Annual Report 2001

The Friends of St. Vincent's Center is a group of volunteers formed in 1997 to help the children and staff at St. Vincent's Center for Handicapped Children in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to obtain the resources needed to educate and care for the children. The Friends of St. Vincent's Center is an interfaith outreach ministry of St. James's Episcopal Church in West Hartford, Connecticut.

The Friends of St. Vincent's Center mission statement is to provide service, supplies and support to the children and staff at St. Vincent's Center, a residential school, day school, orphanage and hospital for over 313 handicapped children in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

During the past year this group of devoted folks has been involved in the following areas:

Service

• Bill Harris from St. James's in West Hartford has been appointed the facilitator for a capital campaign for renovation and expansion of St. Vincent's Center. Our vision is to purchase property on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince to build a trade school for the older students. It would provide space for cooking, sewing, carpentry, wheelchair repair and assemble, and bicycle repair trade schools.
• Medical mission 2001: Nine missioners including three first timers participated in this mission. David Hewett of Glastonbury CT, our prosthetic maker, fitted two children with leg prosthetics and one child with a finger prosthetic. Evaluation and discussion with the Director, Nicole Magliore, determined that future intervention would be centered on supplying prosthetic parts, plastic and plaster to enable St. Vincent's staff to provide prosthetic service for St. Vincent's and the community.
• Education Mission 2001 with ten participants, led by Silas Deane Middle School teacher, Ellen Brookes, included seven first timers. This group's purpose was to learn about the educational needs of the children and to offer assistance to students who are studying English. A penny drive with matching funds was conducted by students and staff at Silas Deane Middle School, Wethersfield, which resulted in a $700 donation to the Center. A highlight of this trip was planning and implementing a field trip for 21 St. Vincent's students to Port-au-Prince parks.
• Although assisting and training blind children has been part of St. Vincent's Center program since its inception, vision testing and corrective glasses have not been available to the Center at large because of lack of funding. Through donations of services and materials, Medical Mission 2002 will be able to test the students and adults, and fit them with glasses.

Supplies

• Many Braillers at the Center were in a state of disrepair. During this year, the Friends paid for repairing 11 Braillers and hand-carried them to the Center.
• The Friends provided funding for Christian education materials including 30 Creole Bibles, which were the first Creole Bibles available to the students.
• On the very rainy day of August 4th, 52 volunteers spent 6.5 hours packing 11 tons of needed supplies, valued at $136,000, into a 40-foot land-sea container. This container arrived in Port-au-Prince in early October and was speeded through customs, thanks to Marie Montas's sister's intervention with President Aristide. Among the supplies on the land-sea container were:
  • 750 boxes and suitcases of medical and school supplies
  • 30 bicycles
  • 373 crutches
  • 59 wheelchairs including needed child-sized wheelchairs
  • Wheelchair parts for wheelchair repair
  • Plastic sheets of plastic and plaster for the prosthetic shop
  • Carpentry tools donated by the Greater Hartford Jaycees for the planned vocational training.
• The Friends provided styluses, Braille paper, and Braillion for the students in the blind program.
• A wheelchair basketball program was initiated through donation of wheelchairs and sports equipment including basketballs and protective equipment.
• The Friends mailed over 100 pounds of medication per month during the year to the Center.
• Staff of the Blind Program made a special request for violins. Through donations, the Friends obtained and shipped 3 adult and 3 student violins.
• The Friends provided an artificial Christmas tree and Christmas ornaments for the Center.
• During the year, many parishes gathered needed supplies to be send on the land-sea container or shipped to the Center.

Support to St. Vincent's Center

• Four members from the Friends of St. Vincent's attended the Haiti Connection Conference, sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti and the Episcopal Relief and Development at the Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince, Haiti from October 24-26, 2001. As a result of this conference, plans were made, in conjunction with Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD), Children's Medical Mission to Haiti (CMMH) and other interested groups, to renovate the present facility, add additional classrooms, operating room, and develop a third campus for a vocational school for secondary students. Bill Harris from St. James's Church is the facilitator of this project and will meet, along with representatives from other organizations, the architects and St. Vincent's staff in February 2002 to plan the implementation of this project. At the Haiti Connection Conference, St. Vincent's Center was designated a Jubilee Center by the Episcopal Church.
• St. John's in West Hartford and St. James's in West Hartford donated considerable funds for the construction project.
• Sale of Haitian art purchased in Port-au-Prince resulted in $400 profit. This project will be on going.
• The Friends provided baptismal and wedding gowns for use by Haitian parishes.
• Janet O'Flynn, from the Massachusetts Chapter of the Friends, has provided funds for two members of St. Vincent's staff to extend their clinic training in OT and PT for another six months through the Healing Hands for Haiti Organization.
• The Teen to Teen Birthday Card Factory was developed by Caitlin Gilbert a local teenager and member of the Friends. Teenagers in Connecticut have organized with teenagers at the Center to create handmade birthday cards to be sold in the States. Profits from the sales will be designated for scholarships at the Center.
• Two major projects were developed and initiated during this year.
  • The Feed a Child for a Year for $40 Program will assist with nutritional needs of the children. This includes meat, vegetables, eggs, bread, fruit, sugar and sausage. Payment can be monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually.
  • The Scholarship for Students Program will assist many students who would not be able to attend St. Vincent's without a scholarship. The cost for one child to live at the center, including room, board, tuition, uniforms and books is $200 per year. Scholarship funds can be donated monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually. Partial scholarships are always welcome and encouraged.
• A grant for Creole-Braille religious education materials and other Creole religious educational materials was received from the Church Missions Publishing Company in December.

Outreach Education

• Members of the Friends gave many presentations about the conditions in Haiti and the special needs of the Center to church groups, schools, and other organizations throughout the state.
• A church school curriculum on Haiti was developed and piloted.
• Members of the Friends had an exhibit at the Diocesan convention in October.
• A documentary film is being developed by David Provenzono and will be soon be available for groups.
• The Friends printed an updated brochure to be shared with the Center and other groups.
• An exhibit of Marc-Yves Regis' photographs of the St. Vincent's children was shown at local parishes.
• A traveling poster board was developed and is available for group presentations.
• Additions to the Friends website are ongoing. The website is at http://www.friendsofstvincents.org. Our website is linked from the Haiti Connection page of the National Episcopal Church site.

Training

• A leadership development program was made possible through grant funds from the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut and others. One person was selected to participate in the Haiti Connection Conference and four members will be funded for Medical Mission 2002. An experienced missioner mentors each leadership trainee.
• The Haitian Immersion Experience, known as Haiti 101, has been further developed for first time medical and nursing staff, educators, clergy and parish members. This experience provides a better understanding of the problems of underdeveloped nations and particularly of the needs of handicapped children at St. Vincent's Center.

Thank you again for your interest and support.

Hope C. Lennartz RN MSN CS
Executive Director of the Friends of St. Vincent's Center

Updated on 8/28/06