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and the chaos at the top trickled down to every explained to her that since Tzu Chi respects
facet of society. other religions, there was no contradiction in
being a Catholic Tzu Chi volunteer. To prove
Whatever the difficulties in society or her he was genuine, he even showed her a card he
own life, Mireille always found an outlet in carried in his wallet that read, “I am a Catholic.
serving others. When she joined ANGH at a In the event of an emergency, please call a
young age, the seeds of love were planted early, Catholic priest.” Mireille carried the same card.
and they continued to grow as she became a With her worries put to rest, Mireille became
first aid and traffic safety volunteer with the an active Tzu Chi volunteer and a mentor to the
Red Cross, president of ANGH, and secretary for other volunteers in Haiti.
St. Alexandre Church. When
the earthquake struck, she When a group of Tzu
discovered a new way to Men anpil, chay pa lou. Chi volunteers visited from
help her community and a the United States in August
new outlet for her giving Many hands lighten the load. 2010, Mireille introduced
spirit: Tzu Chi. them to ANGH and led
them on their first visit to
When Father Columbano invited Tzu Chi the Durocher school. Seeing how important
to hold a relief distribution at St. Alexandre, the school was to the local community, Tzu Chi
he called on Mireille, an active member of the determined to help ANGH rebuild it.
church and trusted member of the community,
for assistance. She was immediately struck by When Mireille connected the two
Tzu Chi’s philosophy of giving, which closely organizations, ANGH members were excited by
matched her own: “When Tzu Chi came to Haiti, the potential, but also apprehensive. They had
you could see that they were volunteers, true heard many promises before, promises of help
volunteers, who gave of themselves without that never came. But Tzu Chi and ANGH steadily
asking for anything in return.” It was the same pushed forward together to plan a new school
spirit she had carried through her decades building that would not only replace the old
of volunteer work with St. Alexandre, ANGH, one but also make great improvements.
and the Red Cross, and she felt an immediate
connection. When construction is complete, the old
three-room schoolhouse will be replaced
Despite this affinity, Mireille did not join by a nine-room building, which will provide
Tzu Chi right away. As a Catholic, she hesitated space to educate even more students while
to join a Buddhist organization. Eventually, also leaving extra room for administration and
however, her mind was changed. During a visit other functions. The new building will be built
to the United States, she met a local Tzu Chi according to stringent safety requirements to
volunteer who learned of her hesitation. He ensure that, even if another earthquake strikes,
the school will remain standing.

At the same time, the school construction
project is giving Tzu Chi an opportunity to
make an immediate impact by employing local
workers and introducing Tzu Chi culture to
the local community. After interviewing several
experienced local contractors recommended
by ANGH and Food For The Poor, Tzu Chi chose
Richard Cineas, a Haitian architect trained
in Florida, to lead the project. Richard was
In October 2010, local volunteers provided tasked with hiring local workers, introducing
tarps to cover Durocher’s toppled walls. Photo a culture of enhanced safety precautions on
provided by Tzu Chi Haiti volunteers the worksite, and collaborating closely with

2 8 Tzu CHi uSA FALL 2013