HAITI :: $5 million dollar donation for St. Vincent's

(left) Father Sadoni, Director of St. Vincent's
(center) Mary White
(right) Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori
photo credit: Mary Frances Schjonberg

We are tickled pink to share that St. Vincent's recently received a $5,000,000 gift from a donor in New York. This gift will allow the center to begin it's rebuilding efforts more than 4 years after the devastating earthquake.

Who is this benefactor and why a gift so large to St. Vincent's? 

Mary White is a physician and member of St. James Episcopal Church in Manhattan. Ms. White remarked that at St. Vincent's "the needs are in sync with who I am. These are children, many of whom have been abandoned by their parents. I'm an adoptive mom; I'm a physician and it's a place where a lot of medical care is given." 

Her gift is by far the largest donation she has ever made. “For me as an individual I have never done anything like this; not even close,” she said. “I felt euphoric afterwards,” she said. “I felt that God meant this to be.”*

It all goes back to connections, the foundation on which The Red Thread Promise is built. 

Who do you feel connected to today? 
And what are you going to do about it?

*See the full article

Haiti Happenings, Part 8 - HOLY TRINITY & ST. VINCENT'S

Holy Trinity Symphony

Only blocks away from the empty palace grounds are what remain of Holy Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. Our team and others from the Haiti Connection conference toured their large temporary sanctuary and school that take up all of the usable property. Both the music school and classes continue for students. 

Holy Trinity students listening to the symphony

We were fortunate enough to arrive when Les Petite Chanteaurs (Boys Choir) and Holy Trinity Symphony Orchestra were practicing for an upcoming event. What a treat it was to enjoy their music! 

Sadly, a HUGE cathedral bell—one of the only remaining artifacts from the original cathedral—was recently stolen. How the thieves were able to move such a massive bell is unimaginable. The bells have now been walled in with cement to prevent further theft until the cathedral is rebuilt in years to come. 

The bells from Holy Trinity (photo from 2011)

Last, but certainly not least, St. Vincent’s is steadily showing signs of rebirth:

• St. Vincent’s now has its very own library which is slowly being stocked with books
• Kathy tested out the new sound-proof audiology booth that is set up in a dedicated space to serve the deaf children
• The storage room that we cleaned out and organized two years ago has been converted to a music room that will soon be shared with computer lab The Red Thread is helping to establish
• The water purification system is up and running 

Claurrician, a student at St. Vincent's operating St. Vincent's new gift shop,
and John, a friend from West Tennessee Haiti Partnership.
The shop sell's student's work, including jewelry, artwork and handbags

Journeyman working in the new brace shop

The brace shop

The brace shop shares space with the new clinic

The building will house an expanded pharmacy and multiple clinic rooms

As soon as these areas are furnished and stocked, it will be open for business,
serving St. Vincent's students, staff and the community

The new facility will house both permanent and visiting medical teams year round

Looking into a clinic room

The view from inside the clinic looking out

And, to our delight, the children are growing up! They are each a year older and happy. New faces abound as well. The school is now running at full capacity for the current space. And yet there are still children waiting to get in the doors of this very special place in the heart of Port-au-Prince.

Haiti Happenings, Part 6 - RE-VISIONING ST. VINCENT'S

Another highlight of our trip was delivering a goody box to Fr. Sadoni. But not your typical goody box – no chocolates or school supplies or hearing aids. Instead, the box was full of materials donning St. Vincent’s crisp new logo. 

Following the earthquake, we suggested that St. Vincent’s develop a new visual identity; a fresh look for a new era in the life of St. Vincent’s Center for Handicapped Children. In a time of re-visioning and rebuilding, it seemed like the perfect time to make a change. 

Sonya, TRTP Vice President and graphic designer by trade, worked directly with Fr. Sadoni and the Episcopal Bishop to develop this new visual identity. The job posed several challenges:

• To create a design that incorporates the institution’s Episcopal heritage
• To ensure that the logo works in both French and English 
• To select a color palette that complements St. Vincent’s signature blue buildings

In a bulging suitcase were boxes full of letterhead, business cards, envelopes, stamps and magnetic car signs, a different assortment of supplies than we are accustomed to providing our partners!

Receiving letterhead, business cards and envelopes

Car magnets donning the new logo

Best of all, thanks to donors in the design industry, we were able to give all printed materials to St. Vincent’s at no cost! THANK YOU to the photographers, designers, printers, public relations folks, and writers who supported this project. Every little bit helps.

Providing fresh water

During our many visits to Haiti since 2009, we have taken a long, hard look at some basic necessities that, while abundant in many parts of the world, are at a premium in Haiti. One of those critical necessities is potable water.

Potable water is pure enough to drink with a low risk of harm, both immediate and long-term. In Haiti, thousands upon thousands of people have inadequate access to potable water. Water sources are often severly contaminated, as most recently demonstrated in the cholera outbreak which plagues the country to this day. (For the latest in the cholera epidemic, please see this article published yesterday.)

