Solidarity: Archdiocesan gift helps flood victims in Camaguey

By Mary Ann Wyand

Widespread flooding in Camaguey, Cuba, on May 25 killed two people, destroyed more than 100 houses and left an estimated 600 people without homes and bedding materials.

After learning about the flooding from Catholic Relief Services staff members, Church officials in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis were able to provide $10,000 in emergency assistance to the Archdiocese of Camaguey to help people in need there.

Property damage in Camaguey, the third largest city in Cuba with 270,000 residents, displaced people in the city and suburbs after the Tinima, Hatibonico, Caridad and Juan del Toro rivers and several smaller streams

overflowed their banks then flooded the Saratoga, El Jardin, Reparto Militar, La Belen and Vista Hermosa neighborhoods.

In the wake of the flooding, staff

members of Caritas Cuba and Caritas Camaguey—Catholic Charities offices in Cuba—asked Catholic Relief Services (CRS) officials for $10,000 in emergency assistance to buy mattresses, towels, household utensils and construction materials to help people affected by the flood.

Brian Goonan, Catholic Relief Services country manager for Cuba, who is based in Baltimore, contacted the Archdiocese of Indianapolis—which formed a Church partnership with the Archdiocese of Camaguey through CRS’s Global Solidarity Partnership program in 2000—about the flood and immediate needs.

Msgr. Joseph F. Schaedel, vicar general, said he was able to respond to Camaguey’s request for $10,000, thanks to “a windfall gift” to the archdiocesan Mission Office that came at a providential time.

This relationship of solidarity and

pastoral sharing between the archdioceses dates back seven years when a group of central Indiana Catholics formed a

volunteer organization called “CUBA 2000 and Beyond” to reach out to their brothers and sisters in Cuba.

CRS officials then arranged for the archdioceses of Camaguey and Indianapolis to form a spiritual partnership based on

delegation visits and prayer exchanges.

Indianapolis Catholics also collect donated medical supplies, which have been sent to Camaguey in recent years.

When Mario Gonzalez, director of Caritas Camaguey, learned about the emergency assistance, he sent a thank you note to the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.

“We are most grateful for your recent

e-mail and to hear of the generosity of our brothers and sisters in Indianapolis,” Gonzalez wrote in the letter.

“Only God knows how deeply grateful we are for this gesture of brotherhood of those brothers and sisters who, although far from us, are united with us through the same faith and love through Jesus Christ,” Gonzalez wrote. “Please express our

eternal gratitude to all, and may God bless you for this friendship and generosity.”

St. Barnabas parishioner Chuck Boehm of Indianapolis, who coordinates the steering committee, said he is grateful that the archdiocese was able to provide needed funds to help Caritas Cuba with flood recovery efforts.

“When I heard about the flood, my thought was that maybe we could get [approval for] some second collections in parishes,” Boehm said. “I sent out an

e-mail to the rest of the steering

committee and asked if anybody had any ideas about how to help. Then I got an

e-mail back from Msgr. Schaedel saying that the Mission Office had received a

little windfall and could provide the full $10,000.

“The Mission Office sent the check to Brian Goonan [at CRS in Baltimore] and he will get it forwarded to Camaguey,” Boehm said. “If there was ever a case of God working in mysterious and quick ways, then that was it.” †