Friday, February 25, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Haiti Mission Trip Update
1/29/2011 Haiti Mission Trip Update From Shelly Mannella
We need more time. There is so much to accomplish here and each time we think it will be easy it becomes more complicated. We visited Mother Teresa's orphanage yesterday. The sister's are incredible. It's hard to explain all they do and they never complain or get angry. They hear sick babies crying all day and still smile. When it was time for us to leave the babies started crying and one of the sisters took out crackers. She offered them to the kids but they shook their heads no. She said " Crackers can't replace the human touch".
Today we spent the day at an orphanage. Dr. Sem came to examine the kids. 85% of them need some kind of antibiotic. He saw 38 kids. The rest of us played with the kids while the others were being examined. These kids are so spiritual, they sing like angels and to listen to their prayers, it's unbelievable.
We stopped by an area where the bodies were dumped after the earthquake. It is full of black crosses and it's a very moving spot. We placed some rosaries on some of the crosses and prayed for their souls.
Thank you to everyone for your continous prayer, we have been blessed.
Please continue to pray, on Monday we will go to Mother Teresa's house for the dying. We have never been there and hope our prayers for the people will comfort them.
God Bless
Shelley, Missy, Marie
Friday, January 28, 2011
Haiti Mission Trip Update
1/27/2011 Haiti Mission Trip Update From Shelly Mannella
We went to Reiser Heights today. It is a breathtaking drive up the mountain. The contrast is incredible. We came from cement and dust, up the mountain to fresh air and green land. It's still poverty but I say in the city it's chaotic poverty, in the mountain, it's quite poverty. It was good to visit Mialta, principle at Reiser Heights while school was in session.
The children are beautiful. We had them make bracelets with pipe cleaners and beads. Can you imagine going into our public schools and doing this and having the kids like it? We also had tooth paste and tooth brushes to give them along with school supplies and balls to play with. Two members of our team bought goats for some people in the community around Reiser Heights and we delivered them to the new owners.
There is a lot of need up there for the up keep of the building, adding new class rooms, stocking the shelves at the medical clinic, and keeping up on the salaries of the teachers. They work hard there to provide an education and also to involve the community in the school. The teachers were patient and kind, but the school books are worn.
They will continue on in their silent poverty trying to make a life for the children by providing them with an education.
Reiser Heights by Marie Schrank Hi, it's Marie. We had such a great day today; taking in all the beauty that Haiti truly has to offer. We took a two hour drive up the Mts. of Fort-Jacques /Donte/Lespinasse, which was absolutely breath taking and gave me a whole new perspective of Haiti. The drive took us up to Reiser Heights which is a school for all age children of which over 400 attend. What a wonderful time we had sharing a craft and treats with the kids. The Haitiian children are so kind and grateful. You can see the innocence and love in their eyes. They loved our presence and we loved being with them. It was hard to leave them. We took many wonderful pictures and hope to share them with you all. Many blessings to you all until tomorrow.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Haiti Mission Trip Update
1/26/2011 Haiti Mission Trip Update From Shelly Mannella
We finally arrived and we are safe. We had to spend the night in Miami last night due to a broken airplane. We arrived at 10:00am today It is so nice to be back. The smells, the sounds, and the people, are what make me always want to come back.
We were able to do runs on the water truck today. The people still need the water desperatly. We were able to treat a few people who had wounds and we made some oral rehydration salts to send back to a very sick baby along with some infant tylenol. There are a few new additions to City Soleil this trip. Cholera clinics. They've set up two large areas with tents for cholera treatment and prevention. We also finally noticed there is some reconstruction going on.
We are going to Reiser Heights tomorrow and really looking forward to it. We plan on buying goats for a few families up there and have a lot of supplies to leave with them.
God Bless
Shelley
Reiser Heights Primary School is up in the mountains of Les Pinasse, Reiser Relief has built a school, kitchen, sanitary block and 30,000 gallon cistern for 300+ children. To travel here you take road that is a very long and bumpy ride up the mountain will allow you to see the beautiful country side and farming communities of Haiti.