A similar water filtration system in Haiti

The Red Thread Promise is working with several other agencies to install a large water filtration system at St. Vincent's Center for Handicapped Children in downtown Port-au-Prince. Those agencies include Episcopal Diocese of Olympia, Friends of St. Vincent's, Rotary Club of Lunenburg and West Tennessee Haiti Partnership. As you know from our many posts, St. Vincent's serves children with a variety of disabilities (including hearing impairment, sight impairment, loss of limbs, etc), providing an education, medical services and home for students and orphans in their care. During the months at the height of the cholera epidemic, the Center's Director had to make critical choices with St. Vincent's limited funds: provide a meal or fresh water for the students. Naturally, water was the choice. Students went with little to no food for some time as funds were constantly being used to purchase expensive clean water.

Working together, our team is currently fundraising and planning for the installation of a water filtration system so that the Center's Director no longer has to make this critical choice. Once in place, a constant source of potable water will be available for the Center, staff and students. Extra water will be sold to the public for a nominal fee in order to generate enough income for the filtration system to be self-sustaining. Routine maintenance will keep the filtration system in operating condition constantly so no child has to go without water.

Thank you for your supporting The Red Thread's efforts to provide clean drinking water to orphans and students at St. Vincent's as well as the people in the surrounding area.

Haiti Connection

The Haiti Connection conference last month was very productive. Approximately 350 people attended the 10th annual Haiti Connection conference in Miami. Clergy and interested parties representing 32 US states, Washington DC, the Caymen Islands, Jamaica, Canada and a large delegation from Haiti joined together to discuss how Episcopal, Presbyterian Churches and others can support the people and country of Haiti.

The schedule was packed and Kathy represented us well to the different groups in attendance. Much great information was shared and the Diocese's initial plan to rebuild in Haiti was laid out. Kathy was able to attend all 3 days and took special interest in the breakout sessions on healthcare and St. Vincent's Center for Handicapped Children.

Being the thorough note-taker that she is, she took FOURTEEN pages of notes. In an effort not to make the blog trail on for days, below is a super-summary of those notes, including some key facts regarding the devastation of the earthquake as well as the Diocese's priorities in rebuilding.

As per our mission, The Red Thread Promise will focus on supporting the children of St. Vincent's, helping to provide for their day-to-day needs, arranging medical care as necessary, bringing medical teams and supplies to the center, and partnering with others to rebuild the facility. It is our goal to restore a life of normalcy to these exceptional children.

Haiti Connection

Miami, Nov 3 – 5, 2010

FAST FACTS ABOUT CONDITIONS IN HAITI

• 1,500,000 million people in Haiti affected by earthquake
• 1,000,000 +/- people currently living in tent cities
• 250,000+ died in the quake
• Episcopal Diocese damage: $8,000,000,000 loss

31% church

50% schools

80% secondary schools

25% higher education

33% rectory/guest housing

Kesner Pharel, the first keynote speaker, spoke from the government’s point of view and outlined the country’s 4 main pillars of their efforts: territorial, economic, social and institutional rebuilding. The Haitian government has promised to turn the disaster into an opportunity to make it an emerging country by 2030. Pharel concluded with these critical thoughts:

• US and other countries should not just give money to Haiti.
• Pulling together, we need to invest in Haiti.
• Send knowledge so Haitians can help pull their own country out of poverty.

Remarks were given by The Rt Rev Jean Jacques Duracin, Bishop of Haiti, who outlined the 10 projects that the Church will focus on during the initial rebuilding efforts. Each was selected due to their Episcopal and community outreach, including:

• Holy Trinity Cathedral (HTC): A sacred place of worship and culture in Port-au-Prince, originally built to honor the first Bishop of Haiti. HTC’s school was unique in the country, hosting 4,000 students, many of which were killed in the quake
• St. Vincent’s Center for Handicapped Children School and Medical Facility (SVC): The 65 year old center was the first school in Haiti to take care of disabled children. Located one block away from the Presidential palace, SVC serves some of the most disadvantaged children in the city—blind, deaf and mute children and other physical disabilities—with ages ranging from 5 to 16, sometimes older. SVC provides not only a home for these exceptional children, but also a school, clinic, church and extended family.
• Music school: A unique place and treasure for Haitians.
• University: A small but critical university in Haiti that is able to offer higher education that meets the financial needs of the students.
• Seminary: The oldest institution of the church in Haiti provides training for clergy and lay leaders.
• Hospital

LONG RANGE PLANS were shared covering the following topics:

• Education (Dr. Lucien Bernard)
• Long Range Health Care (Hilda Alcindor, R.N.)
• Development (The Rev. Frantz Cole)
• Financial Accountability / Communication (The Rev. P.J. Woodall)

The Rev. Sadoni Leon and The Rev. Canon Bill Squire

during the breakout session for St. Vincent's

BREAKOUT SESSION – St. Vincent’s Center for Handicapped Children

• The Rev. Canon Bill Squire
• The Rev. Sadoni Leon, Director, St. Vincent’s Center
• Hope Lennartz, Friends of St. Vincent’s

Discussion focused on immediate needs of the Center (food, clean water, wheelchairs, crutches, blind walking sticks, brailers, school supplies, clinic supplies, ramps for wheelchairs, computers, musical instruments, etc) as well as the long-range plan to rebuild an accessible, safe facility for disabled children.

Part of the rebuilding plan for St. Vincent's