One parish in Mississippi has taken a big step in the rebuilding and support of Haiti after the earthquake which killed over 220,000 people in January, 2010.
Church of the Mediator in Meridian signed up in the Haiti Episcopal Partnership program shortly after Annual Council in February this year. After attending a work shop on mission at Annual Council, Mediator communicants Robert Covington and Dr. Kathy Baxter began looking for ways in which the parish might participate in a mission project.
“At first we focused on the fundraising drive, ‘Buy a Brick,’ to help rebuild the cathedral which was destroyed. Then our rector, Helen Tester, asked if I would be interested in visiting Haiti as a representative of the congregation joined in with the partnership program,” said Covington.
Parish assistant Katy Watkins also was invited to go on the trip which was scheduled earlier in the summer. Watkins and Covington both agreed to visit Haiti and explore the ways that Mediator could help in the massive recovery effort.
“We contacted Hannah Ford, a communicant of St. Paul’s, Meridian, who was working in Haiti at the time and she put us in touch with The Rev. Kesner Ajax. Fr. Kesner got us plugged into the Haiti Episcopal Partnership, “said Covington.
The partnership is a flexible association with the Diocese of Haiti, the largest Diocese in the Episcopal Church. The partnership allows a parish or mission to target particular needs of a church or community and fill those needs.
“Our parish is heavy into education,” said Covington, “so we talked with Fr. Kesner about schools and the needs of the students and teachers.”
Covington explained that in Haiti, only 10% of the country has access to a public school system, but even the public system is fee based. This leaves 90% of the schools being either private, independent schools or church owned schools. Fifty percent of the population is illiterate and only 67% percent of the children go to primary schools. Covington says that of the 67%, only 30% make it to the 6th grade.
Mediator decided to partner with the Episcopal Church in Beraud, Haiti which is about 100 miles 
from Port au Prince. Fr. Kesner Ajax was recently appointed as Priest-in-Charge of Ascension Church which houses a school in the church building. When Covington and Watkins finally got to Haiti and met their host, Fr. Ajax.
“We saw poverty. Lots and lots of poverty. We saw little children playing naked. If they were naked because they had no clothing or if the one suit they had was too "nice" to play in, I can't say. There were people gardening with what looked like shovels, homes that were made of banana leaves, wood, rusty tin, or concrete. People rushed behind a road grader to pick up the stones so that they could build steps to their homes, a terrace, or a place off the ground to sleep, “said Covington.
With their arrival at Ascension Church it was quickly assessed that the educational need could be helped immediately by direct financial assistance.
“The biggest problem in education is money: money for tuition of the students and money to pay the teachers. When we got Beraud, we found out that the teachers had not been paid in three months.”
Before leaving for Haiti, the two Mediator parishioners were given a gift of from fellow parishioners and as well as various friends in Meridian who wanted to help. They were given the freedom to use the money in any way they saw fit.
“We decided to pay the salaries of the teachers. In Haiti, most parishes are so poor the priests are paid by the diocese, but not the teachers. The schools and the church are the heart of the community. The population cannot pay to go to schools and the teacher’s salaries go lacking.”
School in Haiti starts back in September at Ascension Church in Beraud and through the partnership program, money for student scholarships will be sent to Fr. Ajax to distribute to the children in the village.
“In the next year or year and a half, we’re hoping to provide money to build a separate school building so that the students will not have to meet in the church itself. “
Last year there were 56 students at Ascension School, but with the scholarship money coming from Mediator’s partnership, over 100 students have registered.
One welcomed new addition to Ascension in Beraud is that for the first time, the school and church have running water.
Mediator also plans to send Covington and others back to Haiti to do a Vacation Bible School at Ascension.
The team from Mediator managed to bring other gifts from Mississippi to Ascension Church. “Ascension Church didn’t have a processional cross, torches, and other altar appointments, but they do now thanks to a gift from St. Francis Church in Philadelphia.”
Covington said that Fr. Ajax commented to him that Ascension Church may be the only church outside of Port au Prince that as torches. “Our church has never had acolytes. Now we can teach worship like the rest of our Anglican Communion,” Ajax said to Covington.
The Haiti Episcopal Partnership is a secure and verifiable way to send funds to help those in need. Log online to //haitiepiscopalpartnership.org/ to learn more about how your parish or mission may help the rebuilding of Haiti.
The Rev. Scott Lenoir is the Editor of the Mississippi Episcopalian.
