Part 1-Sunday School Training in Mirebalais
During my year of service, the Diocese of Haiti has asked me to focus much of my attention on education, both formational and academic. I have been involved in a fair amount of grant writing related to the establishment of training programs for the teachers in the 250 schools administered by the Diocese. There are experts from France, Canada and Haiti who will help actualize the Teachers training teachers. With this work in motion, I was now able to turn my attention to Sunday School teacher training, my own particular area of expertise.
Most of the churches in the Diocese have no Sunday School Program. If children are brought together on Sunday mornings, the groups usually represent a very large age span and no formal program. The priests in the Diocese and their established or potential volunteers were eager to begin basic teacher training and establish a uniform framework and curriculum. My first stop was Mirebalais.
Mirebalais is the center of the Central Plateau Archdeaconry. Pere Jean Jeannot is the Archdeacon and Priest in Charge at St. Pierre. It was a three-day training taking place Saturday, Sunday and Monday of Mardi Gras. All normal business shuts down for the five days of Mardi Gras. Churches often schedule youth retreats (which they call camps) and other positive programming to provide a healthy alternative to the raucous atmosphere of Mardi Gras. Participants hailed from both St. Pierre and parish in Las Cahobas. There were about 12 members of the program. I had used many of the materials created at my home parish and translated them into French. I also began the training series with the Children’s Charter of the Episcopal Church. In my opinion, it is the foundation of all parish ministry with children. Established in the 90’s, it reminds the Church community that it “takes a village to raise a child”.
The group was excited by that approach and it set the stage for three days of interesting dialogue on ways to deepen commitment to children throughout the congregations. During our time together, it was also apparent that there had been no experience of a didactic and varied formational Christian Education experience in the Diocese. I had brought a wide range of materials with me and chose to focus on four areas- the introduction of ritual of prayer and routine in the classroom, multisensory presentation of the given lesson in the classroom, developmental levels and positive, loving approaches to discipline. As I focused on these basic principles, I was reminded that Sunday School does not need to be a complex, intense academic experience. Rather, it should be a simple and fun way for way for children to meet God. Americans, particularly of the current era, are inclined to make ministry far too intricate and multifaceted. Perhaps, given everyone’s busy lives, it is why we struggle to secure the volunteers needed to lead ministry.
Though my three days in Mirebalais only scratched the surface of sharing information, cultural nuances and theological exploration, it was a good start. As is so often the case, I felt I gained more than I had given. Three things stand out for me- simple is better, for a Diocese which part of the Episcopal Church and, specifically Province II, no work has been done provide Haiti with information on Episcopal programming and, specifically, to offer translated or original curriculum in French and/or Kreyol. There are dedicated, loving adults ready and willing to be a part of children’s Christian formation. They just need the right tools.
Part 2-Partners in Health in Cange, Las Cahobas and St. Marc
However, given my involvement in other areas, including dental health care through Tabasamu, I hoped to broaden the scope of my work. The first opportunity to engage the dental field in Haiti was recently made possible through Trey Wilson. Trey had a colleague, David Zadick, who was making his first visit to Haiti to volunteer at Paul Farmer’s Partners in Health (PIH) facility in Cange. David and I connected by e-mail and made plans for me to join him in Cange for a couple of days. I had been eager to visit Paul Farmer’s compound and this offered the perfect opportunity. Let me share a few highlights.
For those who may not be aware of Paul Farmer and his work in the community health arena, let me provide a little background. First started as a small clinic in 1985, Zanmi Lasante (“Partners In Health” in Haitian Kreyol) in Cange has grown into the Sociomedical Complex, featuring a 104-bed, full-service hospital with two operating rooms, adult and pediatric inpatient wards, an infectious disease center (the Thomas J. White Center), an outpatient clinic, a women’s health clinic (Proje Sante Fanm), ophthalmology and general medicine clinics, a laboratory, a pharmaceutical warehouse, a Red Cross blood bank, radiographic services, and a dozen schools. The program has grown outside the walls of the Cange site to include eight other sites across Haiti’s Central Plateau and beyond. Today, ZL ranks as one of the largest nongovernmental health care providers in Haiti – and the only provider of comprehensive primary care, regardless of ability to pay, for more than half a million impoverished people living in the mountainous Central Plateau (for more information, go to www.pih.org).
I had originally planned to travel to Cange with a PIH driver from Mirebalais, where I had been facilitating a three-day Sunday School teacher training. Those arrangements fell through and I ended up getting a ride with a group of women from California parish who were visiting their sponsored schools. This turned out to be most beneficial, not only because we could exchange information about our ministries but also because they introduced me to Jackie Williams, a person of significance in the PIH story. Jackie’s husband, Pierce Williams, was a hydraulic engineer and, in 1985, installed an elaborate water system to bring clean water to Cange. He and Jackie remained committed to Partners in Health. Though Pierce died in 1997, Jackie has continued to live in Cange, running a needlework and fine art center for Haitians and teaching nightly English classes to Haitian staff. What a privilege to meet Jackie and learn of the integral role that she and her husband played in the fruition of PIH in Cange.
I spent the next 1½ days with David Zadick in two dental clinics, the one in Cange and another in Las Cahobas. I was very impressed by the physical layout of the operatories and the quality and availability of dental equipment. Contrary to my work with Tabasamu, I did not really feel that David needed my assistance. I did help with a little translation, provided occasional pastoral presence for a patient and took lots of pictures. Nevertheless, it was a helpful learning experience and I certainly enjoyed witnessing the exchange of knowledge between David and the Haitian dentist in each clinic.
On Wednesday morning, I had the privilege of attending the Ash Wednesday service at Eglise San Saveur, an Episcopal Church on the PIH Cange grounds. The celebrant was Father Fritz Lafontant, the priest who first inspired Paul Farmer to establish community based health care in the area. Now in his 80’s, he continues to provide a commanding presence both to liturgy and the vital, broad sweeping ministry that he has lead for over 40 years in Cange.
A final snapshot of my experience occurred when I was being driven back to Port au Prince. PIH partners with certain hospitals in the states on difficult pediatric cases. A nine-year-old little girl, named Maranatha, had suffered extensive burns. She and her mother were returning to Haiti, following her recovery at Shriner’s Hospital. The team wanted to pick them up before taking me to my apartment. Though some scarring was visible, the doctors had done an incredible job on what was clearly a severe burn injury. Maranatha wore a beautiful dress and matching coat. We extended our hands to each other, both said Bonjou (Hello in Kreyol) and kissed each other on the cheek. I was very moved by her graciousness and also pleased to see joy in her eyes. PIH and Shriners had renewed hope in her life. I felt very blessed to be a part of the group welcoming her home.
Paul Farmer and Partners in Health have literally changed the face of community health care in Haiti and around the world. The clinic in Cange has blossomed into a sizable complex of comprehensive medical care, microfinance and education. It has also developed satellite clinics throughout the Central Plateau and in six other international locations. Paul is to be commended and celebrated for his vision and ingenuity. He has truly transformed the lives of those in the Central Plateau and elsewhere.
As I spent time at the Cange center, I was reminded why my work with Mission Philadelphia, Mwamba, Tabasamu and now, service as a Missioner has been so meaningful for me. I enjoy being a part of grass roots, smaller scale initiatives. I want to be immersed in the environment in which I engage ministry. For many reasons, the Cange Center is very protected and, to some degree, isolated form the day-to-day existence on the other side of their compound walls. I understand all the reasons for this and deeply respect and admire all that they are doing and continue to do. As for me, I am called to live and work on the outside of those walls.
No comments:
Post a Comment