30 August 2017To all who love and support our Haiti Mission:Since Fr. Gregory's death, his Matushka has been trying to keep up with the needs of the Haiti Mission as best as she can. Donations slowed to a trickle, so Matushka has been trying to pick up the slack from her own resources, –– resources which were then and now both uncertain and inadequate.When I arrived in Tennessee this past May, Matushka then expressed to me her belief that the Haiti Mission can not continue in ROCOR. We had already been severely weakened by the schism of the MP-union, and now, without Fr. Gregory, (our giant), it is not possible for us to continue to provide for Haiti as usual.There is no way we can continue to raise the amount of money that Fr. Gregory regularly provided to Haiti. We managed to collect enough funds (thanks to you all!) to get pretty well caught up and to get this year's food shipment to the school. But it took every ounce of energy we had, we can not maintain that level of urgency. Our donors, too, have extended themselves and need time to recover. We can't just keep having back-to-back emergency fundraisers.My idea for a solution comes from my father of the flesh, himself a successful businessman:"Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day.Teach a man to fish, you feed him for life."How about if we give the Haiti Mission start-up money for their own business? Something that brings in money from outside of Haiti, such as from tourists or maybe an export.The school, St. Augustine's, already does generate some income. But the income is from within Haiti (tuition). I wonder what business we could reasonably afford, something the Haiti flock could run themselves – not a million dollar hotel, but maybe we could afford a B&B..? Or what about a taxi service?It might be a possibility for a representative from Haiti to be set up with a business in the USA, if business ventures are too risky to set up in Haiti....I want to ask Rdr. Nicolai to think about how this might work. He is probably too busy with the school to operate a business along with the school, but he has a good head for business. I want to see what his thoughts are, but communication is difficult through the machine translations, and I'm afraid misunderstandings will occur. We need a volunteer who speaks French.First, I think we need a chief. This project needs to be separate from the existing Haiti Mission Relief Program which juggles all the different ongoing needs (food, salaries, supplies, repairs, construction, etc.).Please everyone, think about this, and please share your (positive) ideas, suggestions, and nominations for a chairman.joannahigginbotham@gmail.com
Haitian Orthodox Mission
An idea for the future of the Haiti Mission
Ongoing expenses
29 August 2017
When Fr. Gregory died, the Haiti Mission lost not only its director, but a dependable provider. When donations were not forthcoming, Fr. Gregory always filled the need at the time and worried about paying for it later. An example is when repairs to the school mount up. Rdr. Nicholai sent me these photos:
While we were raising money to transport the food donation from Feed My Starving Children, other needs were piling up. Ongoing repair costs at the school. Rdr. Nicholai sent photos:
When Fr. Gregory died, the Haiti Mission lost not only its director, but a dependable provider. When donations were not forthcoming, Fr. Gregory always filled the need at the time and worried about paying for it later. An example is when repairs to the school mount up. Rdr. Nicholai sent me these photos:
While we were raising money to transport the food donation from Feed My Starving Children, other needs were piling up. Ongoing repair costs at the school. Rdr. Nicholai sent photos:
Thank you everyone!
Our first fundraising campaign was a success. We have enough money to ship the food donation from Feed My Starving Children and some to put towards the food distribution and preparation.
More than 1/3 of the donations came from overseas. The largest donation was raised by Bishop Gregory in Sao Paulo.
We are glad to have some new donors added to the emailing list from the GOC.
More than 1/3 of the donations came from overseas. The largest donation was raised by Bishop Gregory in Sao Paulo.
We are glad to have some new donors added to the emailing list from the GOC.
Fundraising Campaign
Goal $15,000
raised so far:
$15,488.46
July 21 – Aug 29
The poorest of the poor. The most good an alms dollar can do.
Donations go through PayPal (2.9%) then directly into the Haiti Mission bank account set up by Fr. Gregory and still used by his widow, Matushka Anastasia, to transfer money to Haiti via the same route Fr. Gregory set up with Fr. Ambroise in Jacmel.
Haiti Orthodox Mission
1180 Orthodox Way
Liberty TN 37095
This campaign was created with the blessing of Metropolitan Demetrius of America.
This campaign was created with the blessing of Metropolitan Demetrius of America.
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