Sister Parish – St. Pierre in Baradères, Haiti
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March 2022 UpdateThe Sister Parish Project is a lay ministry of St. John the Baptist (SJB) Catholic Community in Silver Spring, Maryland. Started in 1994, the Sister Parish Project has enabled many people providing medical clinics, teacher salaries, school lunch programs, and school supplies for the more than 1,000 students in the St. Pierre parish 14 elementary schools and 300 in its secondary school, the Collège Ste. Jean Baptiste.
On August 14, 2021, a 7.2 earthquake hit Haiti and the epicenter is on the edge of the Grande Anse, between Baradères and Les Cayes. The recently rebuilt and renovated church was destroyed, and the rectory was damaged and uninhabitable. People were sleeping outdoors, fearful of the aftershocks. All the schools sustained major damage, 8 were crushed or had some structural damage, 6 were destroyed. In January there were aftershocks, but fortunately, not in Baradères. Later in January 2022 Baradères was inundated with torrential rain fall and flooding.
SJB parishioners and donors from around the country raised over $100,000 to help with emergency relief and reconstruction. Thanks to your generosity and the Haitian spirit of resilience and perseverance, all schools have re-opened, the rectory is almost completed, and the removal of debris from the church has begun. Mass is being held in the St. Pierre Elementary school which is transformed on Sundays to include the stations of the cross on the walls, an altar, an area for the school choir, and benches and chairs for parishioners.
An elder of the parish holds the collection box while people come and place their donations inside.
Fr. Noemi delivers his homily in the makeshift church.
Removal of the church debris
300 CSJB students assemble before class each morning in the courtyard where classes are held until the second floor can be replaced.
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August 2021 Earthquake
St. John the Baptist Haiti Sister Parish Project
The Sister Parish Project is a lay ministry of St. John the Baptist (SJB) Catholic Community in Silver Spring, Maryland. Started in 1994, the Sister Parish Project has enabled many people providing medical clinics, teacher salaries, school lunch programs, and school supplies for the more than 1,000 students in the St. Pierre parish 14 elementary schools and 350 in its secondary school, the Collège Ste. Jean Baptiste.
On August 14, 2021, a 7.2 earthquake hit Haiti and the epicenter is on the edge of the Grande Anse, between Baradères and Les Cayes. Les Cayes is located about 35 miles south of Baradères. According to Pere Ambroise, Pastor of St. Pierre in Baradères, Haiti, the recently rebuilt and renovated church was destroyed, and the rectory is damaged and unstable. Like the 2010 earthquake, many people are sleeping outside in fear of aftershocks. The local government has not allowed the pastor nor other residents to re-enter the rectory because of the unstable nature of the building.
As of August 18, in Baradères, there are 2340 families without shelter, 29 confirmed dead, 25 seriously injured, and 2515 houses destroyed. There is no clean drinking water and food is very scarce. There was damage to the only clinic in Baradères, which is run by the Little Sisters of St. Therese, and their former convent located next to the only catholic high school in Baradères, College St. John Baptiste. The second floor of the school, which was completed in 2018, was flattened. All supplies and books were also destroyed.
The nearest hospital, Hopital Lumiere, was also destroyed. Hospitals in Les Cayes and Port-au-Prince have reached full capacity. The U.S. Geological Survey said a preliminary analysis of satellite imagery after the earthquake revealed “at least 150 landslides” west of the town of L’Asile, in the hard-hit Nippes province, and hundreds more in the mountains and in the Grand’Anse province. Grand Anse was a chapel of St. Pierre until recently when the diocese established it as its own parish. In areas that are impassible because of landslides, people are forming human chains to pass needed supplies across the landslide terrain to people on the other side.
The gangs in Port-au-Prince, who kidnaped people, stole medical supplies and vital resources, and prevented outside aid organizations from helping people, have declared that they will not impede traffic going south to aid victims of the earthquake.
On the financial front the national currency for the Republic of Haiti, appreciated substantially in October 2020. Before then, $1 US was worth $1.25 in Haiti. Now, $1 US is worth only $.67 in Haiti. With the currency’s rapid appreciation, scores of Haitians who rely on money transfers from the United States were severely impacted. Many businesses closed because they were not able to pay their employees. This has affected the power of the US dollar in Haiti dramatically.
Many people are asking what can we do, how can we help? It is very difficult to see people you love and care about experience any kind of hardship yet alone another devastating disaster. I have attached a link to an article from the Haitian Times that will hopefully shed some light on why we must wait and be planful in our response to our brothers and sisters in Baradères.
https://haitiantimes.com/2021/08/25/with-new-quake-relief-efforts-haitian-americans-try-to-avoid-2010-mistakes/
As we continue to monitor the situation in Haiti, we will let you know if there are any opportunities for relief or direct aid to our sister parish. If you would like to donate, please send checks payable to St. John the Baptist and write Haiti Disaster Relief on the memo line. 100% of every donation is sent directly to St. Pierre. There are no administrative costs or expenses taken from this fund. For more information, contact the parish office at 301-622-1122 or [email protected]. Let us continue to pray fervently for the Haitian people and all who have been impacted by this horrendous disaster.
St. Pierre Church 2005 Interior 2015
Interior July, 2021 St. Pierre 2018