e-Newsletter

• HIV Program in Fondwa
• Pittsburgh Teacher
• "Led by the Spirit" Reverse Mission Trip
• First Pastor in Fondwa
• APF "Animator" Studying in Houston
• St. Antoine School

Comprehensive Community HIV Program Initiated in Fondwa

Pittsburgh Teacher is Fondwa's Newest International Volunteer

Rebecca "Becky" Newlin, a religious studies teacher at Pittsburgh's Oakland Catholic HS, joins a long line of distinguished volunteers in Fondwa when she begins a year of service this Fall.  Becky will work with Fondwa's community of religious women, the Sisters of St. Antoine of Fondwa in their program of formation based on the spirituality of St. Francis of Assisi.  She will also help the Sisters learn English as a second (or third!) language and assist - along with retired Spiritan priest, Fr. Al McKnight - in the "campus ministry" program of the University of Fondwa. N'ap bay ou yon kout chapo, Becky!  ("Hats off to you, Becky!")  Since 1988 there have been more than 20 long term volunteers in Fondwa.

Back to Top

"Led by the Spirit" Reverse Mission Solidarity Pilgrimage to Haiti

Partners in Progress’ (PIP) executive director, Dr. Rich Gosser, and his wife, Daneen Gosser, RNC will coordinate a “reverse mission” solidarity pilgrimage to Haiti, March 3-10, 2007.  Since 1992 they have coordinated more than a dozen “reverse mission trips” to Haiti. Space is available for up to ten participants and applications may be requested by email from info@PIPHaiti.org. PIP will screen all applicants and attempt to constitute the group and accommodate the needs of all participants in the best way possible.  The cost of the Haiti trip is $800 exclusive of airfare. A deposit of $50 is required at the time of application (checks made out to “Partners in Progress”) and will only be refunded if your application is not accepted. Payment of the balance should be made at least 60 days prior to departure. Additional information is available at www.PIPHaiti.org.

Fondwa Community Welcomes First Resident Pastor

Although the majority of Fondwa residents are Catholic and the St. Antoine Church is one of the largest structures on the Fondwa landscape, the community has never had a resident pastor.  Thanks in part to a Rich in Mercy (RIM) grant that helped the Fondwa Catholic community build a parish rectory, that’s about to change!  Serge Miot, the Archbishop of Port au Prince, announced recently that the St. Antoine Chapel would be made into a parish to meet spiritual needs of the Catholic population of Fondwa.  The community has waited for years for this news to have a parish.   The new parish will be managed and staffed jointly by the Spiritans and the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.  Additional construction is needed to complete the remainder of the parish house and RIM welcomes your tax deductible donations that can make this possible!

Back to Top

APF "Animator" Studying Restaurant Management in Houston

Edwidge Jocelyn, a member of the APF small working group and one of the animators of all APF groups is moving to Houston where he will study Hotel and Restaurant Management at Houston Community College.  A grant from the Rich in Mercy “Education for Change” fund (begun by Greensburg, PA resident Carrie Masterson) is helping to cover Edwidge’s educational expenses in Houston.  PIP friend and B.U.S.T. member, Sharon Sani, has opened her home to provide hospitality for Edwidge.  Owing to the excellent reputation that APF enjoys internationally and the record of commitment of its members, Edwidge was given a 5 year visa to study in the US.  The many international visitors who travel to Fondwa and stay at the APF Guest Center will look forward to his returning to Fondwa and contributing his newly learned skills to the APF Visitors’ Program.  Congratulations, Edwidge!  Bel bagay!    

St. Antoine School Finishes Kindergarten Classrooms, Adds Last Year of Secondary, and Sends Director to Kansas!

Thanks to the continued support of Sacred Heart Church, Pittsburgh, PA and new support from Holy Trinity Parish, Ligonier, PA and St. Margaret Mary Parish, Lower Burrell, PA, Partners in Progress has been able to increase its funding for the St. Antoine School in Fondwa. In addition to subsidizing the salaries of the St. Antoine teachers, PIP makes quarterly grants for the school lunch program. A PIP construction grant made it possible to finish the kindergarten classrooms that were showing signs of weather damage.

The St. Antoine School recently obtained a long-awaited state license to operate and, beginning in September 2006, will add the final year of secondary school (called “philo”) to its program.  This makes the school a complete high school, something not often seen in rural communities in Haiti.  The continued growth of the school, both in enrollment and quality, reflects the commitment to education of the Fondwa community and PIP’s collaborators in the Association of Peasants of Fondwa (APF).  The additional class brings with it not only honor and respect, but additional expenses! Tax deductible donations can be made online.  Click here.

Sr. Claudette Prevot (shown left), who made her first vows with the community of Sisters of St. Antoine of Fondwa last October, took on the challenges that accompany directing a rural school when she accepted the assignment of St. Antoine School director.  Sr. Claudette manages to combine considerable skill with an abundance of grace in directing a rural school that now boasts more than 600 children enrolled in kindergarten and elementary school.  Last year, in addition to her regular duties and the requirements of her religious profession, Sr. Claudette traveled to Port au Prince each weekend to continue her studies.  This year she will be traveling all the way to St. Mary University in Leavenworth, KS where she has a scholarship to study English and Management.

PIP invites YOU to become a “dollar-a-day”, sustaining partner!

PIP’s donors are both very loyal and very generous! A simple “mesi anpil” (“thank you VERY much”) never seems adequate as a response to the continuing support PIP receives from its donors. Your support is essential if PIP is to have the resources needed to carry out its mission of promoting and supporting the Fondwa community-based model of integral sustainable development in rural Haiti. We know that the great majority of Haitians living in the rural provinces subsist on incomes of less than US $1 a day and PIP invites you to become a sustaining partner by contributing just a “dollar-a-day”. Just click here to make a tax-deductible, secure, online pledge of $30 or more a month! Sustaining partners will each receive a copy of the 20 minute DVD “Road to Fondwa” edited by Justin Brandon and produced by Fondwa long-term volunteer Brian McElroy. Don’t delay -- make YOUR gift today!