My relationship with Haiti began in 1993 through an association with the Rev. Jean-Elie Millien, a Haitian priest serving as vicar of l’Eglise de l’Epiphanie, Stamford. In 1996 Jean-Elie retired and moved to Carrefour, Haiti with his wife Mona. Together they started a small school there, which they named Ecole le Bon Samaritain.
Over the years Old St. Andrew’s has been steadfastly committed to offering support through scholarships, a lunch program, teacher salaries, a water purification system, electrical generator and storage batteries, even helping to build a second story on the original building.
I am passionate about helping in Haiti, and it is the children that keep me caring and involved. Consider this: Three years ago on a trip to Ecole Bon Samaritain (EBS) I first met Weislene. She was in 3rd grade. She slipped up beside me and took my hand, grinning. Each trip back to visit EBS after that I would seek her out. She was always smiling and amazingly patient with my broken French and non-existent Kreyol.
Immediately following the earthquake in 2010, Old St. Andrew’s, with dozens of partners, provided critical medical care, food, clothing, and temporary shelter to over 8,000 people. In March I went with a group to the clinic that had been set up next to the school. I asked about Weislene but no one knew what had happened to her.
Late one afternoon near the end of my week-long visit, I went to the clinic to greet the last few patients and there was Weislene, sitting patiently with a sick 2-year old on her lap. I said hello but she hardly responded, only pulling the child closer. After the nurse saw them, we gave them a bag filled with pedialyte, food, and other supplies. She smiled tentatively and walked away, weighted down by the bag of provisions and the toddler. Later I learned that the mother of this child, a neighbor, had been killed and his father was gone, so Weislene and her father were caring for him. Weislene’s own mother had also died in the quake.
The next day I saw Weislene again. This time she threw her arms around my neck, stepped back and said, “Merci. Merci, Père Puck.”
Like Connecticut, Haiti is a Diocese of the Episcopal Church. It is our most populous diocese, with about 80,000 people, and it is our poorest.
Its Cathedral in Port-au-Prince was a cultural center for the nation, a place of pride and beauty for all Haitians.
In 35 seconds on Jan. 12, 2010, it fell.
People still flocked to its grounds and its ruins for food and shelter. Absent a working government, the church has always been a place to find schools, clinics, and other social services we take for granted. And thanks to Episcopal Relief and Development, as well as many other agencies and churches, the Bishop, school staff , and sisters of St. Margaret, were able to off er short-term employment, provisional homes, and sanitation systems in addition to other community-focus recovery programs.
Even in the midst of the deep human need and suffering in Haiti, the people seek to worship God together. And while there are agencies who will rebuild schools and clinics, only the church will rebuild a church. Please join in supporting the rebuilding of the Cathedral complex in Port-au-Prince by making a donation this Lent. This appeal in the Diocese of Connecticut is part of an Episcopal Church-wide appeal this Lent coordinated by the Episcopal Church Foundation. In Connecticut organizers are asking that donations be made to the local parish, which will then forward them. For more information see the “Rebuild our Church in Haiti” page on the diocesan website, www.ctepiscopal.org. The Rev. Rachel Thomas is the coordinator of the appeal for the Diocese of Connecticut. Contact her at rwthomas55@att.net.
“The presence of the Episcopal Church in Haiti and its mission cannot be overstated. At the very center is Cathédrale Sainte Trinité. Filled to the brim with the faithful Sunday by Sunday, worship in the Cathedral demonstrates the passion of Haitians for their Church. Moreover, the Cathédrale is the hub of ministry—education, outreach, medical care, and music—for hundreds of people daily.” -- The Rev. Erl G. Purnell
Nou ave’ou! - We’re with you!
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