NEW ROCHELLE, NY (January 12, 2011) – A year after the earthquake damaged nearly all of its schools and buildings in the Port-au-Prince area, Salesian Missions has launched a news site that focuses on “progress,” while so much media attention is being paid to the opposite.

The purpose of ProgressInHaiti.org is to provide information and insight about programs and progress in Haiti related to Salesian efforts as well as those of partner organizations and overall issues in the poor, earthquake ravaged country.

Stories include “Reading, Writing and Rebuilding a Country: Training Tomorrow’s Leaders in Haiti” – about schools in operation despite of the fact that its buildings were destroyed and some things are in short supply. The school has found ways to turn the circumstances into learning opportunities. Children are returning to classrooms in temporary shelters built by Salesian Missions’ own vocational students.

Another article published with the news site’s premiere reports on a new Salesian University Network. Hundreds of university students who have been unable to return to school following the Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake will have a chance to continue their education through 13 computer labs or cybercafés throughout Haiti.

More articles that report on progress in Haiti, can be viewed at ProgressInHaiti.org.

ABOUT SALESIAN MISSIONS IN HAITI:
In the aftermath of Haiti’s earthquake, Salesian Missions provided disaster relief to victims—many of them their own students and teachers. Early efforts focused on the basic human needs of food, water, medical supplies, survival kits and tents for shelter. Thousands of refugees were housed within the confines of those facilities which were not destroyed, and thousands more were provided meals.

The Salesian Missions Office for International Programs, located in New Rochelle, NY, was assigned the task of coordinating relief efforts immediately after the earthquake. Donations are still desperately needed and can be made directly from ProgressInHaiti.org.

In the aftermath, 59 containers of relief supplies—including food, water, clothing, medical supplies, computers, personal hygiene supplies, water purification plants, water purification tablets, 1,600 schools in a box, 10 industrial generators, and forklifts—were shipped, as well as two school buses and nearly 2,000 tents. To ensure the most effective use of supplies, Salesian Missions evaluates the situation at each of its sites to match needs with available resources.

To date, approximately $2.5 million in funds have been spent by Salesian Missions on relief efforts for the Haitian people, along with additional in-kind donations. More than 23,000 students and 1,200 teachers have returned to classes at 10 Salesian Missions educational works.

Today the efforts are focused on rebuilding the country with the promise of its youth. While some humanitarian organizations and many people have left the country, the Salesians will continue with their work for the people of Haiti as they have since 1935. They are an integral part of the fragile nation’s infrastructure.

ABOUT SALESIAN MISSIONS:
Salesian Missions is headquartered in New Rochelle, NY, and is part of the Don Bosco Network—a worldwide federation of Salesian NGOs. The mission of the U.S.-based nonprofit Catholic organization is to raise funds for international programs that serve youth and families in poor communities around the globe. The Salesian missionaries are made up of priests, brothers and sisters, as well as laypeople—all dedicated to caring for poor children throughout the world in more than 130 countries, helping young people become self-sufficient by learning a trade that will help them gain employment. To date, more than 3 million youth have received services funded by Salesian Missions. These services and programs are provided to children regardless of race or religion. To date, more than 5 million Americans have contributed financially to this work.