Haiti Mission, Inc. has as its primary focus a commitment to provide basic humanitarian aid to the villages of Numero Deux and Ravine Saab which comprise the Church Parish of Our Lady of the Assumption in the Diocese of Jeremie. The first and foremost goal is to provide potable water within 500 feet of every family in this area. Other projected activities include initiatives in the fields of education, health, improved housing, and other basic material needs. A long range vision is to help the villagers to establish independent economic development by providing them with agricultural business opportunities utilizing their own native resources, which may include no-interest business loans and vocational skills that will "enable them to lead a worthy life on the material, social, cultural, and spiritual level." (Pope Paul VI, Gaudium et Spes #67)
The Diocese of Jeremie services over 500,000 people in the poorest diocese of the poorest country in our hemisphere. In this Mission Diocese, there are only forty priests to serve over one hundred small chapels and parish churches. While parts of the diocese are beautiful, most of the citizens of Western Haiti struggle with living conditions that are unimaginable. Daily problems include lack of water, food, and shelter, as well as deprivation of health care and education. The Diocese must care for the most desperate and marginalized people, those without homes, families or food, those who are facing misery and a short life. Without the help of the Catholic Church and the support of the people in the U.S., many of these people will die. But the Haiti Mission team has seen the tremendous impact direct aid to specific areas and projects makes.
Because of the support of our mission, three elementary schools have been started, educating over 650 children who prior to our assistance were unable to attend school. In these remote areas of Haiti, the church is the only means for many children to get an elementary education. In addition to teaching the basics of reading, writing, religion, and arithmetic, the schools provide vitamins and medical attention. In addition to supporting the schools, construction of a multipurpose building has been completed which will be used for a school, an infirmary, a chapel and a community center for the area. An initiative to start a pig breeding program to repopulate Jeremie with valuable Haitian Creole Pigs is also underway. The pig pens have been completed and populated. Other economic initiatives such as restarting a local sugar mill are being explored, too. Perhaps our largest project has been to institute a fresh water drilling program in Western Haiti . Our water equipment is now safely on the ground in Haiti and we intend to see that every family in Jeremie has access to this most essential resource. To see photographs of the mission at work on these projects, please refer to the headings above.
