Help In Haiti

Are you looking for a way to do something “concrete” in Haiti?

To know that your time or talent or money is assisting in an accomplishment you can point to and say, “Here is one way I helped to make a few lives better?”

Join us in building a school and community center in Delmas, Port Au Prince!

The Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ (MACUCC) and the Worcester Area Mission Society, UCC (WAMS,UCC) and a lot of VERY interested individuals are joining with the Good Samaritan Hospital (HBS) of La Romana, Dominican Republic and the Haitian Baptist Convention to build a school in Delmas, a section of Port Au Prince.

HBS has nurtured its long term connections with the Haitian Baptists who have said they would like our help to build a school/community center/storm shelter.  The Baptist Convention owns the lot and it is ready for building.  The school will be open to the children and the families in the neighborhood.  The Baptist Convention has teachers ready to staff and administer it when the building is completed.

HERE’S WHAT WE NEED:

PRAYERS:  prayers for the community of Delmas; prayers for the Dominican and Haitian architects as they work together to create the plan for a sturdy, safe and practical building; prayers for the Haitian workers as they start the project; prayers for the volunteers as they travel down to help; prayers for folks in the community to join us in this hope-filled project; and prayers for the Haitian Baptist Convention as they bring the dream to fruition!

FINANCES:  Contributions of money to build the school; money to help with initial staffing and furnishing; money to help the volunteers create bonds of friendship and understanding with the community they hope to serve, to assist with the building, and eventually to bring back to New England a deeper understanding of a people and a culture.

PEOPLE:  to organize and publicize our efforts and raise funds;

   to travel (possibly outside their comfort zone) – work – and bring us back their stories;

WORKTRIP DATES:        The first trip will be from June 26 to July 4, 2010. 

We hope there will be a second on November 6 – 14, 2010.

WE WELCOME YOUR HELP :  If you are a skilled construction tradesperson, a medical practitioner, an educator or trained in helping to alleviate the symptoms of trauma, we would welcome you to join us.

 Please note that these will be physically and emotionally stressful trips.  Participants must be at least 18 years old, in good physical and mental health, and be willing to nurture their spiritual health.

The cost:  expected to be approximately $1,500 per participant and will include airfare and all expenses in Haiti. We are hoping that our fundraising will generate an additional $500 - $600 per participant,which will be used for building materials, medicines, and the salaries of theHaitian and Dominican workers whom we will assist in building their school.

SPONSORS

WAMS,UCC,  through its Workdays for Adults and Youth in Service – WAYS – program offers a Mission Opportunity Connection –  for people of all faiths. The MACUCC will help with publicity of the work trips and the funding needs.