Blog

Things here are still pretty difficult. Some ways that is to be expected. It usually takes a couple of weeks for things to settle in. We have still been having trouble with our solar system.  I was beginning to believe that we were going to have to replace the batteries. We have at least one that I didn’t think was holding a charge.  Earlier this week my friend Elwood brought over his battery charger and we got the system partially going. Then his charger quit. After he left I found another charger in the depot and tried it, but it …

Getting adjusted Read More »

September 12, 2015 This time coming to Haiti was harder for me to leave my family, my freedom and the comforts of living in the Us.  It was hard to know I will miss the grandchildren’s birthdays, their soccer games, helping with school work. I will miss my children and their spouses. I will miss my friends, I will miss my freedom. Here in Haiti Bob and I should not go anywhere alone, the Priest we work with has someone with us 24/7. I am not sure if this is really necessary, but Fr. Gracia thinks it is.  We know …

Blog from Denise Read More »

Flying over the northwestern coast of Haiti I look down and once again realize that our planet is fragile. Instead of lush green tropical rainforest,  barren land is being stripped of what little soil remains and is being washed into the Caribbean Sea, turning the blue coastal waters an ugly brown. Thankfully the cancerous spread of deforestation has not spread completely across the country. But vast areas are virtually lifeless, except for the people who have no place left to go; people with few choices, their only concerns are daily survival. Landing in Port au Prince, my concern is our …

Back in Haiti Read More »

We just figured out how to share our summer newsletter for any of you not on our mailing list. Click here>>>  2015 summer newsletter pdf

Just received an email from Fr. Gracia saying that Haiti is under a hurricane alert, and they may be flooded in. I checked the National Hurricane Center, and they are showing no local activity. Either way, please keep all of our friends in Riviere Mancelle safe this hurricane season.  

Fr. Gracia safely made it back home to Haiti this past weekend. Our time together bore much fruit. He has plans to find two volunteers from each school to facilitate purchasing local grown food for the school lunch program. Currently the children are served beans and imported rice. Purchasing locally grown food will not only seed the money in the local economy, it will also add variety to the children’s meals and add needed nutrients to their diet. We also discussed plans to form book clubs with the teachers.  Recently I reread the history of Booker T. Washington and have …

Fr. Gracia returns to Haiti Read More »

Wednesday afternoon Fr. Gracia arrived here in Tennessee. He will be staying with us until the 22nd of September. This promises to be an exciting time as we visit supporting churches and work on planning and organizing this upcoming year. This weekend we are visiting St. Thomas church in Cookeville, TN. Next Sunday we will be visiting St. Gregory in Smithville. Fr. Gracia is looking forward to meeting our many friends and supporters of the Haiti Project. He invites you to contact us for an opportunity to meet with him.

The official tally is in; through the generous sharing of our many friends, partners and benefactors we have received money to buy food for a total of 83,300 school lunches for the 2015-2016 school year! Mèsi Ampil! Thank you very much from all the school children of Riviere Mancell, Haiti. A special thank you to the Sisters of the Divine Savior for their 2015 Lenten Project for the school lunch program.  Thank you Salvatorian Family and Community House Staff. God bless everyone who participated in the Sisters’ 2015 Lenten Project. All together they raised $11,000.00 (USD), enough money to buy …

The Children say “Mèsi Ampil” (thank you very much) Read More »

The Parish Twinning Program’s sea container program is absolutely astounding. This year the program will be shipping seven, forty-foot containers to twin parishes in Haiti. This is a 30% increase over last year. Our shipment to the parish of Riviere Mancelle represents about 3% of the total. Many thanks to all the people who  donate, pack, transport and give the financial support to make this possible.

  We have been very busy since our return to the US, we have been organizing and packing for the shipping container. Thank you to all for the wonderful donations. We have just a few more things to gather and we will be delivering to the warehouse. Denise and I will both be working at the warehouse for the next three weeks. We can receive last minute donations for our twin parish up until the 22nd. Bob