HAMMOND | Michael Fedele, founder of the Maranatha Orphanage and School in the Haitian town of Cite Soleil, shared his anguish over the country's devastation Wednesday in an e-mail to the orphanage's supporters, saying, "I am crying. I am in tears for my friends and our children."

Fedele, of Hammond, established the orphanage during his first trip to Haiti in 2002.

From a one-room schoolhouse with 35 children, the orphanage has grown into a home for about 130 children. Fedele's nonprofit, Life For The World Inc., also established a goat farm to help the orphanage become self-sufficient.

In the e-mail, Fedele said he had not been able to reach anyone in Haiti because of the downed cell phone towers.

"Our children and our friends were and are at great risk," Fedele said, adding he did not know if any of the Haitians working at the facilities had been injured.

The homes of the poor are shanties made of mud, brick, bamboo, large sticks and aluminum coverings, he said.

"Many of the huts are so unstable that a person can push over a whole hut with one big push," he added.

Donations to the nonprofit's relief effort are being sough and may be sent through the group's Web site at lifefortheworld.com.

"We need to show how much we care and go the extra mile in showing our love and concern," said Fedele, who makes several trips a year to the orphanage.

"Right now I want to go but am not sure what my next step is."