Chapoteau, Haiti

The Mission Trip

In the past, St. Timothy’s sent a mission team to Chapoteau yearly, usually the second week in November. The mission trip served multiple vital functions:

• It enabled face-to-face communication and information gathering about the needs and status of the people and school in Chapoteau, a vital component to our outreach given the language barrier;
• It allowed us to network and make connections with other organizations and groups also performing mission work in the area and coordinate our efforts;
• It furthered the connection we have to our Haitian brothers and sisters – team members serve as the representative faces of the people back home who continually remember, support, and pray for the people of Chapoteau. It is clear that being physically present is deeply meaningful.
• It allowed us to introduce new people in the U.S. to the people of Chapoteau. It is important that people have the opportunity to visit Haiti and experience for a short time the lives of those who are part of the body of Christ but living in such different circumstances.

St. Timothy’s sent it’s first team to Chapoteau in 2011, and went yearly until natural disasters and political instability made it impossible. We stayed in Cange; the Central Plateau region of Haiti several hours by car from Port au Prince. The Village of Chapoteau is cut off from any roads or direct access by Lake Pelig, a lake formed by the hydroelectric dam on the Artibonite River. To reach Chapoteau, the team traveled by car from Cange to Pelig, by boat across the lake, then by foot up the mountain on the other side to St. Matthieu’s school. The team would spend a day in Chapoteau visiting with the students and talking with the teachers and the school director about the school’s status, needs and priorities. The team asked questions and learned as much as possible about what is necessary to accomplish various goals, so it could convey that information back to non-traveling Chapoteau Ministry members to assist with setting fundraising goals and priorities.

History

During 2010, St. Timothy’s was searching for a personal way to reach out to the people of Haiti. The Rev. Wisnel Dejardin, our then-Seminarian who is from Haiti, was completing his field studies at St. Timothy’s when the earthquake struck in January. Wisnel lost his brother and cousin in the quake, and was unable to return home in its aftermath. St. Timothy’s became his family, and Wisnel discussed with us ways that St. Timothy’s might provide support to his country. Wisnel himself is from the village of Chapoteau, and education is something he views as very important to improving the life of all Haitians. He recommended that instead of short-term relief efforts, we focus our efforts on long-term relationships with the children from his village.

One year after beginning our relationship with the village of Chapoteau, St. Timothy’s began sending a Mission Team. In recent years, we try to maintain our involvement by conducting fundraising to build up the school’s infrastructure. 

Check out the Diocese of Virginia’s new HAITI ADVISORY MINISTRY and their efforts to coordinate parish ministries across the Diocese, like St. Timothy’s. Click here for more information.