ERDA 03 NOVEMBER 2010

In1994,I.Crozetwaswri3ngabookon

Fr.PierreTritzandERDAcalledL’espoir

aManille,buthedidnothaveenough

fundstopublishthebook.He

requestedfortheassistanceofthe

DirectorofBREPOLS,amajorpublishing

houseinBelgiumandParis,M.Michel

Rolin,whoreadilyagreedtohelp

financeit.Whenthebookwas

launchedinParis,MichelRolinmetFr.

Tritz,whotypicallytookthe

opportunitytoaskhimifhewaswilling

toworkforthePhilippines.Hisanswer

was,ofcourse,“No.”

Butsixmonthslater,whenMichelRolin

re3redaVer35yearsofservicein

BREPOLS,herememberedFr.Tritz’s

invita3on.AVermuchprayerand

reflec3on,hedecidedtoacceptthe

invita3onandtotakeupthechallenge.

Hedidn’tknowmuchaboutfundraising

work,soheconsultedhisBenedic3ne

friendswhohadcollaboratedwithhim

inBREPOL’spublica3onoftheBible.

Thatwasthestartofwhatthisyearwill

be16yearsofhelpingERDA.

Askedwhyhedecidedtodoit,Michel

Rolinsaidsimplythathewanted“todo

MeetthecouplebehindERDABelgique

MICHELANDEDITHROLININTHEIRVILLAINTURNHOUT,BELGIUM

HARRY, THEIR PET DOGTHE ROLINS’ HORSES: ECLAIR

(LIGHTNING) & FLAMME (FLAME) FEEDING THE HORSES

THE ROLINS OF TURNHOUT

TOPMOSTPHOTO:MICHELANDEDITHROLININTHEIRCOZYLIVINGROOM.ABOVERIGHT:HUSBANDANDWIFEATTHEBEGUINAGEINHOOGSTRATEN.ABOVERIGHT:ERDAEXECUTIVEDIRECTOR,DOLORCARDENO,ANDBOARDCHAIRMAN,FR.JOHNNYGO,MEETWITHTHEERDABENEFACTORSINTURNHOUTINOCTOBER2007.LEFT:EDITHROLINPOSESFORAPICTUREATTHEBEGUINAGE.

somethinggood.”Theseventhoftenchildren,MichelRolin

hasneverconsidereditimportanttoberich.Forhim,itis

moreimportanttohelpothers,especiallythoseinneed.

Thefirstyearsweredifficult.Hespentalotof3memee3ng

withpeople,speakingtothemaboutERDA,andconvincing

themtosendhelptothePhilippinestosupportFr.Tritz’s

importantworkofeduca3ngstreetchildren.Thankstohis

hardworkanddetermina3on,aswellasthesupportofhis

wifeEdith,whoservedashissecretary,theyhaveremained

ERDA’sbiggestbenefactorsalltheseyears.Theirnetworkof

rela3vesandfriendshavebeensendingthousandsof

childrenbacktoschoolfornearlytwodecadesnow.

Abouttenyearsago,MichelRolinsufferedadebilita3ng

strokethatleVhisrightsideparalyzed.Tohiswifeand

children’sdismay,hecouldnotatthe3meevenremember

hischildren’snames.Thedoctorswerenotop3mis3c,but

truetocharacter,MichelRolinwasdeterminedandwith

Edithathisside,heworkedveryhardathisrecovery.Hehas

sincethenhealedsoremarkablythathisdoctorsconcede

thatithasbeensomekindofmiracle.ButitwasalsoMIchel

Rolin’swillcombinedwithprayersandEdith’ssupport,the

verysameformulathatmadehimsucceedinhelpingFr.Tritz.

Meanwhile,EdithhadtotaketheleadinworkingforERDA.

Whenthecouplewasaskedwhytheydidnotstopwhenthey

hadeveryreasontoduringthat3meofdifficulty,EdithRolin

verysimplysaidthatherhusbandwantedtocon3nue,and

sheherselfenjoyeddoingthework.

Theyconveytheirregretatnotbeingabletovisitthe

Philippinesanymore;theyhavesuchfondmemoriesfrom

theirthreepreviousvisits!Astheypreparetopassonthis

worktotheirchildren,HuguesandDominique,theycon3nue

tonursetheirdream:Thattherewouldbenomorepoor

childreninthePhilippines!

Theirworkandtheirwordsrevealacommitmenttothe

childrenofERDAandthemissionofFr.Tritz.Ingra3tude,

letusprayforthemandeverysingleoneofERDA’sdonorsin

Belgium,thattheLord,Whocanneverbeoutdonein

generosity,blessthemforthevaluableassistancetheyhave

beenprovidingthechildrenofERDAalltheseyears.

Top: Michel Rolin relaxes in his favorite armchair.

Right: Edith Rolin smiles amidst autumn leaves.

Left: Their pet dog Harry dozes in the living room.