Haiti Outreach Mission
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April 9, 2025, Update on Conditions in Haiti
From Haiti Outreach Mission website:
“On April 9th, we received the following letter describing the horrific events that took place last week in Mirebalais Haiti. If you can help, we have a secure method of sending funds to our partners. They are safe and attempting to help as many as they can with food, shelter and basic supplies.
Donations may be made by clicking on the Donate button at the bottom of this section. Please pray for our partners in Haiti.
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Dear brothers and sisters, dear friends and partners,
In my capacity as Partnership Program Coordinator, I send you fraternal greetings on behalf of the Diocese of the Episcopal Church of Haiti, and on behalf of all your partners throughout the country.
It is my duty, with immense pain and deep anguish, to inform you of the tragic and murderous situation currently raging in Haiti, particularly in the Centre Department. The Plateau Central, once a bastion of relative peace, has now fallen under the control of armed gangs, starting with the town of Mirebalais.
This region is now one of the country’s lost territories. The situation is grave. Many people are wondering whether there is still a future for Haiti. Haiti has become a veritable human slaughterhouse. In Mirebalais, the streets are littered with corpses: children, young people, old people, men and women from all walks of life. Unspeakable scenes of terror unfold before our very eyes: stray dogs devour the lifeless bodies, while the survivors flee in panic, hoping to find refuge elsewhere.
Schools close. Churches fall silent. Streets empty. The Bas-Plateau is deserted. Families collapse, traumatized. Everyone lives in fear, watching for death like an ever-closer shadow. No one is spared. The entire population is affected, threatened and destabilized. The distress is total. People are running in all directions, looking for shelter, help, light in this thickening night.
In Cange, two criminals who came to take refuge have been arrested by the police, which only amplifies the fear and insecurity. Misery, for its part, is intensifying. Bellies are empty. Children are crying from hunger. Parents, who left without taking anything with them, are powerless to hear their children’s cries. Many walk barefoot, without clothes, without food, without hope.
Today, brothers and sisters of good will are offering them a little hospitality, a little comfort, until something better comes along. But this is not enough.
That’s why I turn to you, dear partners and friends. I beg you to keep the Haitian people, and particularly the inhabitants of the Central Plateau, in constant prayer, as you have so often done. But today, we need more than prayers. We need your help. Immediately. I’m launching an urgent appeal: come to the aid of children and families displaced from one community to another, without water, food or clothing.
Every gesture counts. Solidarity can save a life. Don’t hesitate to contact your partners, even if communications are difficult. Your efforts, your pleas, your compassion are our last chance. Act in the name of love. Save the children. They are the future of Haiti. The future of humanity. We thank you already for your listening, your compassion and your usual faithful and pragmatic support. May God bless you abundantly for all you do in the name of Christ, our hope.
In Christ,
Father Kesner Gracia Partnership Program Coordinator”
About Haiti Outreach Mission
Haiti Outreach Mission was founded in 1998 after Dr. Dominique Monde-Matthews and her husband Roger Matthews traveled to her homeland on their honeymoon, and decided they would work to help alleviate suffering in Haiti.
Since then HOM has grown to include several Catholic and Episcopal churches who have become the base of their support. St. Blase first became involved with the Haiti Outreach Project through our contact with St. Gerard Parish (now Corpus Christi Parish) in Detroit. Our HOM Member Churches are: Corpus Christi (Detroit), Our Lady of Victory (Northville), St. Bernard (Billings, MT), St. Clare of Assisi (Ann Arbor), and St. David (Southfield).
Our partners in Mirebalais, Haiti are the rector of St. Pierre Episcopal Church, Fr. Alphonse Jean Philippe, and the pastor of St. Louis Catholic Church, Fr. Romel Eustache.
HOM has done mission work in Mirebalais, Hinche, Port-au-Prince and the villages of Desvarrieux, Noyau, and Trianon. The center of HOM support is in the greater Mirebalais area. HOM supports a medical/dental clinic, a water purification system, solar power, schools, construction projects, and provides humanitarian support by sending funds for food and rent for people coming to Mirebalais escaping gang violence. HOM operates solely with volunteer personnel.
