Haiti

AMSSND Province Haiti Committee

When people talk about Haiti, the first thing that comes to mind is that it is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.  But that is not how the Haitian people think of themselves. Haiti has rich culture which, in part, embodies the characteristics of resilience, creativity, ingenuity and faith.  Haiti became the world’s first independent black republic and second independent nation in the hemisphere when it successfully conducted a slave rebellion, overthrowing their French colonial masters in 1804.  

Since February, 2017, the Atlantic-Midwest Province of SSND has been engaged in a partnership in Haiti with Beyond Borders, a non-profit organization working in Haiti for over 20 years.This collaboration in Haiti focuses on developing two Model Community Initiatives (MCIs) on Lagonav in the communities of Ti Palmis and Nan Mango.  Both of these communities are located on Lagonav, an island off the western coast of Haiti. The collaboration between SSND and Beyond Borders is focused on: ending violence against women and girls in Haiti, preventing parents who are poor from sending their children into domestic servitude as restaveks, providing sustainable livelihoods for economically vulnerable families, and supporting efforts to provide children’s access to education and the training of teachers. 

    Holy Angels - SSND - Beyond Borders Fund raising for Haiti

    PowerPoint Presentation

    Partnership for mission is a way of being in relationship with others which enables the mutual exchange of learning, resources, wisdom, and values, so that the interests, needs, and capacities of others can be realized more fully.  Partnership is also a spiritual practice.  It is indeed a journey in faith. It involves a willingness to explore a call, and trust that God-is-with-us.
     

     

    Haiti Partnership Report - Year 1 and plans for Year 2

    In partnership with the Atlantic-Midwest Province of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, in 2017 Beyond Borders engaged two new rural communities on the island of LaGonâve – Tipalmis and Nan Mango - to join the Model Community Initiative (MCI). The goal of the MCI is to equip each community to: 1. Guarantee all children protection from trafficking, exploitation, and abuse, 2. Secure access to quality primary education for every child, 3. Generate sustainable livelihoods, especially for the most disadvantaged families, and; 4.

    Lagonav Teacher Training Trip

    S. Sharon Slear in Haiti

    Sister Sharon Slear, SSND of Notre Dame of Maryland University and two colleagues, Kathleen Sipes and Cynthia Cassone, traveled to the island of Lagonav in July, 2017 to begin a teacher training initiative at the Matenwa Native Language School on the island. The purpose of this training is to further educational development on Lagonav by supporting teachers in their work to devise intervention strategies to increase success in school for students with identified needs.

    Update on the Use of Hurricane Matthew Funds Collected by the SSND Atlantic-Midwest Province

    The generous support of SSNDs and their many students, staff and friends who contributed $40,000 to the province’s Hurricane Matthew Fund has been supporting 23 Haitian families (167 women, men, and children) in rural Haiti as they continue to recover from Hurricane Matthew.

    Even before the storm, these families were among the poorest of the poor, struggling to meet their basic daily needs. Through your generosity, your care, and your concern, the SSND family is giving these families a path to a future, filled with dignity, hope, and opportunity.

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