St. Columba Haiti Ministry

LUNCH PROVIDED FOR FULL DAY CLASSES! Due to the 2 months of no school this year #13, our schools decided to double classes each day. We had a special donation button on our St. Columba page and raised enough money for 2 months. $1,800 per month, $800 for utensils. Thank you!

WE ARE IN YEAR #13, SEPT-22-JUNE-23 FUNDED!
THANKS TO ALL THE DONORS!
We already started funding year #14 Sept-23-Jun'24!
SEE ABOVE ABOUT OUR “FOOD” FUNDING!

Our students at St. Mary Magdalene wear orange uniforms. We've supported them since 2010.

Mission Statement: As members of St. Columba parish, Oakland, Ca., “through African-American traditions, we are moved by the Spirit to serve." Matt. 25:40 Amen I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me."
"Together with our sisters and brothers in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, we seek to share hope by collaborating on humanitarian projects, including sponsoring school children’s education, making small business loans to women, and developing community-based cooperatives promoting dignity and human rights by reducing child enslavement, violence, and poverty in Haiti. We also seek to establish a faith partnership with St. Bernadette and its Holy Family Mission, to work towards these goals together.” (Sept. 2011)

We are the Haiti Ministry, Hope For Haiti:Education-HHE, working since the 2010-11 school year #1 we now are now in our 13th year working with 1 school, St. Mary Magdalene, a mission school in the Grand Ravine zone of Port-Au-Prince, sponsored by the parish St. Bernadette in Martissant. We also are now continuing for a 4TH year with St. Bernadette's main school kindergarten. From 2010 to 2018 we sponsored scholarships in 4 schools in the Grand Ravine zone. We see Haiti as a special partner as described by Frederick Douglass,(click here to see his speech) "Until she spoke, no Christian nation had abolished Negro slavery." We acknowledge, sadly, that because of this abolition of slavery, Haiti has been punished many times so that the majority of Haitians suffer from poverty.

YEAR #12 2021-22 Due to Covid-19 our public fundraising activities have been reduced. So we mailed out invitations to individuals or groups to send in donations to meet our $13,000 goal. We reached 100% of our budget last week thanks to a good "White Party-Aug. 21". Our schools need to plan on working creatively during the summer and fall to accommodate with the ongoing violence and the pandemic. See our "News Updates" to read more about the horrific situation our partners are having to deal with.

YEAR #11 2020-21 We couldn't begin year #10 until January due to political violence and then Covid-19 arrived in March. Our schools, in a move to assist more students, decided to take in those students who didn't make it onto the class lists and gave them the rest of the year's experience such as it was. Our special donor for St. Bernadette's 10 kindergartners continue funding a 2nd year and he kept the 8 added students during year #10 as we began year #11. The restrictions cut class time way down but beginning in early August, curriculum from year #10 was promoted through October and so year #11 began in November with exams completed for #10. We were able to fund our 50 students again as well as the 18 students at St. Bernadette. There has continued to be violence--see the articles on our "Ongoing Protests" page where we tell about the solid Baptist agency having to move out completely. Our team is committed to staying no matter what. We're fundraising for year #12 now. See above St. Columba Haiti Ministry.

YEAR #10: 2019-20 We finished year 9 with 50 children at the Catholic school, St. Mary Magdalen Classical Center, one of our original schools. Pre-K/6. St. Mary Magdalen is a school of St. Bernadette Parish in the neighboring zone of Martissant, Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. We have supported this school from the beginning in 2010 along with 3 other area schools committed to serving the most impoverished. With this project we continue to nurture mutual sharing of our lives as faith-filled people, concerned with promoting dignity and human rights in the areas of reducing child enslavement, violence, and poverty in Haiti. We are sad not to be able to continue with 100 scholarships and four schools.
See the article in the Miami Herald, "To Really Help Haiti's Children, Stop The International Funding of Orphanages" by Namie Vernaelde, July 3, 2017. "Mired in poverty with no access to education and healthcare, many families say Yes to recruiters from orphanages in the hope their children will have a better life. More often than not, that is not the case."
Scholarships are $272 per student providing full tuition plus school supplies that include uniforms. Group scholarships are welcome! $55 from 5 people= 1 scholarship.
GOALS 1) to continue the program as long as possible; 2) to create a permanently funded program with defined levels; 3) to address other needs, safety from gang violence, nutrition, health, by working with other community assistance programs including CRS; 4)to share educational goals."

stcolumba-oak.com/hope-for-haiti-donationsHHE MEMBERS: Front row: Sr. Marilyn Medau, Benay Curtis-Bauer, Joan Davis, Judy Luce; Back row: Maria Sandoval, Florencia Blackburn, Elena Gaudet, Tom Luce, Dolores Gaudet, Bernadine Joseph, Veronica Lofton, Sandra Christian.
Missing from picture, Carolyn White, Chryesetta Reid, Michelle Baptiste, Michelle Shute, Tommie Mayfield, Louis Labat

Tom Luce is HHE Coordinator and Liaison with the St Mary Magdalene principal, Mr. Haile Noël.
HHE was partially fiscally sponsored 6 years by another charity group, allowing us to provide more students with scholarships. This was a generous service for which we will be grateful forever. We now will be totally sponsored within St. Columba Parish.
To donate click here to go to top of page, and then on the image, "Please Donate"
Haiti Liaison: Tom Luce hhecoordinator@gmail.com
HHE contact: Elena Gaudet educatehaiti@aol.com