News From Bouzy

On Saturday, July 10th, we welcomed a visitor from Haiti. Jenjenio Conserve was traveling through Minneapolis on his way to New Jersey to see relatives and friends. As a representative for Gift of Water, Jenjenio has played a vital role in the water filtration program as a manager to the warehouse in Port au Prince. He also helps as an interpreter for conversations between our Environmental Team and water technicians at St. Catherine’s in Bouzy. Fortunately, he has been in the US traveling since April, as getting out of Haiti now would be more difficult. While he was with us, he helped us make a WhatsApp connection with the primary water technician in Bouzy. Without his help, we could not accomplish this as we have been working on it for the past 3-4 months because of various technical issues.

Please pray for all Haitians during this uncertain time since their President was assassinated on July 7^th. May God bring peace to their country.

June in Bouzy was a joyous one for these Kindergarteners and their proud parents. Here comes 1^st Grade for these precious students all because of your continued support. May God continue to guide them through the many years of education they have in their future.



 

Does your faucet look like this?





Early into our relationship, there was a realization that our Haitian sisters and brothers, young and old, were lacking the gift of water that is clean and free from parasites and bacteria. 
Our Medical Team recognized that the children of St Catherine's showed signs of malnutrition. Tests confirmed that the water was contaminated, and they were suffering from intestinal worms. In 2013 we partnered with the non-profit organization, Gift of Water, that provides a water purification system using two 5-gallon buckets with filters and chlorine tablets to produce clean and safe drinking water. Funds were raised to provide 100 families with filter systems, chlorine tablets, and technician's salaries. Along with the initial 100 systems, GOW sent a representative to Bouzy to explain how the program works. They also met with community leaders to develop a Water Committee and select a water technician responsible for regular visits to families with filtration systems, educating on proper use and providing the supplies necessary to keep the filters functioning correctly. Soon after the program was initiated, donations came in from parishioners, allowing the medical team to introduce a deworming program. The medical team distributed deworming medicine to families to rid them of parasites. Eliminating the parasites would allow their bodies to absorb the nutrition from their food, and the clean water will then prevent the worms from returning!
In 2018, the program grew to 500 families, expanding to a second technician. Shortly after this, the community went through various changes and several difficulties, including a devastating hurricane and the collapse of their church. Unfortunately, the water program began to suffer. Families lost support from the technicians. Again, we arranged with Fr. Claude and the Water Committee to add a supervisor to help the techs get the program back on track. Since the program was regressing, our fear was the families were suffering from parasitic-related health issues.
The water program reflects how difficult it is to live in a community that regularly deals with poverty's challenges and the life-threatening issues which accompany it. We take clean water for granted. Earlier this year, we started discussions with Fr. Claude to find new and innovative ways to restore the program. The decision was made to replace 2 of the Technicians. Madilyn, the remaining technician, was sent to advance her training and enhance skills and gain confidence to help train new technicians. 
We begin again as we work together to restore the program, and the recent steps forward are promising. Earthquakes happen, hurricanes come, churches collapse, priests get reassigned and sadly, political upheaval and civil unrest continue, yet our relationship of love and perseverance for our Haitian Brothers and Sisters lives on just like God’s Love.
For more information, contact us at dnlhenke@gmail.com

Here are a few before, after and present pictures from St. Catherine’s parish in Bouzy. As always, we appreciate your support!


St. Catherine’s – Fall 2017


The collapse in January 2019


Present – adding beginning stages of the roof to the building.
 

Thank You Very Much From The People Of Bouzy, Haiti

During these times when pandemic has reduced our church activities, we are thrilled that our people have such love for our struggling Haitian sisters and brothers that you donated over $18,000 in response to our April fundraising appeal.  Thank you! Your gifts give our Haitian friends hope.  They allow us to sustain all our current programs to help them, including education, water, & medical, and even a little to continue roofing the church.    An amazing gift!  We are grateful.  The people of St Catherine's are deeply appreciative.  Fr Claude, who sends his profound thanks in every call and letter to us, is grateful. Mesi Anpil/ Thank You Very Much.

- The Haiti Core Committee







Progress in the rebuilding of St. Catherine’s is a sign of God’s love and also hope for the people of Bouzy and surrounding townships. It brought joy to our hearts when we see such a visual change in landscape, and we wanted to share our happiness with you. Thanks again for the continuation of support for our Haitian family.

Father Claude’s message; St. Joseph the Worker Day, May 1st:  I would like in the name of all the faithful of the parish of Saint Catherine of Bouzy and in my personal name, I would like to wish the clergy of Saint Joseph and the deacons, the fervent faithful happy feast of Saint Joseph. To celebrate a saint is to celebrate the wonders of God. We cannot pass in silence on this great day. Your feast is our feast. On this great day blessed by God, may God bless you abundantly.

