Updates on our partners and mission personnel in Haiti

Bishop Jean Zaché Duracin, who leads the PC(USA)’s partner church in Haiti, is living in a tent city in Port-au-Prince after his home was destroyed.

Duracin, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti, rejected offers to be evacuated after his home crumbled in the January 12 earthquake.  He vowed to “stay with my people,” the Episcopal News Service Reported.

In addition to the bishop’s home, several Diocesan buildings in Port-au-Prince were destroyed, including the Holy Trinity Cathedral, the Sisters of St. Margaret convent and College St. Pierre.  At least three parish buildings outside Port-au-Prince collapsed or were severely damaged. Four people were killed while worshiping in an Episcopal congregation in Trouin. No further information is available about other casualties or injuries related to the collapse of our partner church’s buildings. The Haitian government estimates that 200,000 people were killed in the earthquake.

Hôpital Sainte Croix (Holy Cross Hospital) in Leogane, a Diocesan ministry that for decades has been a major focus of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission in Haiti, received serious damage. Earlier reports indicated that the hospital had collapsed, but more recent information indicates that the building is still standing. However, a guesthouse and an apartment owned by the hospital were destroyed. Hospital officials believe that all hospital staff survived the earthquake. Keep reading.