Tag Archives: Ryan Worms

January 16, 2012 · 5:04 PM

Safe haven for migrants on Mexico border

À la porte de la maison de la charité Mario demande à manger. Photo: Worms/Caritas

Read in French or Spanish

By Ryan Worms

The journey escaping from poverty in Central America in search of prosperity in the United States and Canada is a dangerous one for the migrants who try their luck. More than 20,000 migrants are held by criminal gangs each year on the route. Theft, violence and sexual assault are all common events.

These mostly young people have already come along way by the time they reach San Luis de Potosi in Mexico. They arrive by freight train. Beside the track is the House of Charity, where local Caritas Potosi staff offer them safe haven. The hostel relocated last year out of the town centre so the migrants didn’t have to face the gangs operating there. Continue reading →

Leave a Comment

Filed under Français, Migration and Trafficking

Tagged as , , ,

November 11, 2011 · 11:00 AM

New homes for Haitians

Keys to a new home built after the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Credit: Ryan Worms/Caritas

Read in French and Spanish

By Ryan Worms

Almost two years on from the earthquake of 12 January 2010, more than 600,000 people are still displaced in camps. They live in extremely precarious conditions and their health security is at risk.

Three dioceses were particularly affected by the earthquake: Port-au-Prince, Jacmel and Anse-à-Veau/Miragoâne. In certain areas more than 90 percent of the houses were destroyed.

Duval is a village set in the hills above Port-au-Prince, one hour’s drive from the capital. Bernard and his family live in this area. His wife Marie Gerta St Hilaire recalls 12 January 2010: “When the ground started to shake I panicked. I asked my husband to come and help me, but he could barely stand up. When we were able to get back to our house, it wasn’t there anymore. Everything had been destroyed, and there was devastation everywhere. After a while, we moved into a shack with our children. It was very hard, and I didn’t know if we’d ever get out of it.”

There is renewed hope for Bernard and his family: the inauguration of their new house. It was built as part of a partnership between Caritas Haiti and Caritas Ecuador. In Duval, on this first Sunday of November, 31 other families received the keys of their new homes during a ceremony organised in the presence of the President of Caritas Ecuador, Msgr Julio Parrilla.
Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under Emergencies, Español, Français, Haiti quake

Tagged as , , , ,