Our Lady of Mount Carmel

The Archdiocese of Washington has had a long twinning relationship with the Diocese of Jérémie in Haiti. Currently, 14 parishes and ministries in the Archdiocese of Washington have twinning relationships with parishes in Haiti, including Jesus the Good Shepherd.

hAITI SISTER PARISH

Jesus the Good Shepherd has participated in the ADW twinning program since 2009. Learn more about the program and how you can assist our sister parish in Haiti, Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

Contact: Gilda Beauzile ▪ gilda_beauzile@yahoo.com

understanding haiti communities

Haiti is located 90 miles south of the Florida coast in the Caribbean Sea. It is the second biggest island in the region situated between Cuba and Jamaica to its west, and Puerto Rico to its east. Haiti also owns several smaller islands that are situated off the north, west and south coasts of the mainland.

Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere due to its Spanish and French colonization in the past, but the country has a rich culture. It is the first black country that became independent. To gain their freedom, Haitians helped not only countries in South America fight for their independence, but they also helped the Americans fight off the British in Savannah, Ga. in 1779 to maintain their freedom.

The poverty in Haiti is striking. Just over half of the population is literate. The 2010 earthquake worsened the plight of the Haitians.

In 2006, the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. committed to help Haiti through parish twinning with the Diocese of Jérémie. That is, a parish in the Archdiocese of D.C. partners or twins with a parish in Jérémie. Jesus the Good Shepherd twins with the parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a church located in Pointe Sable a coastal town that is on a small island, Grande Cayemitte, north east of Jérémie. Our Lady of Mount Carmel has a chapel, Saint Mary of Magdalena, that is located in Anse du Nord, a coastal village with about 100 people on the north coast of Grande Cayemitte.

JGS VISITS to Haiti

Père Marc Donald Bazile, Gilda Beauzile, Msgr Décoste The Bishop of Diocese of Jérémie

Father Mike and JGS parishioner Ned Waugaman visited Haiti in 2008 to formalize the twinning relationship. Two years later, JGS parishioner, Gilda Beauzile, traveled to Our Lady of Mount Carmel to seek guidance from the Haitian priest, Père Marc Donald Bazile, on projects that would benefit his parishioners. The school is his top priority. It costs over $20,000 anually to run. It is expensive because the teachers come from the mainland and they have to reside on the island.

In 2010 after the earthquake devastated the country, the students of Cardinal Hickey Academy raised over $2,000 in a 'Change for Haiti' campaign. The kids donated their pocket change during the Lent season.

Between 2010 and 2015, JGS periodically sent money to help Père Marc Donald. Here are some examples:

$2,000 in 2011 for Our Lady of Mount Carmel school.
$10,000 to Bishop Décoste during his visit to Washington. He gave the funds to Père Marc Donald.
$10,000 in 2015, to repair the roofs of the church, the rectory and some of the villagers' homes after Hurricane Matthew wrecked the area.

In 2016, JGS had a windfall. A parishioner donated a substantial amount of money to help the Haitian parish. Père Marc Donald identified three projects :

Build a church for the chapel, Saint Mary of Magdalena, in Anse du Nord;
Provide electricity to the health center in Pointe Sable;
Repair the structural damage that Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church sustained during Hurricane Matthew.