St. Francis Haiti Outreach P.O. Box 2563 Staunton, VA 24402-2563 NEWSLETTER February, 2011 Volume 5 No. 2

This month’s pictures are from our January, 2011 trip and show Steve Metzler, Leo Mulcahy, and Yves-Aniel Cajuste making repairs to St. Anthony’s House and Papa Djip in his garden.

News from LaGonave

While our group was in Haiti in January, we spent some time at St. Anthony’s House, the residence for the poor which is located next to the rectory in Pointe-a-Raquette. Right now, three elderly men and two young women with mental health issues live there. These five people are part of a program that provides a hot meal each day to them. There were many repairs needed at St. Anthony’s House, and Steve, Leo, and Yves-Aniel repaired doors, put screens on open windows, and repaired the gate. It is almost impossible to purchase building supplies on the island, and although caulk was needed to repair small holes in the roof, it was not available. However, an excellent temporary replacement was chewing gum! Don’t laugh—the repaired roof now allows the residents to stay dry when it rains. It did rain for a short period while we were in Haiti, and there were no leaks. When caulk can be obtained, the roof will be patched again.

Our Lady of Pointe-a-Raquette Catholic School.

We are very excited that our first sixth grade class will be taking the national exam next year. We are working with the Haitian Education Fund of the Diocese of Richmond to obtain some practice exams for the children’s use. The national examinations are very important, since children cannot progress to seventh grade without passing the exam. As you know, when our school was started in 2004, the plan was for a primary school only-kindergarten through sixth grade. However, the parents have asked Fr. Roosevelt, and Jeanne Branch and I when we were there, about the possibility of continuing the school through ninth grade. Fr. Roosevelt has asked his bishop if two seminarians, with appropriate credentials, could be assigned to St. Louis Parish to teach the 7 th, 8 th, and 9 th grades at the school. It is still very preliminary, but we are hopeful that we will be able to continue classes beyond sixth grade.

In March, our partners from Blue Ridge Community College Students in Free Enterprise (BRCC SIFE) spent a few days in Pointe-a-Raquette and worked with the children on leadership qualities and some fun science projects. The children saw how each person’s fingerprints are unique; they made flight worthy paper airplanes and learned about trust through an exercise in which a blindfolded child was led through an obstacle course by another child. The BRCC SIFE students fell in love with the children and LaGonave. Two of them are planning to return to the island for an extended period this summer.

We recently sent over 30 books in French to Sister Mary for use at the school and are looking at ways to provide space for a small library. Many of the children have asked if that would be possible. They want to have more books, other than schoolbooks, to read for fun. It is not common in Haiti for children to read outside of school, so it is absolutely wonderful that they are asking for books.

Bob’s Clinic

After we left LaGonave in January, there was a severe outbreak of cholera in Lotorre Boukan, the fishing village in which we held the medical clinics. Ten people were affected, which stressed Dr. Medgine’s capacity to care for all of them at Bob’s Clinic. Some patients needed to be taken to Mirogoan by boat for treatment. There was one fatality, an elderly woman whose other medical problems exacerbated her cholera symptoms. Dr. Medgine worked with the people in Lotorre Boukan to reinforce their understanding of the importance of good hygiene and hand washing to stop the spread of cholera, and there have been no additional cases there.

Community Gardens

It has been a very difficult dry season in Pointe-a-Raquette this year. Very few gardeners have been able to keep their gardens going since the rains stopped last October. Papa Djip has been able to keep the nursery plants and his own garden producing throughout the winter, although right now only peppers are growing. The people are getting ready to plant again as soon as the rains start next month. Last year, even with the aftermath of the earthquake and a poor rainy season, we estimate that about 75% of the gardens established in 2009 through a grant from the Richmond Diocese’s Sustainable Development Committee were planted. The people have benefitted greatly from having more fresh vegetables available to supplement their diets, and we hope that the gardens will continue to produce. So far, there hasn’t been a problem with the soil which was transported from the mountains in 2009.

Zabricot Goat Farms

The women of the Zabricot Cooperative, who were raising rabbits and now are raising goats, continue to increase their herd. The goats are very well cared for, and, as a result, they are very healthy and are producing offspring at a good rate. The animal husbandry skills that the women learned through working with the rabbits have translated into a better understanding of the needs of livestock in general, and this has yielded an economic benefit for the cooperative. Because their goats are so big and healthy, the women can command a higher price for them. Other farmers are beginning to see that taking more interest in the health of their livestock provides benefits to them as well as to the animals. The Zabricot Cooperative is “passing it forward”.

Annual Haiti Gathering

The Diocese of Richmond’s Annual Haiti Gathering was held in Richmond on March 26 th. There was a great emphasis placed on sustainable projects for parishes working with their twins in Haiti. As we share our resources, let us provide the tools and education needed to empower the Haitian people to care for themselves and their families.

As always, thank you for your support. You are making a lasting difference in many lives.

Your generosity allows children to attend school. A new generation that is motivated to achieve will make themselves heard.

Your generosity allows sick people to have access to a doctor. Being healthy makes it easier to work for change.

Your generosity allows the elderly, the challenged, and the orphaned to eat. You are saving lives.

Men anpil chay pa lou. Many hands make the load lighter. Bondye beni ou. God bless you.