Haitian Ministry Update

The original plan for members of the Haiti Ministry was to reach out to the parish community today on behalf of our sister parish in Roche a Bateau. While we are still doing that, the messaging today is much different than we had expected. We were planning on sharing with you the details of our upcoming trip. This coming Wednesday is when we were scheduled to depart. We were particularly excited because we had a group of 10 that including a physician and three recent college grads who were planning to make the trip. Our work once we got there was also planned. We were going to help electrically wire and paint the Parish Center and tile the floor of St. Michel’s Church. We were also very excited to meet with St. Michel’s pastor who was ready to share and show us some of the improvements and betterments he had made with support from St. Mary’s.

Those plans changed with Hurricane Matthew.  Roche-a-Bateau is located on the South West Peninsula of Haiti and, as you may have seen on the news, that is where Matthew wreaked the most havoc.  Our sister parish, St. Michel’s and Roche-a-Bateau experienced complete devastation.   The Parish Center we were going to paint is in crumbles. The Church we were going to tile collapsed.  The Rectory was severely damaged.  One of the mission chapels which housed two classrooms is ruined and the school across the street which we support financially is no longer functional. The town was completely flooded.  Crops were wiped out.   Mud slid down from the deforested hillside.  Livestock died in the water and bred Cholera conditions. We knew we could no longer make the trip but we were anxious to learn how we could most effectively help.  The immediate need was for clean water and food.  Organizations such as Food for the Poor, Catholic Relief Services and the Red Cross are on the ground in Haiti and responded, as best they could, to the immediate humanitarian needs. 

Eventually, we heard from Fr. Serge and it was interesting to learn and understand some of the issues that weighed heavily on his mind.  He was very concerned about the townspeople’s records that were damaged when the Rectory flooded.  In Haiti the parish priest is like the mayor and the rectory is like city hall. A place of gathering and a place to store documents such as marriage licenses and birth certificates.  Indeed, the flooded, roof damaged Rectory was the first place the St. Michel community gathered when the hurricane passed.  So, it wasn’t surprising to hear from Fr. Serge that his first priority for assistance from St. Mary’s is to help restore the rectory and then help rebuild the school.  

We received an estimate of $11,585 to repair the rectory and $12,149 to repair the school.  We have already sent $2,000 to begin work on the Rectory.  These rebuilding projects will be an ongoing effort but our hope today is to raise enough money to repair the rectory and then begin to focus on the school.  We kindly ask for your support during the 2nd collection. Or, perhaps even to consider a monthly or ongoing gift.  Please note 100% of contributions will be wired directly to St. Michel. It’s also important to note that when we do re-schedule our trip to Roche-a-Bateau the group travels at their own expense.

The latest word from Fr. Serge is that Masses are being held outside and he hopes to resume school classes this month, even if they are not in the school.  He also sent some photographs of the devastation that I encourage you to take a look at on the way out of church.   It is our hope, over time, that we will be able to share with you some photos of a rebuilt community.

- Charlie Eisenmann, Haiti Covenant Ministry Chair