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Here is a picture of the Catholic Saint that means so much for immigrants in such of a better life in the United States. Mother Cabrini is the Saint of Green Card

Did you know that there is in fact a Saint for Green Card?

November 13 has been declared the Feast Day for Mother Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini,

Mother Cabrini arrived in New York from Italy in 1889. Her original mission was to aid Italian immigrants. She later created orphanages, schools, pharmacies. She was credited for a variety of Immigrant Services such as English as a Second Language classes, legal support and help with citizenship applications

Mother Frances Cabrini was born in Sant'Angelo Lodigiano in the province of Lombardy, northern Italy, on July l5, 1850. She arrived in New York in March, 1889, off the boat from Europe with over one thousand immigrants ready to begin a new life. She established sixty-seven schools, hospitals, and other institutions of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, worldwide. At the age of 67 she died in Chicago's Columbus Hospital on December 22, 1917. In 1933, her remains were moved to the chapel of Mother Cabrini High School and following her canonization in 1946, the place became a spot of pilgrimage. She was the Universal Patron of Immigrants in the Catholic Church, well known for her love of God and her service to His people. Today, the Shrine continues as a center of welcome for new immigrants and pilgrims of many nationalities who come to pray and reflect. Recently, when the Feast Day for Mother Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini was being celebrated during the second weekend of November at her Fort Washington shrine, amid many immigrant worshippers, Father Julian Jagudilla who is from Manila, while presiding over the Sunday's ceremony, he said, the politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, should stop making immigration a pawn. Instead of offering the poor immigrants what they want, they are playing the game in their own interest. He indicated over 200 pending appeals to his church-- ranging between people without status to parents petitioning for children, lying undecided. He considers the current immigration policy, even from the economic standpoint is senseless.

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Karen Civil is a media maven who has built her brand and career with a simple mantra, "Entertainment the Civilized Way", on a three pillared base-- character, respect and dedication. As an influential new media princess, the head of her own digital media marketing agency, "Always Civil Enterprise" and the creator of Living Civil bracelet, she is an envy of every blogger.

KarenCivil.com offers exclusive interviews with some of the most stylish, innovators, rap musicians, artist and entrepreneurs in the industry. She comes from a Haitian-American background. On her 30th birthday, she decided, it is necessary to give back something to the country in which her parents were born. Karen has donated $41,000 to "Sow a Seed" for constructing a new playground started a few weeks back. "Sow a Seed" is a non-profit, volunteer based organization, assisting orphans with food, shelter, education and healthcare. It is dedicated to bringing hope and creating sustainable change in the lives of orphans in Haiti.

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How Haitian lottery system came to be so popular in the Haitian society. When you talk about the Haitian Borlette, you now talk about tchala, New York lotto tickets, the Dominican Republic Lottery, bookies and much more

Haitian Lottery System, No Borlette is Complete Without a Tchala

The devastating earthquake has reduced much of the country to rubble, but one industry continues to grow amid the devastation.

A huge "Borlette" network, a typical version of the New York Lotto, covers the whole of Haiti that earns almost US$ 250,000 a day.The Haitians call them "Bank Borlette". "Tchala", the money of dreams is a journey through the world of Borlette game. The game is a popular form of private lottery in Haiti on which gamblers bets on balls bearing two digit numbers, in order to avoid fraud, these balls are drawn randomly every night in four different cities abroad--Miami, New York, Santo Domingo, Caracas. The game is present in all segments of life--from home, office, streets, countrysides and even in the presidential palace. The origin of Borlettes dates back to the regime of Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier. In 1969, the then dictator of the country legalized the game soon after its inception. An estimate in 2005 revealed that the streets of the Haitian capital city were home to nearly 2,000 the "banques de borlette", more than double the number of schools and universities in Port-au-Prince. Haitians spent over $1.5 billion per year on the borlette, an astounding amount for a country whose GDP in the year 2009 was $6.9 billion! During the same year, there were eleven private companies to run banques de borlette in Port-au-Prince; the largest one had hundreds of franchises.

In a sense, "Borlette" is a temporary but tangible license to fantasize about everything the poor Haitians would do if suddenly money becomes no object. The poor people are too deeply (and expensively) engaged in the fantasy for their own good. They dream of lucky numbers, Even the voodoo priests are enlisted for help.

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Here is a picture of an immigration officer in the Bahamas humiliating two young Haitian immigrants during an operation in the Bahamas in October, 2014. The Immigration department of the Bahamas is assisted by the police to conduct Immigration Operation against Haitian in the Bahamas. Children, included those who were born in the Bahamas are rounded up and put in a bus to a detention center.

Are the Bahamas targeting Haitians for Deportation?

The Bahamas are becoming paranoid about a huge influx of illegal migrants from Haiti and have stiffened its immigration regulations.

Frederick Mitchell, Bahamian Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister, says the overwhelming number of illegal aliens from Haiti threatens ". . . Bahamas national security . . . national identity . . . and . . . social stability."

