Dear Haiti Friends,
For all fund transfers to the Partnership Program, please update your protocols to include the newly-elected President of the Standing Committee in Haiti, the Rev. Samuel Saint Louis, samuelsaintlouis@gmail.com. I am attaching an updated copy of the protocols for your use and/or to forward to whomever initiates the transfers. Please note that the email indicting that funds have been sent is VERY important. I see approximately 40 transfers go by each month, and I know there are others being sent as well, and there is no staff person in Haiti to track them. The Partnership Coordinator and the Standing Committee officers are all parish priests with enormous workloads of their own. The bank does not notify the customers in Haiti when funds come in. That means your email is the only way they have of knowing that funds have arrived and for whom they are intended. They can transfer quickly, but they need to hear from you. Thanks!
Also, if there are others in your community who would like to receive these emails, please let me know. Happy to add them!
Many thanks to those of you who have supported the refugees in the Central Plateau. The Revs. Jean Alphonse and Kesner Gracia sent the attached list of approximate current costs of goods. The current exchange rate is approximately 131 Haitian gourdes to the U.S. dollar, but that can fluctuate on a daily basis. Note that these prices will not necessarily hold steady — shortages in any commodity drive up the price. On the list, a general price for a collection of clothing for men, women, and children is given rather than prices by the piece as prices vary so widely for whatever is available — new or used clothing or shoes. The price for the rental of a large house is I believe for a year, and is housing a family in each room.
Below my signature please see an announcement of the 21st anniversary of the Maison de Naissance, a healthy mothers – healthy babies birthing clinic near Torbeck, about 45 minutes east of Les Cayes. Their work in the community has been life-saving on MANY occasions, both for mothers and babies — more than 9000 deliveries since they opened, an average of about 430 per year or more than one every day, and some of them very complicated. In the 2021 Les Cayes earthquake, their buildings were badly damaged and for some time deliveries had to be done outside until the buildings could be repaired. Thankfully that work was completed in short order, but they never stopped delivering babies during that time. If you are in the Kansas City area, think about celebrating with them over a good meal!
Yours,
Serena Evans Beeks
Canon Serena Evans Beeks, D.Min.
US Coordinator, Haiti Episcopal School Partnerships
National Association of Episcopal Schools
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