NEW HAVEN, USA – Following Saturday’s 7.2-magnitude earthquake, the leader of the Knights of Columbus, Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly, offered his prayerful support for the people of Haiti and made an initial commitment of $250,000 to assist those suffering on the island nation. “Our prayers are with our neighbours in Haiti as they recover from yet another tragedy and seek once again to rebuild,” Kelly said. “Just as we reached out to provide aid following the 2010 earthquake, the Knights of Columbus will again reach out in charity to help our neighbours in need in Haiti.”
After the 2010 earthquake, the Knights of Columbus became active in the nation, providing over $1 million in financial assistance to Haitians in need, but particularly by way of restoring mobility to injured Haitians.
Through its partnership with the Global Wheelchair Mission, the Knights of Columbus has delivered more than 1,000 wheelchairs to Haiti. In collaboration with Project Medishare, the Knights contributed major financial support for a sustainable prosthetics and rehabilitation program in Haiti and helped to create the Emilio B. Moure Clinic for Hope in Port-au-Prince. Moure, the late supreme secretary of the Knights, was instrumental in the program’s development.
The Emilio B. Moure Clinic for Hope houses materials and equipment, and it serves as a classroom for training Haitians who are eligible to be hired as prosthetic technicians. The mobility projects eventually resulted in the formation of an all-amputee soccer club and a documentary film, produced by the Knights of Columbus, which highlighted the resilience of the Haitian people.
“The Knights of Columbus is a fraternal organization with a deep sense of brotherhood among our members,” Kelly said. “In keeping with the mission of our founder, Blessed Michael McGivney, we are also deeply committed to a charity which sees all humanity as brothers and sisters.”