Pope Francis said Mission is one of the greatest challenges for our Church and it must remain foremost in our hearts. St Joseph the Worker has given us many opportunities to take on the challenge of Mission, both here in our own community and through our relationship with St. Catherine’s in Haiti.

12 years ago, our parish leaders guided by the Holy spirit led us to Haiti. How many of you thought that you would have an opportunity to share your blessings with people that live on a small island, the poorest country in the western hemisphere? Many of our parishioners have already responded to the call and have gone to worship, pray and share the gospel with our brothers and sisters in Haiti.

They have shared God’s love in homes with no running water, no electricity and rely on growing their own crops for food. They have seen families collect water from the river or wells and pour it into bucket filters in their homes, so their children have clean water to drink. They have traveled miles into the countryside to give medical care to people that have no way to get to a doctor or a hospital. We have also visited the schools, where some of the children have advanced their education to go on and become teachers. So, they can give back to their parish.

Many have called it life changing after seeing the faith, hope and resilience in Bouzy.

If you have been following along with our relationship, you would know of their recent hardships including hurricanes, the total collapse of their church, the pandemic, and government turmoil. Even with those difficulties and without their church building they still come together as a community and worship with great joy.

Over the past year, we were able to support their schools, medical needs, and clean water. We know that education is a way out of poverty, and supporting teacher’s salaries helps to ensure many have access to a good education. We were able to secure some much-needed prescription medications for the clinic in Bouzy. Work on their new church continues, and thanks to many of you, the walls are almost completed, and they are working on the cement floor. We are excited to see these developments and hope that soon they can begin work on the roof. The progress and their passion for the new church building has been amazing to watch.

We are inviting you to be part of the St Joseph Haiti mission team. We are not traveling to visit them at this time because of the pandemic and political unrest, but we hope to in the future. In the meantime, there are still a lot of ways you can be a part of our mission…One way to contribute is thru prayer, which is the foundation of all we do.

We have several committees that meet throughout the year. These opportunities include groups that focus on clean water, medical needs, communications, education, and a leadership committee. If you could spare a couple hours a month, we welcome anyone with interest to talk with us and find out more.

We are having a second collection this month to help fund our activities. We thank you for your past support and hope you will continue to be generous. You can use the Haiti envelopes or donate on-line thru the SJTW website.

Jesus is calling us to mission and St Joseph the Worker has given us the opportunity to serve.

It is up to all of us to respond.

David and Lori Henke
dnlhenke@gmail.com
763-221-1785
 

We have much to share with our brothers and sisters in Haiti.
Please donate online or text SJTW give to 77977.

PLEASE DONATE TO HAITI

(Select "Haiti Donations" in the "Fund" window.)

Water and light.  So crucial to life, so taken for granted where they are plentiful, so precious in Haiti.  Water and light are among the gifts our sisters and brothers in Haiti celebrate this Easter, thanks to God and to you.

Life in Haiti rolls from one crucial shortage to another, so much so that Fr Claude becomes reluctant to ask us for help, and we become reluctant to receive one more request in these difficult times.  Yet we both realize that difficult asking and difficult receiving are God's gifts to us, and we continue to give & receive.

So one winter night I got an email from Fr Claude explaining that they were in the dark in the rectory.  Their old, smelly, noisy generator had finally died.  The generator that extended their day from 6 pm to 9 pm, when they could afford fuel.   As we deliberated how we could afford to help, a generous parishioner sent a check for exactly the cost of a new generator.

This month, Fr Claude revealed that he got someone to dig a new well! It will be a new water source for the community and a way to bring running water to the rectory. But it needs a pump.  As we pondered how to support this life-giving request, while we struggle to build a church with them, a generous parishioner said, no problem, I don't need my stimulus check, and water is life; so my windfall is theirs.  Another generous parishioner heard this story and did the same thing.  Water is on its way.

Time after time, this story repeats at St Joseph the Worker and St Catherine's in Bouzy.  Thank you, God. He is Risen and is among us! Thank you, thank you all for your extraordinary generosity to our brothers and sisters in Haiti these past 12 years. We are great gifts to each other. Our following (twice a year) second collection for Haiti will be this weekend or any day you can give. Please keep our sisters and brothers in Bouzy in your prayers.

Bon Fet Pak/ Happy Easter!

-Deacon Kevin

Father Claude sent Deacon Kevin these videos from mass a few weeks ago.