The water truck operates six days a week making four deliveries too many neighborhoods in Cite Soleil and reaching numerous impoverished families where the local people carry the water home in 5 gallon buckets.
Local Coon Rapids Groups Still Reaching Out to Haiti Quake Victims
1-14-2011 - Coon Rapids CTN NEWS Video
Watch 7:50 minutes into the video for Reiser Relief news clip on Haiti
Local Groups Still Reaching Out to Haiti Quake Victims
Written by Stephanie Ring
Friday, January 14, 2011 03:43 PM
City of Coon Rapids Minnesota, Cable News Network
COON RAPIDS, Minn. -- This week marks the one year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti. The natural disaster killed more than 300,000 people and left much of the country in ruins.
Several local organizations have helped in Haiti over the past year but volunteers say progress is slow. Still, that hasn't dampened their spirits to keep helping.
"I didn't see a whole lot of clean up going on."
Shelley Mannella has travelled to Haiti two times since the earthquake as a volunteer for Reiser Relief, a non-profit organization that helps the country's poor.
"It was bad before but now it's bad on top of bad."
Mannella says much of the rubble remains in the country. She's headed to Haiti again in just over a week again.
"I don't expect to see anything different."
Estimates are at least one million people have been displaced from their homes because of the quake.
Mannella says, "I know people are afraid to go back inside, even if they have a house, they're afraid to sleep inside."
Thousands of people are living in tents and organizations like Reiser Relief and others are bringing in fresh water for people to drink. And Coon Rapids based Feed My Starving Children provided 58 million pre-packaged meals to Haiti last year. That's double what it normally sends.
FMSC Executive Director Mark Crea says, "The need is still great. We can't this coming year send less food to Haiti than we did last year. We need to send as much or more actually so we need your help again."
The non-profit hopes that Americans will keep their hearts and their wallets open as they continue to send food to the country. And for Carole Stufflebeam, a nurse from Prior Lake who is working in an orphanage and clinic in Haiti, she says food shipped from the U.S. is helping to fill a void for people who simply can't provide for themselves.
Stufflebeam says, "The amount of people that are still left in camps, there is no way these people can make money and there's no way they can do a garden and so what direction do they go? And that is for a long period of time, we're going to have to see what we can do to meet those needs until we can get these people independent."
Along with a government in transition, removing the rubble is the other largest barrier right now. There's not enough heavy equipment in Haiti and the cost is staggering.
For more information on the Haiti earthquake or to help the victims, check out the following links:
Reiser Relief
Feed My Starving Children
American Red Cross
Watch 7:50 minutes into the video for Reiser Relief news clip on Haiti
Local Groups Still Reaching Out to Haiti Quake Victims
Written by Stephanie Ring
Friday, January 14, 2011 03:43 PM
City of Coon Rapids Minnesota, Cable News Network
COON RAPIDS, Minn. -- This week marks the one year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti. The natural disaster killed more than 300,000 people and left much of the country in ruins.
Several local organizations have helped in Haiti over the past year but volunteers say progress is slow. Still, that hasn't dampened their spirits to keep helping.
"I didn't see a whole lot of clean up going on."
Shelley Mannella has travelled to Haiti two times since the earthquake as a volunteer for Reiser Relief, a non-profit organization that helps the country's poor.
"It was bad before but now it's bad on top of bad."
Mannella says much of the rubble remains in the country. She's headed to Haiti again in just over a week again.
"I don't expect to see anything different."
Estimates are at least one million people have been displaced from their homes because of the quake.
Mannella says, "I know people are afraid to go back inside, even if they have a house, they're afraid to sleep inside."
Thousands of people are living in tents and organizations like Reiser Relief and others are bringing in fresh water for people to drink. And Coon Rapids based Feed My Starving Children provided 58 million pre-packaged meals to Haiti last year. That's double what it normally sends.
