Parishioners at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (SEAS) parish are working to bring hope to Haiti.
Two years ago, Pastor Bill Spilly, showed a slide presentation of his visits to Haiti and parishioners responded enthusiastically by forming a local affiliate of H.O.P.E. – Haiti Outreach Pwoje Espwa, named in Creole, the language of the common people of Haiti. The core leadership team consists of Jerry Clement, Amy and Bob Flanagan, Cathy Newell, Les Tandler and Fr. Spilly.
Parishioners say the H.O.P.E. organization began in the early 1990s with a few meetings between Fr. Jim Callan (then pastor at Corpus Christi parish in Rochester) and several people with connections to Haiti.
The group began formal operation in 1995 and was granted 501 (c) 3 not-for-profit designation from the IRS.
The group’s goal is not to impose solutions, but provide assistance and expertise as requested by the Haitian people, members say.
According to parishioners, in its first year of collaboration, SEAS donated over $8,500 to efforts to help Haiti.
Growing knowledge of conditions in Haiti also led SEAS’ Youth Ministry Leader Lisa O’Brien to recently visit Haiti with Habitat for Humanity International.
SEAS parishioner Jerry Clement visited Haiti last summer.
“I’ve hiked miles, climbed mountains and waded across rivers in search of understanding,” he says. “I know that the people of Borgne, Haiti, truly appreciate the work of the group called H.O.P.E.; that H.O.P.E. is doing excellent, measurable work – our ties are to the right organization; and that we at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish are achieving our mission of promoting/sustaining community well-being for the people of Borgne by working with H.O.P.E.”
Clement explains that life in Haiti is difficult. He notes people are very friendly and clean and crime rates are low, but people live with limited transportation facilities, few latrines, very little clean water and no garbage removal.
Members say H.O.P.E. has made much progress in Haiti over the last 15 years including:
•Helping a local hospital set up 14 rural health stations staffed by 75 volunteers offering early care and health education. A special hangar was used to isolate and treat earthquake victims. This “health system” has played a major role in controlling the recent cholera epidemic. SEAS is working to acquire an autoclave for the hospital, has provided cots for the rural health stations and has sent over $3,600 to assist during the cholera outbreak.
H.O.P.E’s Mobile Teacher Program’s three teachers travel to rural areas and set up schools for 25 children for one week each month. Three more teachers and more mobile classrooms will be added this school year. The cost to parents is providing a chair for their student. SEAS has helped to fund this program and also supplied bilingual books written in both French, the language of the upper class and Creole, the language of the majority of the people.
Fr. Bill Spilly quotes a Haitian saying, “Dye mon, gen mon,” which means “Beyond the mountains, more mountains.”
“The amount of work ahead is unimaginable,” he says, but his parishioners note the work has begun at SEAS, one mountain at a time.
