Haiti

•  The Project
•  St. Marc's School
•  2008 Medical Mission Report
 

 


Vestry member Sharon Steele and St. Paul's Rector Rob Wright on recent Mission trip to Haiti

Through the Partnership Program of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti, we have entered into a relationship with an Episcopal community, St. Marc’s, in the village of Bois Blanc. A “scouting team” of Sharon Steele, Rusty Barber and Charles Gearing will be traveling to Haiti to explore how we might be most helpful as a partner with the St. Marc’s community. The children of St. Bart’s have already sent shoes and now are collecting clothes and school supplies to be taken down by the group. Money has been sent from the parish for repairing the village pump and for helping with the salaries of the teachers at St. Marc’s school.

In April, 2005 Charlie Gearing, Sharon Steele and John Ford attended the Haiti Connection Conference in Miami. They were energized by spending time with Kerwin Delicat who visited us in April. Kerwin reported that the village pump at Bois Blanc in Haiti is now working, thanks to St. Bart’s inancial support. During June a series of adult forums will feature Stories from the Missions Field on Sunday mornings. On July 3, the forum will feature a video with Dr. Jeffrey Sachs on Millenium Development Goals which was presented at the General Convention.

The Haiti Project

Our first priority is to help keep the school open, and this will require that we continue providing the money for the salaries of the teachers, which we did for the 2005-06 year.

In addition, to help get the 2006-07 school year started, we were able to provide money for the students to have uniforms and school supplies, thanks to substantial assistance provided by St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta. 

In order to enhance and strengthen St. Marc’s school, we are planning to undertake a series of improvements.  These will include:

  • Acquiring some additional land to accommodate new structures.

  • Build latrine facilities that will adequately serve the students

  • Construct and equip a kitchen that will allow preparing a hot meal for the students who  have no other reliable source of nutrition.

  • Construct three additional classrooms.

  • Rehab the table/bench combinations that are the basic item of furniture in the classrooms

In summary, these major physical improvements will cost about $40,000 or more.

In addition, we hope to provide on an ongoing basis the funds to support the teachers’ salaries, plus the funds to support the feeding program. These will amount to at least  $30,000 annually.

For more Information Please Contact:
The Ven. Charles Gearing
678-524-3369
charles@stbartsatlanta.org

Team Visits Haiti

We also were able to take the clothes and school supplies that our children had collected, and the principal of the school will take responsibility for distributing them to those children who will benefit the most.

There was adequate opportunity to explore with the Rev. Kerwin Delicat and the leadership of the St. Marc’s community just how we might best work with them to meet some of their most pressing needs, and we will be presenting a tentative plan to the Mission Committee and the Vestry soon. This was the main reason for the trip, and we now feel we have a much better understanding of the circumstances and the possibilities for our partnership arrangement with St. Marc’s.

It was a privilege to represent St. Bartholomew’s on this pilgrimage.

-Sharon Steele, Rusty Barber, and Charlie Gearing

SCHOOL UNIFORMS FOR ST. MARC'S SCHOOL, HAITI 
Through your generosity, last year St. Bartholomew’s collaborated with St. Paul's church, Atlanta to raise money to provide school uniforms and supplies for 160 children at St. Marc's School, Bois Blanc, Haiti. School uniforms are mandatory throughout Haiti, but in a country where the per capita annual income is about 400 US dollars, this requirement is often the first roadblock to acquiring a primary education. For this coming school year, St. Paul's has agreed to again work with us to try to provide children with uniforms and school supplies at $30.00 per child with the goal of increasing the number of children served to 250. Please look for us this Sunday as we collect donations for school uniforms and as we support this ministry through the sale of Bishop's Blend coffee during coffee hour. The Missions Committee and the children of St. Marc's thank you for your continuing efforts.

 

2008 Haiti Medical Mission Report
by Carol Lyle, MD

On February 28, seven of us from the parishes of St. Bart’s and St. Paul’s set off for Haiti to conduct a medical clinic at the St. Marc’s School in Bois Blanc. Group members included James Jackson, Augustus Stephens, and the Rev. Rob Wright from St. Paul’s; Carol Lyle, Jim Martin, and Sharon Steele from St. Bart’s; and our friend and colleague Carole Dupre, who was born and raised in Haiti, but had not returned for over 30 years.

There were many challenges on the way to our destination – the lost luggage, delayed passport, and car-sized potholes on the road to Montroius – but all were eclipsed by the sight of the large crowd that greeted us on our first morning of clinic. There were 147 names on our “waiting list”. But we quickly discovered that most names on our list were in fact family groups, usually a mom with kids, all of whom needed to be seen. Over the three days of clinic, Drs. Lyle, Steele, and Stephens (an ophthalmologist), saw almost 500 patients.

We were ably assisted by James Jackson and the Rev. Wright who staffed our “pharmacy”, Jim Martin who was the ophthalmic assistant, and Carole Dupre who provided patient information in Creole to each community member we treated. We were able to treat many acute infections, as well as identify and provide temporary treatment for some chronic illnesses. Dr. Stephens, with equipment from his practice and eyeglasses from the Lions Club, was able to improve the vision of some very happy villagers. We were able to provide each child at St. Marc’s School with a month’s supply of vitamins. Unfortunately, some of the most pressing medical problems we encountered, such as malnutrition, and chronic parasitic and malarial infections, were beyond our ability to treat. We hope that our long range plans to add a kitchen and latrine to the school will ultimately improve the overall health of the children in Bois Blanc.

On Sunday, we worshipped with the community of St. Paul’s in Montroius and with the St. Marc’s community in Bois Blanc. With the help of our translator extraordinaire, Carole, the Rev. Wright was able to preach to both congregations. We feel that our ability to spend more time working, playing, and praying with our sister community at St. Marc’s has led us to a deeper understanding of their needs and a greater appreciation of their many strengths in the face of great adversity.