FMSC Executive Director Mark Crea says, "The need is still great. We can't this coming year send less food to Haiti than we did last year. We need to send as much or more actually so we need your help again."
The non-profit hopes that Americans will keep their hearts and their wallets open as they continue to send food to the country. And for Carole Stufflebeam, a nurse from Prior Lake who is working in an orphanage and clinic in Haiti, she says food shipped from the U.S. is helping to fill a void for people who simply can't provide for themselves.
Stufflebeam says, "The amount of people that are still left in camps, there is no way these people can make money and there's no way they can do a garden and so what direction do they go? And that is for a long period of time, we're going to have to see what we can do to meet those needs until we can get these people independent."
Along with a government in transition, removing the rubble is the other largest barrier right now. There's not enough heavy equipment in Haiti and the cost is staggering.
For more information on the Haiti earthquake or to help the victims, check out the following links:
Reiser Relief
Feed My Starving Children
American Red Cross
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Fr. Bernard Reiser on Kare 11 TV - Eleven Who Care
Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN – January 25, 2011 - , we are pleased to announce that President and Founder of Reiser Relief Inc., Father Bernard Reiser is the recipient of the 2011 Eleven Who Care program.
KARE 11 Television of Minneapolis and Saint Paul Minnesota created The Eleven Who Care program that started 27 years ago to recognize the outstanding volunteers that serve our community with overall spirit of community volunteerism.
Each year hundreds of volunteers are nominated for the award and the Eleven Who Care Board of Governors select the eleven to be honored. The honorees represent the variety of opportunities available in our community. They truly exemplify the belief that one person can make a difference.
Fr. Reiser is a long-time resident of Coon Rapids, MN and has been a priest 61 years, Ordained in 1949, attended St. Paul Seminary. Fr. Reiser was an associate Pastor of Saint Mary of the Lake, White Bear Lake for 15 years; Founding Pastor of Epiphany Parish in Coon Rapids for 46 years. In 1964, Father Bernard Reiser founded the Church of the Epiphany in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. He bought 70 acres of farm land and it grew from 150 to 5000 families and adding grade school for kindergarten through eighth grade. Epiphany church is one of the largest parishes in the archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Father Reiser’s many years of service have reached far beyond the bounds of the parish into all surrounding communities touching lives. Literally thousands and thousands of individuals and families have been pulled from the depths of despair because of Father Reiser’s devotion of time, energy, money and with values of love and respect for every single person. His compassion and humanity has been an inspiration many all over the world. Everyone counts, to this excellent shepherd. The rich, the poor, the sinner, the winner. He is the face of God, to all he meets.
Reiser Relief Inc. was formed by Fr. Reiser and since its beginnings; Reiser Relief is committed to providing essential services to aid in day-to-day survival to the impoverished people of the Caribbean country of Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The services Reiser Relief provides include: fresh water, food centers, education, and eldercare facilities. Many outreach projects are in or near Cité Soleil; the suburb of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.
You can see Father Reiser’s Eleven Who Care story on Kare 11 TV on the following days.
January Thursday 27th Kare 11 News at 10pm
January Friday 28th Kare 11 Sunrise News between 5am to 7am
January Saturday 29th Kare 11 Saturday News between 8am to 10am
January Monday 31st Kare 11 Today News between 11am to Noon
See more on Kare 11 - Article and Video
http://www.kare11.com/life/community/11whocare/11whocare_article.aspx?storyid=904117
Everyone who meets Fr. Reiser can easily see a kind and compassionate man focused on a principle, to serve others. Working on worthwhile projects and a commitment to making a difference with his spirited leadership and trust in God, that creates an atmosphere that many others will join in to help. He is the personification of the good shepherd and his contributions provide inspiration to everyone who crosses his path.
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CONTACT
Reiser Relief Inc.
Father Bernard Reiser
1800 - 111th Avenue NW #320
Coon Rapids, MN 55433 USA
http://ReiserRelief.org/
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