Mission Trip Report for 17-25 June 2015







Overall Missions Goal: Serve God’s beloved poor.

Mission Focus:
1. Continue to build sister parish relationship and understand current status of ongoing projects.
2. Begin work on a water purification system setup and planning.
3. Pickup all the supplies we sent on the sea container and transport them to Gandou for use.
4. Celebrate the graduation of our first 3 University students from Gandou.
5. Provide health care for the people of our sister parish in the following ways:
    a. Run medical clinic/pharmacy and provide the best possible medical care to the greatest number possible.
    b. Run dental clinic and provide cleanings, extractions, and restorations.
    c. Create ID cards for patients for best possible patient tracking.
    d. Continue with our referral program and referral patient tracking which provides the support for the people in our sister parish to get health care in the cities
        ​of Jacmel or Port-au-Prince when we are not in Haiti.
    e. Transport emergency cases from Gandou to LaVallee, Jacmel, and Port-au-Prince using our truck.
    f. Continue to build and improve our program for malnourished children.
    g. Continue to support, train, and encourage breast feeding.
    h. Meet with the mid-wives of the area and provide them with recently provided boots, flashlight, razors, and baby bulb syringes.
     i. Involve the 3 of the 4 students we are sponsoring to go to university in our clinic work and allowing them to run the ID card table including data entry into our         database, printing of ID cards, and health check up family dossiers.
6. Provide opportunity for our team to experience Haiti and especially our sister parish.

Focus Area #1 - Sister Parish Relationship/Status of Ongoing Projects
Earthquake Rebuilding/Construction projects
Church
   1. Since our last visit in February of 2015 Father Voltaire has meet with his bishop and the decision was made to continue to use the brother of Father
       ​Nexcene as the lead contractor/engineer in charge of the construction of the church.
   2. A meeting was held with the contractor and a plan was put forth for the next steps to be completed in order to get the roof on the church.
   3. In this plan include have steps to be completed in order to get the roof on the church.
       Step 1. Finish putting a solid concrete top all around the top of the cement block walls of the Church. This solid concrete top on the walls allows for
                    ​reinforcement bars to set into this solid base to be later used to attach the roof to. This step is nearly done and will not require much additional work.
       Step 2. Put up the frame for something that will catch the water that will come off the roof.
       Step 3. Finish the concrete on top what will eventually become the bell tower.
       Step 4. Finish the two sets of stairs that are inside the Church that will eventually be used to allow people to get up to the choir loft but during the
                    ​construction of the roof these steps will help to quickly move the workers up and down as they install the roof.
       Step 5. Install the roof.
   4. He had a price for one of these 5 steps but he did not have prices for all the steps. He was working on getting exact quotes for all these steps but he did not
       ​have them yet. He will email them to us when he has them.
   5. By the time this report was written Father had emailed us the quotes of all the steps to complete before installing the roof and installing the roof. It came to a
       ​total of $25,000. We are sending the money we have and asking Father to move forward with the work.
   6. It is a great desire of Father Voltaire to get the roof on the Church before the December 3 parish feast day.
   7. Father asked us to do everything we can to quickly find additional funds.
   8. Until the roof is installed on the church Sunday Mass is still being held under the temporary pavilion in the courtyard of the school.
   9. Morning mass continues to be said in the small chapel in the side of the church.
 10. We ask everyone to pray that we find a way to accomplish this project.

School Latrine
   1. On the last trip father Voltaire reported that during the earthquake of 2010 the latrine at the school was severely damaged. He is worried because the
       ​cement floor which covers the deep latrine hole in the ground is cracked and two of the cement toilet holes are cracked all around the base and appear to be
       ​at risk of falling in the latrine hole. Father Voltaire reported that it is no longer safe for the children to use this latrine.
   2. Between the last trip and this trip Father sent us a quote to rebuild the school latrine and we send the funding to build it.
   3. Father reported that the project was a very difficult one. He reported that as they dug the hole it began to rain.
   4. The rain made it very difficult to get the walls of the latrine rocked up.
   5. He reported that several times they would build up the walls of the latrine only to have the rain come and the incomplete cemented rock walls would fall in
       ​and they would need to start over.
   6. Finally with much work they got the walls all the way up and the cement cover on the latrine.
   7. This is the step they were at when we arrived in Gandou, and got to see first hand all the work they had done on this project.
   8. The latrine is a very large one and will have 6 stalls in total when it is done.
   9. Father old us he had plans for 4 stalls for the school kids (2 for the boys and 2 for the girls). He reported that he would also have one for the male teachers
       ​and one for the female teachers.
 10. Father reported that he needed an additional $1800 to finish this project. After our trip and during our first monthly Haiti meeting we agreed to go ahead and
       ​send this amount so that he can finish this very important project.
 11. Father reported that he will have this project done by the time school starts in September.

