Our Story
In 2011, through the Episcopal Church’s Haiti Partnership Program, Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church and School joined with St. Mark’s Episcopal High School in Southborough, MA in a special relationship with Ste. Marguerite Episcopal Church and School in Latournelle, Haiti. In this remote mountainous region of Haiti lives a community of joyful and enthusiastic teachers, students, and families who are committed to keeping their school open and thriving, and we are supporting them in that vision while learning important lessons from them about faith, generosity of time and spirit, perseverance, and hospitality.
We’re committed to sustaining a long-term, dynamic relationship among the three communities of our partnership. Annual visits, during which we build friendship, trust, and mutual understanding have been an important part of the project’s success; atlthough at this time visits aren't possible due to political unrest, we look forward to the day when we can go again. During these trips to Latournelle, we meet with school administrators and church leaders so that we can understand their needs and discuss together how we can be of support in working toward those goals.
At home in Altadena and Southborough, we work with our own community and students to introduce the many gifts of the people and culture of Haiti and to share stories of our brothers and sisters in Christ. By email and social media we all communicate regularly. Through friendships, we are forging bonds that will carry us through joys and sorrows, natural disasters and times of abundance.
Our Actions
- Providing funding for daily lunch for more than 100 students at Ste. Marguerite School; a single meal costs only 50 cents, but the annual total cost is over $10,000.
- Visiting Haiti annually if feasible, maintaining our relationships with our friends in both Latournelle and Southborough.
- Delivering supplies and gifts: classroom materials for every teacher; handmade friendship bracelets; hundreds of seed packets for members of Ste. Marguerite Church and School communities to replace crops lost in hurricanes; first aid supplies; soccer balls and French language books.
- Assisting with teacher salaries; Ste. Marguerite School needs nearly $20,000 each year to pay their faculty and staff.
- Designing an annual Haiti Day at Saint Mark's School so that students and teachers can learn more about the language, foods, music, art, and activities of our Haitian partners
Our Fundraising
- Hike for Haiti: Since 2012, Saint Mark’s church members, students, teachers, and friends have raised thousands of dollars by recruiting sponsors for an annual hike to Henninger Flats, a walk similar to the long journey many Ste. Marguerite’s students make to and from school each day.
- Hike to Howland’s for Haiti: When the church family goes to Catalina over Memorial Day weekend, there’s a strenuous climb to Howland’s Peak; hikers are sponsored, again raising thousands of dollars.
- Coins and Cans: Providing food for those who are hungry both near and far, on Sundays and at school chapel we collect coin donations for Ste. Marguerite’s lunch program, along with canned goods for the ACTS Food Pantry.
- Events: A wide variety of creative events have raised money to further support the lunch program and teacher salaries, from the student Gospel Choir Concert, “Halloween for Haiti” in which 6th grade students forego a costume and contribute an equivalent amount to the Haiti program, support from local restaurant El Patron, a highly successful dinner with the priest of Ste. Marguerite, and Saint Mark’s Choristers’ Benefit Concert.
Our Goals
Through listening to the expressed needs and desires of the leaders at Ste. Marguerite's Church and School, we've set the following long-term goals:
- Equip the school with books and supplies to increase the range of skills that can be developed
- Grow in our knowledge of and appreciation for the history and culture of Haiti
- Assist with building infrastructure, including nighttime lighting, access to clean water, and support for a local medical clinic
- Provide equipment for community development and education in the church and school
- Continue to build friendships between Ste. Marguerite and both Saint Mark’s communities as we live our Gospel values and love our neighbors.
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