newspaper article

Something from the newspaper Le soleil from Quebec city. The picture is on the french version. Sorry


Sylvie Mathieu



This article taken from a french language newspaper in Québec is translated for the benefit of André and Sylvie's friends and supporters.




A cooperating couple comes within seven minutes from dying.




Port-au-Prince, Haiti : A cooperating couple originating from Longueuil (Québec), established in Haiti since last fall, literally escaped death by seven minutes last week when the earth shook in this city !




“André and I had decided to walk to the grocery store whereas we usually make our way over there by car.” Sylvie Mathieu explained. The couple therefore made their way to the “Caribbean” supermarket and paid for their purchases. “I have the sales slip in my hands; it indicates 16 hours 45 and the earthquake occurred at 16 hours 52 ! A few minutes later, the supermarket would have toppled over us !” an emotional André Drisdelle said, showing the sales slip he intends to keep as a cherished souvenir.




Disaster struck while André and Sylvie were returning home. “Fortunately, we were walking in the middle of the street because things began falling to the left and right of where we stood. André pulled my arm to avoid having a cement wall fall on my head.” Sylvie told us.




Upon returning to where their house once stood, this couple realized that the only things left were ruins. The roof had slipped in a ravine and the rest of the structure had collapsed like a pancake. The forty nine year old lady living with André and Sylvie became a prisoner under the rubble. “We could hear her screaming. We dug non-stop for fifteen hours and were finally able to find her at 7:45 the following morning. Her head suffered a severe cut four to five inches in length but nothing was broken !” André explained.




Makeshift hospital




Now without a place to stay like thousands of others in Port-au-Prince, this couple, whose primary goal while in Haiti is helping and working with single mothers, has decided to join Child Hope,a California-based humanitarian organization who runs the “Maison de la Lumière” orphanage. “These people allow us to stay and eat with them free of charge. The orphanage has been transformed into a makeshift hospital. Many amputations were done on site but, thanks be to God, there was no loss of life. It is calmer now but more than 1000 people in the area are not being nourished.” André said.




“Even though Child Hope has the resources and capability of feeding close to 1000 people per day, this organization is in dire lack of goods. We have a distribution center, but nothing to distribute !” André went on. “We went to the airport where we met other organizations such as CARE and the World Food Bank but we were told that since we did not have 20 – 40 thousand people to feed, our presence there was useless since they only nourish large masses at this time.”




No thought of coming home




In spite the difficult situation in which they find themselves, André and Sylvie are not thinking about returning home. “A team from the States had come over for ten days to help in the orphanage but quickly returned home once the earthquake occurred, fearing for their lives.” Sylvie went on to explain. “But as far as we are concerned, our hearts remain with these people; we were unable to let our friends down nor watch people we took care of and helped these last few months slowly die of hunger.”