Saint Elizabeth Church in Rockville has been engaged in a Haiti parish-support/twinning program since the early 2000s. Haiti was chosen in view of relatively short travel and as it was and is the poorest country in Latin- America, and the Caribbean region. The Notre Dame de Esperance parish in Magagnosse was chosen as it was not yet covered by other support programs from churches or other donors. The impact of the catastrophic earthquake of 2010 made St. E’s support only more necessary.

St. E’s program has made a school possible (Ste. Marie de Magagnosse) and supports school lunches. Past support has also included a modest “nurses’ station”; some special one-off projects: improvements to latrines; helping the pastor buy a (used) vehicle; renewal of a corrugated roof over part of the school; provision of a cistern on the hill; a large water tank; early modest life-stock and planting support; an expansion of classrooms to accommodate the growth of the school; and a donation from the Youth Group to the school, including some fun items for the children.

The main focus has been and is the school (including the daily school lunch, the one nutritious meal the children can rely on). It has significantly expanded from its early start and is doing very well, with a high percentage of passing grades and recognition as one of the better schools in the region.

There has been an active interest from the St. E. parish with 22 individuals visiting over 11 trips. Remarkably, support to the school has fully continued during the whole COVID-19 pandemic period. No major impact was reported from COVID-19 on the school. In contrast, political and economic and resulting security conditions continue to be challenging.

Fortunately, the school has remained a ‘safe space’ for teachers and students.

Activities for 2020/2021 include firstly continued support to the school and school lunches. A new visit is overdue but continues to be delayed until health travel regulations and circumstances in the country allow for it. We will also renew working on exchanging information with other parishes with programs in Haiti.

We are always interested to hear from parishioners willing to participate in the ongoing development of the Haiti program.

· Fons Marcelis (Contact person Haïti Program)

· Deacon Mark Asselin