Don't abandon children of Haiti.

Published: 03:46 p.m., Friday, February 5, 2010

This is not the time to walk away.

From its beginning in 1997 through the upheaval that has now closed its doors, the idea behind Project Pierre Toussaint in Cap Haitien, Haiti, was a worthy one: give shelter and hope, however fleeting, from the sordid reality of life for a homeless boy on the unforgiving streets.

That worthy work is needed now more than ever, and that is why, rather than giving up on it, Fairfield University, the Order of Malta and others who supported the project should redouble efforts to reopen Project Pierre Toussaint.

There is no question that the program, founded by Fairfield University graduate Douglas Perlitz in 1997, did good works.

But now, its founder stands accused of also abusing some of the same boys the program was meant to help. Prosecutors say he was a predator; supporters say he's a victim himself, falsely accused in a struggle over control and money.

Support for the project came from sources large and small, exalted and ordinary: the Order of Malta, a Roman Catholic humanitarian organization, provided the money that got the project off the ground in 1997, and since then its work has been supported by patrons in Fairfield County's moneyed elite to coins collected from kids at Tomlinson Middle School in Fairfield.

And Fairfield University, to its credit as well, steadfastly supported Perlitz.
Today, though, the 10-acre compound and buildings that housed the project are closed.
Though the individual who started the work is now under arrest, the work is no less needed.

To walk away from this worthy calling, particularly now, in the post-earthquake devastation of the country, is exactly the wrong reaction to the situation.

Both the Order of Malta and Fairfield University are active in Haiti earthquake relief efforts.

Those two organizations, and others willing and able to help, could do far worse than direct those efforts into reopening Project Pierre Toussaint and once again offering, however fleeting, shelter and hope to children who otherwise have none.