Even more so than everywhere else, Haiti has experienced a very “weird” past year and a half. Let’s get the bad news out of the way.
While initially spared much of the ravages of COVID-19 experienced by many other countries, Haiti is now experiencing a “wave” of its own. With social distancing a non-existent solution, difficulty in the ability to have everyone washing their hands and wearing masks, and a reported 26% of the population in favor of vaccinations, it appears probable that the disease has more firmly embedded itself. The only bright spot, ironically, is that Haiti has an extremely young population, so may be better able to tolerate the virus with fewer fatalities.
Inflation continues to be problematic. As of May 2021, inflation increased 1% month-over-month, and 14.5% year-over-year. Two items, though, are worse than the average: food prices were up 17.5% from last year, and health costs were up 23%. Imagine the difficulties most Haitians have making purchases, then tack on an additional minimum 15%.
Environmentally, of course, Haiti seems to be a magnet for disaster … the past several months have been no exception. Most notably, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Southern Haiti on August 14th at 8:29a.m. As of today, the death toll is over 2,200 and 800,000 people affected. Many remote areas are just now getting food and water delivered, and remain cut off from visits as a result of road destruction. Thankfully, Haiti has been spared being struck by recent hurricanes; however, tropical storms have done considerable damage to localized areas. A bit of good news: the island of La Gonâve has been spared by both the earthquake and the storms.
Finally, and perhaps most frustratingly, the sociopolitical situation in Haiti is very bad and getting worse. On July 7th, president Jovenal Moïse was assassinated in his residence. Several weeks later, there is no definite answer about who orchestrated the shooting. Acting prime minister and president Ariel Henry is now in charge … an optimistic schedule is still in place for a Constitutional referendum as well as the general elections. Gangs, prevalent before the assassination, rule with impunity in the cities. Crime is rampant.
Overall, and quite surprisingly, Haiti has been calm the last few months. Someone accurately described the situation, though: Haiti is like a dormant volcano … an eruption could happen at any moment.
So, that’s the bad news. I hate to put it in black and white, but there’s no sense in shying away from the facts. As you can see by the title of this blog, though, there have been good things happening lately, especially at Notre-Dame!
Because of everything mentioned above, I wasn’t able to take my annual trip to Haiti in March (making me very upset). We were, however, able to get Fr. Raynold to travel here last month! He stayed with us for a few days, mostly relaxing and having multiple discussions with us. We were able to go over everything that has been accomplished since my visit last year, as well as create a budget for the upcoming school year and identify other needs. We also had an open house, attended by several donors. It was great having my friend here!
Probably the best improvement at Notre-Dame has been the building of a new school. As noted in my updates to donors, another parish in Port-au-Prince donated enough funds to build a ten-room school, which will be used for grades 1-8 as well as two offices and bathrooms:
We (Dignity for Haiti) paid for the roof and some other materials, as well as most of the labor. It is a beautiful structure, and replaces buildings that were not only too small and poorly suited for classrooms, but also decrepit and dangerous (walls would surely buckle under any earth tremor). As part of the project, in fact, two small buildings were torn down. The two kindergarten classes will be in the one remaining building; it was much sturdier than the ones demolished.
Last year, we added a 7th grade class. This year, we are adding an 8th grade class. This will really help those students who previously left school after 6th grade, as the government school in Grande Source is hit-and-miss when it comes to providing teachers on a consistent basis.
Another infrastructure project was the building of a new outhouse for students, staff, and others. The old one had been used for many years, and there was no telling when it would suddenly be unusable (filled up).
We are also working with an outside organization to look into the water situation at Notre-Dame. The only water source now is a 1,000-gallon cistern next to the rectory, the amount of water available being subject to sporadic rainfall. In addition to it being barely enough for those who live there, it is not sterilized and certainly not enough for the students and staff. The organization I mentioned, though, visited Notre-Dame in July and has provided a great assessment and several recommendations. If everything works out, we should be able to provide a better source of sterile water. Stay tuned!
Finally, we were able to provide quite a bit of food to Notre-Dame and the three surrounding rural chapels through a matching donation to Food for the Poor. Although the transportation of the food (some of which shown below) from the mainland was problematic and expensive (including a ransom paid when the shipment was stopped by gangs at a road-closure), many families were able to receive something to help them survive another couple of weeks.
Going forward, challenges notwithstanding, I am excited about plans for the near future. I will be working on updating the website with new photos, updated teacher profiles, etc. I’m also hoping to create a “menu” page with projects and costs, so interested donors can contribute to something particular that catches their eye. We are also looking at gardening projects, animal projects (chickens, for example), infrastructure improvements, etc. I do hope to visit Haiti as soon as possible, but the sociopolitical climate will need to improve for that to happen.
As a side project, I am trying to make contact with representatives (U.S. and/or Haitian) of the other five parishes and schools on the island. We all have common issues, and I’d like to see if we can discuss challenges, successes, and best practices.
During his visit, Fr. Raynold asked that I pass on his thanks and prayers to all financial and spiritual donors to Dignity for Haiti. Denise and I, along with the Dignity for Haiti members of the Board, echo his thanks and prayers. Without you, the parish and school would certainly cease to exist … we are their only support. Most importantly: we are providing hundreds of our brothers and sisters with dignity.
Lespwa fè viv … hope gives life!
In Christ,
Mike Wack