Haitian-American anthropologist Bertin Louis says the Bahamas "has historically promoted a xenophobic policy toward Haitians in particular."

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Here is the picture of a boat in the streets of Cap-Haitian following the flood in November, 2014

Cap-Haitien's downtown area was completely underwater, and the city's rivers and ravines overflowed their banks. The Cap-Haitien police patrolling the flood areas discovered many bodies of flood victims lying in the streets, including young children of only two or three years of age. In a heart-breaking discovery, an eight-member family lost four of its members to death. Three others went missing with the father recovering in hospital. Many more flood victims have yet to be confirmed because disaster conditions make it hard to navigate through the area.

Although the government of Haiti has responded with its resources, it cannot adequately meet the demands of all four departments that have sustained major damage from the swarm of storms that assaulted the North and West Departments, the North being the worst casualty, and Cap-Haitien the worst of all. Beon through the media implores ". . . the private sector to help us because it continues to rain."

Haiti and its neighbor, the Dominican Republic, survived a series of storms that rampaged across the island of Hispaniola, displacing thousands of people. The old colonial city of Cap-Haitien seemed to get the worst of it, according to Haiti's Civil Protection Agency, who reported an estimated 6,000 homes sustained flood damage, 66 of them completely ruined. Reports varied on the death toll, between five and seven dead, and one person missing. President Martelly and Prime Minister Lamothe performed their official duties, touring the disaster area while food and aid relief supplies were being handed out to flood survivors.

Residents in afflicted areas were anxious to retrieve whatever belongings they could from their water-swamped homes, wading through knee-high water. A reported 4,000 displaced survivors were sent to temporary shelters set up at unaffected schools nearby.

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Help is on the way to Cap-Haitian. Here is a picture of KANTIN MOBIL Ede Pep on top of a flat bed truck as it is heading to the city of Cap-Haïtien for flood relief.

How long can Haitian Government subsidize its Poor?

The Haitian government's National Social Assistance Program (NSAP) is working to give a helping hand to five million-plus Haitians by 2016.

Segments of the population in need include the handicapped, elderly, destitute mothers, students, and farmers. Remedies include cash transfers, farming kits, emergency coupons, solidarity baskets, and hot meals prepared in mobile kitchens.

The U.S. has funded NSAP for $76 million, and the Haitian government has already used $15 million of it. It needs more funding to keep the program going.

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Fashion has landed in Haiti. We learned that Kenneth Cole, the first brand store of a foreign designer will oden a store in Haiti, in the new hotel Kinam

Designer Kenneth Cole has delivered a first to Petion-Ville, a brand-name store at the Kinam Hotel. Entrepreneur Valerie Pompee has invested in the new store with associate Sandrine Nau.

The Kenneth Cole Haiti Health Center (KCHHC) in Cite Soleil has been a project of Cole's foundation. Haitian designer Gregory Vorbe is fashioning a T-shirt line and sales will go to the KCHHC in Cite Soleil at St. Mary's Hospital.

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On Friday, November 7, 2014, Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe was awarded Innovative Leader of The year 2014 in a ceremony.

Lamothe 2014 Innovative Leader

Prime Minister Lamothe, after receiving the 2014 Innovative Leader of the Year Award, spoke about where Haiti stands in its recovery efforts. For the past four years he said the government has launched several innovative projects to combat poverty and drive sustainable economic growth.

He credited his administrative staff for their diligence in moving projects forward. He also praised Brazilian President Lula for making a commitment to Haiti's poor when Lamothe last visited Brazil. In a symbolic gesture he dedicated his award to the Haitian people.

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Here is the Picture of Haiti Former Prime Minister Gérard Latortue as he received the official distinction "Orden al merito de Chile".

Chile's Ambassador to the United States, Gabriel Valdes, presented to former Haitian Prime Minister Gerard Latortue the "Orden al merito de Chile". It was for helping organize and run free, inclusive, and transparent elections in February 2006, ending the interim government that had ruled since February 2004 when then-President Aristide was overthrown.

Latortue served as provisional head of government from 2004 until 2006. A peaceful transition followed the 2006 election with Jacques-Edouard Alexis succeeding Latortue.

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The historic win of the Haitian-America Mia Love to become the first Haitian-American in US Congress and also the First Black Woman elected as a GOP to congress has created some joy for her fans. However this win has also created some discomfort among some long standing organizations.

NAACP has been criticized by GOP for ignoring Mia Love's Historic win.

Republican official Raffi Williams is harshly criticizing the NAACP for not hailing the notable wins of Haitian-American Mia Love to a Republican seat in Congress, and African-American senator Tim Scott's Republican win for South Carolina.

Love is the first Haitian-American and woman senator-elect, and Scott the first African-American to win since Reconstruction.

Williams vented his frustration over the NAACP's snub by tweeting a number of times, complaining they ". . . won't celebrate black republicans."

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