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St. Matthew Underwriting Campaign
for Haiti Mission
Nobody hears the cries of the poor
or the sound of a wooden bell…
Haitian Proverb
“Poverty can be measured in many ways. In Haiti, the poorest country in our hemisphere, deprivation abounds. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the lack of public education for the country’s children. Only 60 percent of Haitians ever have the chance to attend school. …Haitians truly understand the value of education and they realize that education is the only way out of the misery overwhelming their homeland. Haitian children know that going to school is a privilege….” From“The Haitian Times,” Diocese of Norwich, 2005.
"One special way parishes have reached out in solidarity is through a process known as twinning, in which a parish in the United States develops an ongoing relationship with a parish in another part of the world. …We welcome “twinning” relationships and encourage the development of these relationships in ways that avoid dependency and paternalism."
-US Catholic Conference of Bishops, 1997
A goal for the Haitian Ministries of the Archdioces of Norwich is to build relationships between Haitian and American communities. There is a formal “Twinning Program” in which parishes and other groups in the United States formally create a relationship with parishes in the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince. Today there are a dozen such convenants that involve 24 communities both in Haiti and the United States.
St. Matthew Parish is twinned with St. Pierre in Ganthier, Haiti. A significant part of the twinning relationship between St. Pierre and St. Matthew is the support of the school. A picture taken during a visit to the school in 2008 is shown at the left. St. Matthew has committed to supporting the teacher salaries for the school.
We are asking the parishioners of St. Matthew to support this twinning. The commitment that we have to St. Pierre is significant financially and we are setting up a Haiti Fund to encourage the specific support of this mission. We would like to have parishioners underwrite a portion of the twinning commitment on a yearly basis. To give an idea of the financial commitment some amounts that can make a real difference at the school are:
$100 will support one STUDENT per year;
$1000 will support one TEACHER per year;
$2,500 will support an entire CLASS per year.
Over the years the school at St. Pierre has grown. The school began in 1998 with classes held in the balcony of the church. There were 45 students.
 
A grant from the Vatican enabled St. Pierre to add the first building. The green building shown was the school and the first kindergarten class is shown to the right. With the addition of the new building the school grew to 80 students.
 
The school at St. Pierre now has 200 students. The new construction of classrooms from the trip in 2008 is shown to the left.
Please consider making an annual pledge to the Haiti Mission to support the St. Pierre school, or consider a one time gift.
Make checks out to “Haiti Mission” and give to Father Jim or mark envelopes for the “Haiti Mission” and drop in the collection basket.
For more information, please contact John Bouley (860) 875-4999.
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Haiti Mission