History - La Gonave Haiti Partnership

For almost 30 years, La Gonâve Haiti Partners has worked with communities on the Haitian island of Gonâve to improve access to healthcare, education, economic opportunity, sanitation and clean water.

The partnership is a mutual mission of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti and various US churches with ten local communities. Each village contains a church and primary school that serve as community centers for the surrounding rural area.

Together, Haitian and American partners share their hopes for the future, then craft a vision for how to realize them. This model of development is challenging and messy at times, but builds a sense of trust and mutuality. By listening to and valuing the insights of each other, the partners become a community where the dignity of all is recognized.

The Priest-in-Charge administers partnership funds to employ Gonâvians. Jobs represent many industries including healthcare, education, farming/agriculture, construction and small businesses. Locally-sourced goods and materials are used whenever possible.

The partnership’s work is guided by the life and teachings of Jesus Christ: healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and reconciling people to one another and to God. With a shared dependence on God, Haitian and American partners work together to create a world free of suffering, despair, and isolation and to offer opportunities to flourish on Gonâve.

MISSION: Haitian and American partners, working side by side in mutually-transformative relationships, to build vibrant, hopeful, and resilient communities on the island of la Gonâve.

VISION: A future where everyone on la Gonâve experiences thriving, abundant life.

WHO WE ARE: La Gonâve Haiti Partners is a faith-based development initiative co-led by the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti, an ecumenical group of churches in the United States, and ten local communities on the island of la Gonâve. For almost 30 years, the partnership has worked to improve access to healthcare, education, economic opportunity, sanitation, and clean water. While the partnership has a long track record of alleviating suffering and building strong communities, what truly sets us apart is our emphasis on empowerment and mutuality. In everything we do, both Haitian and American partners focus on making decisions together and working alongside each other to bring our shared hopes to fruition.

CORE BELIEFS:

We believe that the life and teachings of Jesus Christ call us to action, seeking justice and embodying God’s love for others.
We believe in the inherent dignity and potential of every person in la Gonâve.
We believe that meaningful and sustainable development is made possible only through long-term relationships of trust and respect.
We believe that alleviating immediate suffering is crucial, but that we must also address its root causes.
We believe that incorporating best practices in international development allows us to work proactively and create resiliency instead of waiting to respond to future emergencies.
We believe that financial transparency and wise stewardship of resources allows us to increase the impact of every dollar donated.
We believe that unleashing human capacity is more effective than creating dependency.
We believe that genuine friendships, particularly those which cross barriers of race, nationality, and economic status, are an end in themselves and a sign of God’s shalom at work in the world.

Churches from Georgia, South Carolina, Arkansas, and Missouri join in partnership with the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti on the island of la Gonâve.
Primary schools are started in 9 rural communities across the island.
St. Francis school in the port city of Anse-a-Galets is expanded to include secondary grades.
A small clinic and a network of community health workers provide preventive healthcare in the mountain communities.
A Children’s Nutrition Program begins for severely malnourished children identified by local health workers.
St. Francis d’Assisi sanctuary is built.
Bill Rice Community Health Center is built in Nouvelle Cité.
Rotary International funds a well next to the health center with a generator, pump and two community fountains.
Living Waters of the World installs filtration systems at St. Francis school and at the community health center.

Pwojè Fanm, the women’s vocational project, is started to teach marketable skills in catering and sewing to young women.
The first class of goat farmers graduates from the La Gonâve Goat Project.
A rectory is built at St. Francis d’Assisi.
A Micro Finance program begins in Nouvelle Cité, offering recipients loans to expand or establish small businesses.

Churches from North Carolina and Florida join the partnership.
An Adult Literacy program teaches reading, writing and math to adults in ten communities.
A lunch program gives students hot nutritious meals each school day.
Maternal and Child Health program offers prenatal clinics and ongoing care for the mother and baby through the first year of life.
Micro Finance expands to the communities of Nan Mango and Trou Jacques.
Teacher dormitory is built at St. Francis school.
A new agriculture program builds 10 community gardens, teaching the use of composting and raised beds to extend the growing season and minimize water usage.