About the Haiti Project              Little Sister shows Eileen & Susan temporary school

After burying four of their members who died in the earthquake of January 2010, the Little Sisters of St. Therese have been resuming their ministries of teaching and health care in temporary structures.  They have a prioritized plan for rebuilding.

An OSP/IHM team visited the Little Sisters in Riviere Froide this May. Classes are held in tents or open air.  The Sisters live in damaged but sound parts of their motherhouse or in tents.  Many show signs of fatigue and distress.  It is not clear to what extent funds collected by CRS will be available for the Little Sisters' projects.  Fonkoze the micro lending bank for Haiti will forward funds from donors when these projects are ready for cash infusions. Fonkoze is also an agency of choice for making loans to poor Haitian women.   

eileen coleman greets students

History

The TRI-IHM Haiti Outreach Project was launched in 1993 with the Tri-IHM Governing Board statement:

"The IHM Sisters and Associates, impelled by the gospel (Luke 4:18-19), stand in solidarity with the people of Haiti, the poorest in the Americas, in their struggle for dignity, life and human rights both in Haiti and in the United States."

In 1995, the three IHM Communities began a common project of financial support for the Little Sisters of St. Therese in Haiti to assist with the their ministries in education, health care, food, and sustainable development projects.

In 2006, Representatives from each of the three IHM congregations and the Oblate Sisters of Providence met to broaden the vision of a common Haiti project. At the gathering, the committee members listened to each other with awe at the many ways each congregation had already been involved with the Haitian people (in addition to support for the Little Sisters of St. Therese) dating back to 1959. Past ministries of support for the Haitian people included:

  • Twinning of schools in Miami and Haiti
  • Accompanying seminarians to Haiti
  • Traveling to Haiti on human rights and elections monitoring delegations with Pax Christi
  • Investing in Fonkoze
  • Teaching Haitian children living in New York
  • Working in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean
  • Fundraising through grant writing and "Pennies for Progress, Change for Change in Haiti" collections
  • Supporting projects of Partners in Progress in Fondwa
  • Experiencing the lives of the Haitian people first hand through individual travels

The committee's common desire is to widen and connect the circles of involvement of sisters, associates/companions, families, co-workers, church members, and students with the people of Haiti.

For questions or comments, please contact Sr. Jane Gaughan janegau00@lycos.com; Sr. Mary McGarrity smary1@hotmail.com; or Sr. Anne Murphy ammurphy@ihmsisters.org