Mission Trips
Sadly, our annual mission trips that provided medical, dental, construction, educational, and spiritual skills have been canceled for the past several years due to COVID and ongoing gang violence. We have been able to communicate with our priest partners through email, WhatsApp, and Zoom. They will occasionally send us photos and video that continue to update us on the use of funds we send to them.
On the most recent trip there were 23 missionaries including 6 doctors, 2 dentists, and 5 nurses who assisted in organizing and maintaining the clinic. Half of the work took place working in mobile medical/dental clinics. During that week 827 medical patients and 111 dental patients were treated.
St. Pierre Medical & Dental Clinic
In partnership with St. Pierre Episcopal Church in Mirebalais, Haiti Outreach Mission converted an abandoned building into a healthcare clinic. In November of 2005 the clinic became full-time, staffed by a doctor, dentist, nurse, and support staff. In 2016 we added a lab for urinalysis, hemoglobins and hematocrits. Children are free and adults pay a nominal fee. In 2021 the generator at the St. Pierre Clinic had a major repair and had other problems on the horizon so the HOM Executive Committee agreed to replace it. In January 2022 HOM sent funds for a new generator, for materials to maintain it and for a new compressor for the dental clinic. In addition, HOM provided the funds to paint the exterior and interior of the clinic. Also HOM has provided additional funds so food could be prescribed to malnourished children.
Former St. Blase Orphanage, Current Mgr. Remy Augustin School
The former St. Blase Orphanage was built in Mirebalais, Haiti. On May 8th, 2005, the orphanage was officially dedicated. The dedication was officiated by Father Louis, the Pastor of St. Louis Catholic Parish in Mirebalais at the time.
In 2013 Fr. Randy and other parishioners from St. Blase went to Haiti on a mission trip. Fr. Randy met with Fr. Lévêque and discussed the transition of the St. Blase Orphanage to the Mgr. Remy Augustin School to meet the current needs of the people of Haiti.
HOM provides financial support to the children of St. Pierre and St. Louis schools in Mirebalais and Our Lady of Grace School in the village of Desvarrieux. Families coming to Mirebalais fleeing gang violence continue to make classrooms extremely crowded and underfunded.
St. Louis Water Purification
The St. Louis Water Purification System was added on to the Mgr. Remy Augustin School in 2020. On October 19th, 2019, the Rotary Club of Bellville, MI gave HOM a check for $5000. HOM matched it with another $5000 and in July 2020 the water system was operational “not as a business but a humanitarian service.” A gallon of purified water now costs 25 Gourdes (about 19 cents). Despite severe inflation the price has been lowered. Also, school children get water for free to drink on site. Fr. Romel blessed the water purification system on July 8th, 2020.
HOM has helped provide financial assistance for maintenance on the Water Purification System, including purchasing a new transformer in 2021, and contributing to 90% of the cost of major repairs on the system in 2022.
Solar Power at St. Louis Rectory
Haitian-government owned electricity utility Electricite d’Haiti (EDH) is inconsistent at best. In 2022, little electricity was available in Mirebalais, leading many to use (very) expensive fuel, diesel generators. In December 2022 Fr. Romel requested funds for solar power. The HOM executive committee voted to approve the project and help provide solar power to the St. Louis rectory. This system provides electricity for the St. Louis rectory and church 24/7. It requires very little maintenance, mostly battery maintenance.
The Road to Mirebalais
Mirebalais is a town in Haiti with a population of approximately seven thousand people located about 60 miles north of the capital city of Port-au-Prince. It is now the home of the Saint Blase Orphanage. On May 8th 2005, the orphanage was officially dedicated. The orphanage was funded by our Saint Blase parish, and will house approximately 100 homeless children. The dedication was officiated by Father Louis, the Pastor of St. Louis Catholic Parish in Mirebalais, and was attended by approximately 200 people including three very proud parishioners of St. Blase: John Messina, Pat Byrne, and Bill Hafner.
The commitment to funding is provided through our tithing process as well as donations by parishioners and friends of St. Blase. The St. Blase Orphanage will care for children in Haiti for years to come. Please keep the children of St. Blase Orphanage in your prayers.