Spring 2020 Newsletter
Thank you to all who support Haitian Outreach and help us to be able to go out and do the work we love.
Welcome Fish Farm Students & Sponsors!
Mrs. Margaret Penicaud, “Little Children of Mary” Fish Farm ministry has decided to step-down after more than 20 years of supporting children in Lilavois school in Haiti. Haitian Outreach has taken-in the 48 students and their sponsors as part of our Child Sponsorship program. We welcome you and send Mrs. Penicaud best wishes in whatever path God leads her to next! God bless you and thank you for all your hard work.
Haitian Outreach Mission Trip-2020
A small group visited Haiti from March 10-18, 2020 and saw 329 students out of 359. God and your prayers ensured that we left the country two days before they closed the airport. Many thanks.
The country was calm, students were in school and the weather was sunny and warm! Students received their backpack and “rice money”, as appropriate. If your sponsor student did not come to see us, “rice money” is placed in our fund for the purchase of our school supplies for the coming year. Students were happy and well, but food remains scare in the country. There are 80 cases of corona virus in Haiti.
Change in Backpack & Tuition
Due to the changing economy we lost 2 department stores where we purchase our new shoes for our student backpacks. Both K-Mart and Payless have closed. The cost for new shoes is always increasing, especially for young men. We will therefore put gently used shoes in the backpacks. We are collecting gently used shoes, and flip flops and will add them to the student’s backpack, as appropriate. Shoes are an important commodity in Haiti, but it is no longer cost-effective to purchase new shoes.
As a result, the backpack donation has been decreased to $50.00 for a full backpack and the $10.00 has been moved into the tuition money. The annual donation total remains at $200.00/per student, plus “rice money”, which is optional.
Opening at St. Bernard @ St. Camillus Church Hall, 333 Mechanic St., Fitchburg, MA - June 2020
Depending on the corona virus-social distancing, we plan to open to the public staring June 6th, Saturday afternoons from 12:30-3:00pm through August 29th. We are always looking for volunteers to help sort and prepare items for backpacks. Drive to the back of the church on the Elm St. side and enter downstairs under the overhang. We look forward to seeing you. Plenty of parking in the church lots.
Leaking Roof at Bureau Leclerc in Haiti
During the month of February, Haitian Outreach received several donations. One couple generously donated the $2,000.00 to complete the repairs on the roof of Bureau Leclerc. (Storage building in Haiti). The roof has been repaired, and our bins and backpacks will be safe again in Haiti. God Bless you for your generosity to Haitian Outreach to help us keep the storage building in tip top shape!
Other donations will be used to purchase 2-car-size batteries for Bureau Leclerc’s electric system and a motor for the sister’s jeep. We will also have in interior ceiling repainted to remove water stains.
Sponsor Children ONLY in our 6 Schools!
You may find a note attached to your sponsor paperwork stating that your sponsor child is no longer attending one of our schools. If your child is not in a school that the Sisters of the Mary Queen Immaculate manage, you will be asked to consider sponsorship of another child that does go to our schools. Once the child leaves our school, like here when a child moves, we cannot guarantee that the money is being used for tuition. The Mission of Haitian Outreach is child sponsorship. We appreciate that many of you have had the same student for many years and hope that we can come to a mutual agreement. If you have any concerns or questions, please contact Pauline at 978 -807-4397 or e-mail.
Update on Our University Students!
Communication with our University students is essential and saw all but one in Haiti. We presently have 15 confirmed attending a university. The expectation for university students to receive tuition money is that they must be in communication and send a picture of grades and classes to prove the student attends a university in Haiti. We have 1 graduating in November 2020!
Of Note: All our students have missed a lot of school this year-due to violence in the country in the fall and the corona virus in the spring- we are not sure how this will be resolved in Haiti. We will keep you updated as information is received.
50th Anniversary Celebration!
Our sisters, The Daughters of Mary Queen Immaculate will be celebrating their 50th Anniversary as an order in Haiti in January 2021! Presently there are 42 sisters throughout the country of Haiti. There are 4- Novices and 4-Postulance in training. The sisters manage 10-schools and 1-orphanage. Please pray for them and their continued success as a community.
Technical School
The sisters have realized a dream and have opened a Technical school on the St. Marie grounds. The students are obliged to take and pass all courses offered: Sewing, Macramé, Cooking, Cleaning, Needle Point, etc. We visited the school and students were hard at work. One of our university students, Angelica, had a grade of 93 posted! Congratulations Angelica! Students are learning life skills so vital to every-day survival.
Stories/Notices from our website
We send out stories and notices approx. once a month via e-mail. We are a small organization and never release any information about our donors or sponsors. Be sure to check your SPAM folder to see if you have received something from us recently.
Sponsorship
We came home with several new children for sponsorship. We are always in need of sponsors to help children attend school and get an education. If you know of anyone interested, please call Pauline (978) 807-4397 or e-mail at haitian.outreach_pma@yahoo.com. Pray for us as we enter our 22nd year of service to Haiti!
We are looking for blackboards
Our sisters in the southern part of the country are asking for chalk for their blackboards. We are also collecting, shoes and sandals, non-perishable food and chalk for blackboards for 2020! If you have any to donate, please bring to the church hall or call Pauline to schedule a pickup. Haitian Outreach is a 501(c)(3) Non-profit tax-deductible organization