Serving the Least Favored

"Superstorm" Sandy has left an indelible mark on the coastal areas of New Jersey and New York.  Destruction and disruption are the word of the day, and, no doubt, for many more days to come.  Huge relief and reconstruction efforts are underway, and in time most of the physical scars will be gone, leaving only those in the psyche's of Sandy's victims. With all this chaos right on our own shores, we can imagine a bit more realistically what suffering people in other parts of the world are undergoing, say, for instance in Syria and Haiti.  Word from FMSI (Marist International, our organization which serves the world's poor) informs us of distructive and disruptive situations which have no end in sight.  Yet, our Marist Presence there is offering some rays of hope.
In Syria, the "Marist Blues", lay volunteers working with a few Marist Brothers are providing food and other necessities to refugees who have come to a "safe quarter" in Alepo...relatively safe, as rebels move closer and mortar shells fall more and more frequently.  A bright note was sounded when Moslems came to volunteer to help the Marist Blues with their mission.  Working side by side at this level, Christians and Moslems are demonstrating that a peaceful yet diverse community is possible.
Haiti recently observed the second anniversary of the earthquake that changed life in Port au Prince dramatically. Right there in the midst of the lingering ruins of the city, the Marist Brothers are engaged in their mission of education, seeing to it that orphans farmed out to "host families" are given the opportunity to receive at least a basic education.  The brothers are pressuring the host families to enroll in schools the orphans known as "little domestic workers" (in some cases, a euphemism for "slaves") in their care.  The brothers are also encouraging these families and civil authorities to make known the wherabouts of other such children so that they too will have the opportunity for an education. 
The charism and energy of St. Marcellin lives on in these dedicated brothers and in the generosity of the world-wide Marist Family, which is helping to fund these projects. Something else to add to our gratitude list on Thanksgiving.
Bro. Rene