February 10, 2010

Food cards are key for homeless quake victims in search of a meal

PETIONVILLE, Haiti (CNS)—Hundreds of people lined up in the center of Petionville early Feb. 1 as the U.N. food distribution system began making its way into the neighborhoods and suburbs of Port-au-Prince.

Nearly three weeks after the Jan. 12 earthquake destroyed large portions of the metropolitan area and beyond, the U.N.’s World Food Program made its first visit to suburban Petionville, located in the hills overlooking the Haitian capital.

As hundreds of people flocked to the Petionville City Hall to register for cards entitling them to a 110-pound sack of rice, a slightly smaller group of people waited patiently for their allotment outside the National Police station fronting the town’s central park. “I’m very happy,” said Daniel Jonel, 26, as he waited behind a security detail made up of U.N. peacekeepers from Nepal backed by members of the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.

 “I feel good.” Jonel told Catholic News Service that, a day earlier, he had waited in line for five hours to get the cherished food entitlement card. He planned to share the rice with friends staying in the tent camp that has filled every corner of the park.

HOW TO HELP

Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. bishops’ international relief and development agency, is accepting donations for Haitian relief.
Donate via phone: 1-877-HELP-CRS or text RELIEF to 30644
Donate online: www.crs.org
Mail a check:
Catholic Relief Services
P.O. Box 17090
Baltimore, MD 21203-7090
In memo line, write: "Haiti Earthquake"