​Earthquake Damaged Home Rebuilding Project – This is the third home being funded through St. Anthony’s following the earthquake.
   1. Through the great help of Father Voltaire a huge amount of progress has again been made on the construction of this house for the family of Miss-love Jean
       ​Baptist.
   2. The majority of the work that was yet to be done since the last trip has been done.
   3. The outside of the block walls has been covered with smooth cement to seal them and much of the walls have been painted.
   4. The doors on the house have been installed.
   5. The open areas near the top of the roof has been closed in.
   6. The final big step yet to do is to finish the cement floor in the whole house.
   7. Father reported he has enough money to complete this project and he will have it completely done before he comes to the USA in September.
   8. Our plan is to sit with Father Voltaire and call the donor of this and personally tell him that the project is done when Father comes in September.
   9. Part of our team went out and visited the house and took many pictures.
 10. We will all be very happy when this project is soon done.
 11. Father also reported last trip that there was a family in great need of a house. He sent us pictures of what they had and it had nothing but a couple posts as
       ​walls. Father asked for $1,000 to help fix this house.
 12. We had sent this money to Father between the last trip and this one and Father had completed 95% of the work for this family.
 13. We were sending out the team to visit it on Sunday, but it started raining so hard that they were not able to go out to visit.
 14. Father said he would send pictures of it.
 15. Father still has several more family that have no house to live in. One poor mother of many small children asked us directly for help to build her a house.
       ​She said she currently lives in a structure made of branches and leaves.
 16. These types of houses always leak and the wet mess that occurs inside is aweful to live in.
 17. To build a good house for someone like this would be like $5,000 to $7,000.
 18. We asked Father to make a list of the people that need homes and provide it to us so we always know who is the next to get a home when someone comes
       ​wanting to donate for this.

Work on or in the Rectory
Rectory Floor Joist Replacement, Wiring, and Solar System Project
   1. During our last trip and just after that trip much was done to understand what was needed to be done to fix the older part of the rectory where the floor joists
       ​are all rotten and ready to fall down.
   2. Father had given us an estimate to do this work and we sent the money. Father did not want to be in the middle of this project during our trip so he decided
       ​to hold off on the project until after we left.
   3. After the floor joists are replaced and the 2nd floor of the rectory is rebuilt, electrical wiring of rectory will occur and finally new solar panels, batteries, and an
       ​inverter will be installed.
   4. He reported he will start on the project right away and work to get it accomplished before our next trip.

Roof Leaking in the Rectory Rooms on the Roof for Our Team to Sleep In
   1. Previously there was not enough room at the rectory for all our team members to have a room to sleep in. In order to deal with this we had two small simple
       ​framed wooden rooms build on the flat cement roof of the rectory.
   2. On the last trip, when it rained there was a small leak in the center of our room where the water dripped down on one team members bed.
   3. This trip it rained much and again this spot leaked, but there was also a much larger leak in the center between the two rooms.
   4. The rain came down very hard in the middle of the night and nearly everyone in both rooms (about 7 people in each room) had to get up and move around
        ​to try to find a dry place to sleep.
   5. Since we had about every inch of the floor used up for us to sleep on, this was a very challenging task.
   6. We had taken a tube of calking and Ed worked off a ladder and tried to seal the leaks.
   7. Later in the week it rained yet again and the leaks seemed to be significantly better.
   8. Father reported that to really fix this issue we really needed to take the whole roof off and start over.
   9. I agree that it will be difficult to fix the leaks without removing the roof and redesigning the drainage plan, but I can’t bare the thought of starting over on the
       ​roof so I suggested the plan of simply taking about 3 more tubes of calking on the next trip and trying again to get the roof sealed up.
 10. For now I think we have other issues that are bigger than this issue. It is not comfortable to deal with this situation, but it is nothing compared to the issues
       ​our people in Haiti face each day.

Refrigerator in Gandou
   1. This project is on hold until the electrical system is fixed.
   2. The old refrigerator was working at least part of the time on this trip.
   3. Father reported that we can talk about this project more in the future.

Beds in Gandou
   1. Everyone on this trip had a bed/mat/air mattress to sleep on.
   2. Fran had sent 2 Coleman cots that cost about $35. They were very light weight and folded up to a very small package.
   3. We were very impressed by these and felt that they would be a great option for us in the future.
   4. The 2 cots that were sent were given to the health care workers to be taken the house in Jacmel for patients or the health care workers to sleep on when
        ​they are taking patients to the hospital in Jacmel.
   5. The great things about these cots is that they get people up off the ground which might help with several things including dealing with water when the roof
        ​leaks and making more space in our sleeping rooms by allowing people to put their personal bags under their beds.

