnje sirotiste I Djecji Centar posvecen Blazenom kardinalu Alojziju Stepincu u kojem trenutacno prebiva 47 napustene djece, kojim je vecina roditelja poginula tijekom potresa. Vecina djece koja zive u ovom centru su izmedju 3 i 8 godina. Najmladji Widson u ozujku ce napuniti dvije godine, a najstarija djevojcica Naelle- 15 godina. Sirotiste vode lokalne zene koje se brinu za djecu uz pomoc dviju Hrvatica iz Zagreba i jedne Amerikanke koje ondje zive. Sticenici centra Blazenog Alojzija Stepinca s osmijehom i pjesmom su docekali vlc. Belanicha koji je pohodio centar od 4. do 12. Veljace 2013. Godine. U nedjelju, 10. veljace u susjednoj crkvi proslavili smo Stepincevo svecanom svetom misom, na kojoj su djeca sirotista pjevala na engleskom i kreolskom jeziku. U misnoj koncelebraciji sudjelovao je mjesni svecenik pater Coupe, cije se sjemeniste nalazi uz nas Centar. Tom zgodom vlc. Belanich krstio je najmladjeg sticenika Centra, s kumovima Ivanom Barichem I Sanjom Boban. Widson je u nas centar dosao iz najsiromasnijeg planinskog dijela otoka, a clanom haicanske Stepinceve obitelji postao je u travnju 2011. Godine, u dobi od svega 22 dana. Nakon smrti majke pri porodu, I uz oca koji ima i stariju djecu I nije se mogao brinuti za njega, Widsona su casne sestre dovele k nama. Kad je djecak stigao, bio je toliko malen da je mogao pocivati na dlanu odraslog covjeka. Bio je pothranjen i bilo je upitno hoce li prezivjeti. No, usprkos mnogim bolestima koje je prosao I prezivio- preko tuberkuloze do upale pluca, postao je privatni mali heroj naseg Centra I danas je miljenik sve djece I osoblja. Krsten je svecanom sv. misom pracenom slavljem suradnika, zaposlenika, prijatelja i sticenika. Nadjenuto mu je krsno ime Widson Alojzije, prema kardinalu Alojziju Stepincu. Djeca su bila presretna sto je najmladji clan sirotista postao clan crkve.

Situacija na Haitiju je doslovce sve teza svakoga dana. Najvise od svih trpe djeca koja i dalje umiru od gladi, posvemasnje bijede, kao i izlijecivih bolesti- zbog nedostatka lijekova I elementarnih potreba. Velika je oskudica hrane, vode, lijekova i drugih neophodnih potrepstina. Haiti je nacija sirocadi, a malo je onih koji bi se mogli pobrinuti za njih. Svjesni smo da nas Centar pomazu Hrvati u Domovini I ovim putem im se od srca zahvaljujemo jer je vrlo upitno gdje bi polovica ove djece danas bila i bi li uopce bili zivi da se nismo za njih pobrinuli. Geslo ovog centra jest: spasimo barem jedno dijete, a Bog ce se preko srdaca dobrih ljudi pobrinuti za ostale.

Srdacno Vas brat po Kristu,

Velecasni Giordano Belanich