A Gift Has Been Made In Your Honor
December 23, 2021
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh is pleased to make a donation to the Haiti Micah Project (HMP) in honor of the people and parishes of the diocese. As is our practice, Christmas-tide donations are made in lieu of printing and mailing individual greetings throughout the diocese.
The mission of the HMP is to provide life-saving needs of a daily meal, clean water, healthcare, clothing, educational assistance, and vocational training for children and young adults living in Mirebalais, Haiti. These resources will help prepare over 500 impoverished and uneducated children for responsible and purposeful lives in their nation, community, and families.
In 2005, Mirebalais city leaders requested help from the Rev. Joseph Constant, a Haitian-American Episcopal priest living in Alexandria, Virginia. That year, Father Joseph founded the HMP.
In 2009, HMP opened its group home under the name of the Solidarite et Action pour Les Enfants de Sion (Solidarity and Action For The Children of Sion), or the SAES Home. After the 2010 earthquake, the number of children in the home grew exponentially.
The children attend several schools in Mirebalais. They receive 24-hour care by a staff of eight adults that includes an English tutor. The children thrive in their new environment and respond well to the loving care they receive. Many are at the top of their class and are learning to speak Haitian Creole, French, Spanish, and English.
The Covid pandemic has brought unimaginable pain and hardship for millions of Haitians and has significantly impacted HMP’s work. They have always had to contend with the burden of challenges posed by poverty, but the pandemic added substantially to those difficulties.
Adding to the challenges has been the recent civil unrest and the failure of government institutions to meet basic needs of the people.
Throughout it all, HMP continues to provide life-saving essentials and educational opportunities for the children they serve, and we are honored to be able to support them.
From the entire staff of the diocese, our best wishes for a blessed Christmas.