Printer, Scanner, Copier for Sister Parish
   1. During our last trip to Gandou Father reported that the used printer we previously brought him no longer worked.
   2. We found a donor to provide a new printer and that printer was sent with other items on the sea container.
   3. We found out just before this trip that all the items on the sea container were released and available for pickup.
   4. During this trip we used our trucks to transport the materials to Gandou.
   5. Once we got the printer to Gandou we set it up for Father, loaded the drivers, and ensured it worked.
   6. A plan was put together so that Father would know how to use this printer.

Education for our Sister Parish People
Grade School Sponsor Students
   1. There were 5 sponsor students that we did not get pictures of during the last trip.
   2. We worked with Father and got pictures of all these children during this trip.
   3. We thank Ed King and Father for the extra effort put they put in to get these pictures.
   4. No student was left behind we got pictures and information for every single sponsor student this year.

High School Sponsorship Program
   1. We are looking forward this year to our first round of University Sponsorship Students being back in Gandou to grow our education in Gandou. There will be
       ​a new grade added to the school each year for several years. During the 2015-2016 school year we will add the 9th grade. So far Father reported that there
       ​are 11 students signed up for the 9th grade.
   2. As was the case last year the money from our high school sponsors is still going to help pay for the 3 University Students stipends during their two years of
       ​service since they will be the primary ones teaching our high school students.
   3. Our plan is to build back up this program by building up the high school in Gandou.
   4. Father reported that with adding more classes all the teachers will be stretched more and that we will need to consider giving them all a raise.

School Lunch Program
   1. Father asked us to think about sending more funding for the school lunch program.
   2. Father said he does not have enough to buy food for the kids all year.
   3. He cited increased students and increased food costs as the reason that the amount we have previously sent was not enough.
   4. We asked Father for more details on what he needs to purchase in order to have enough money for the school lunch program.
   5. By the time this report was written Father had responded with the costs of the school lunch program and he needs an extra $2,000 per year.

University Students Project (Sending young adults done with High School to University)
   1. We are so excited and proud to report that our first group of University sponsor students graduated from the University in June.
   2. We had a special celebration with them and congratulated them.
   3. We are so happy with this whole program and how well this project went.
   4. We are so happy with our 3 students that are graduating. They have become family to us and we greatly look forward to working closely with them through
       ​their 2 years of service in Gandou.
   5. They are so excited about what they can do for the education program in Gandou.
   6. All three of the students still have a little student teaching work to do. This will require some additional trip to Port-au-Prince and significant work yet on the
       ​computer.
   7. They communicated the need to find time to work on the computers, but they also acknowledged the need to give the laptops we loaded them for their
       ​education to the next group of students.
   8. They did communicate that one of the computers has a very week battery and really don’t work well in Haiti were it is difficult to find power.
   9. It is very likely that we need to see if there is a way to allow these guys to keep their old laptop and provide a new one to each of the new students.
 10. Besides his student teaching, Gerald has another class or two to finish. His Father died during his work at University and he struggled through a couple
       ​classes.
 11. Besides the 3 students we had that are graduating there is a 4th university student which is a nursing student that goes to a school in Jacmel. She started
       ​later than the other students and her schooling is on a different schedule than the three other students and she was not available to come to Gandou to help
       ​us.
 12. We have asked our translator San Louis to follow up with her to see how she was doing.
 13. He reported she was doing well and we will have a copy of her grades from this school year soon.
 14. Much time in meetings was spent with the University Students to work out plans for the next year. Everything seems to be coming together.
 15. We have decided on the amount for the stipend for the 3 graduates for their two years of service, it is $1,000 per graduate per year. Even though Gerard will
       ​be taking a semester more of classes he will also try to do some teaching as well so we are going to send the $1,000 per year for him also.
 16. The plan is for the upper grades to have school in Gandou in the afternoons so classroom space is no issue.
 17. We are still struggling with what we are going to do to pay a fair salary for these students once they are done with their two years of service.
 18. We also spend much time working on picking the next 4 students to start in the University program this fall.
 19. Father had given our application to at least 11 high school student graduates who need sponsorship in order to have the possibility to go to the University.
 20. Just before the trip Father scanned and emailed us 11 completed applications and we had them translated and printed and we reviewed them to choose our
        ​favorite candidates.