HAITI COMMITTEE
Ways to help financially
Our Sister Parishes in Haiti
The people of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and St. Joseph Parish in Cavaillon, Haiti continue to march -- through earthquake, flood, hurricane and political unrest. Their indomitable spirits carry them through. Monsignor Ignace Coissy and the priests who serve his sub-chapels minister to both the spiritual and physical needs of their parishioners.
Since the August 2021 earthquake, of which the epicenter was 30 miles away, they have been trying to rebuild. But political unrest in the country and the ravages of the US-Iran war that ripple down to them in the form of astronomic rises in prices, stall their progress. The 305-year-old church, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, a pilgrimage site and source of strength, solace and community pride, has yet to be rebuilt. The community has completed the studies and architectural work for a seismic-resistant building that will fill the same footprint of the destroyed church. But it lacks the resources to continue at present.
In the meantime, the mayor of Cavaillon has allowed Mass to be celebrated in the community hall, but it is not nearly large enough, or as available, as needed, particularly during their annual three-day celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help at the end of June.
The generosity of the St. Charles parishioners has enabled the Haiti Committee to send some additional support beyond the general tuition and nutrition subsidies, which has always been the focus of the Committee, to defray expenses for some of Msgr. Coissy’s parish needs. The insecurity around Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, has displaced many, who now seek refuge in the southern department around Cavaillon, where conditions are relatively calm. Consequently, in addition to subsidizing seven of the schools within Monsignor’s pastoral zone, St. Charles Haiti contributions help certain vulnerable families that have fled political turmoil and violence. Sadly then, donations thus far have not stretched to the rebuilding of the church.
Likewise, after the earthquake, with the help of St. Charles, Msgr. Coissy hastily erected plywood and corrugated tin temporary classrooms in the hope that the schools would soon be built. Those shoddy classrooms, now dilapidated and in need of repair, are still being used because there are insufficient funds for rebuilding.
Students of the schools overseen by Msgr. Coissy
On the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, the parishioners of Our Lady of Perpetual Help had a village fair following Mass
His Eminence Cardinal Chibly Langlois, Bishop of Les Cayes, Haiti, with Pope Leo following his election
The St. Charles relationship with its sister parishes in greater Cavaillon in southwestern Haiti has continued for more than 35 years, a true symbiotic bond.
Just as Jesus educated, fed, and healed those He encountered in and around Galilee, so do we at St. Charles—through the generosity of parishioners, family and friends—work to help educate, feed, and foster good health for the families in greater Cavaillon in these ways:
Education: Provide the opportunity for more of the children to go to the Catholic schools by funding part of the costs to operate the elementary schools run by our sister parishes.
Nutrition: Provide local farmers a better opportunity to sell their crops while at the same time feeding the children lunch at the sister parish elementary schools by investing in and acquiring rice, beans, et al. from the local agriculture cooperative, KAMAK, as is practical.
Health: Foster health awareness and safer water for the sister parish school students and the citizens of Cavaillon by funding the cost to drill water wells, install water piping and a cistern at the parish secondary school, teach children about good hygiene, and so forth.
Disaster Relief: Respond to critical needs for food, shelter, sanitation, repair and reconstruction following natural disasters and other crises
Cavaillon is a rural (agricultural) community, located on the Cavaillon River in far western Haiti. St. Charles shares with two parishes, Our Lady of Perpetual Help and St. Joseph, both spiritually and materially, and they pray for us in return.
INTERESTED IN SUPPORTING OUR HAITI MINISTRY?
Please contact us at haiticommittee@stcharleschurch.org to learn more about joining the Haiti Committee or helping provide financial support.
You may contribute financially online through St. Charles’s eGiving platform, PushPay.
Or, send a check or drop off a donation at the St. Charles parish office. In any case we would appreciate your completion and return of the form linked below in order to help us in matching donors and gifts. You can either mail or drop off the donation form at the St. Charles parish office or email it to us at: haiticommittee@stcharleschurch.org.
To receive periodic updates on the work of the Haiti Committee and to learn how your donations are helping our brothers and sisters in Haiti, please email haiticommittee@stcharleschurch.org
Thank you to all who donate generously to support the children in Cavaillon, Haiti
How your donations are put to use:
Thanks to your support, during the 25-26 school year, St. Charles sent some $92,000 in critical funding to Haiti.
Education: $40,000 for children's educational needs
Nutrition: $20,000 for school lunches at six schools
Parish Needs and Disaster Relief: $32,000 for general parish needs and rebuilding efforts, including funding for urgent repairs and ongoing reconstruction of classrooms after the 2021 earthquake, and of the presbytery, which houses Mgr. Coissy and the parish offices; the salaries for a school coordinator and a nurse/psychologist to help the children cope; seed money and animals for the local agricultural cooperative; and provision of basic needs to persons displaced by local unrest in the capitol area who have sought refuge in Cavaillon.
Total Administrative Expenses: $396 in international wire transfer fees and approximately $110 in fees for credit card donations
Committee Members:
John Dettling
Kathy Gunther
JoAnn Koob
Drew Kraisinger
Lynnette LeMat
Sue MacIntyre
Brian McCauley
Jean McCue
Jeff Porter
Kristen Russo
Caroline Young
