Our Lenten Project

Haiti Goat Project - A Social Action Ministry

Seven years ago during Lent, St. Andrew began an initiative to aid the children of Haiti. It began with prayers. As we learned more about the dire need in Haiti, our relationship grew. First we collected vitamins for the children. Next we sponsored a local Haitian's training to become a health worker. Then, through the leadership of parishioner Char Farin who is also a professor of agricultural science at NC State, the Haiti Goat Project was born.

The core concept of the program is simple: to survive and succeed, children need food. St. Andrew is part of a larger project to build an infrastructure for raising fish, chickens and goats that provide a stable source of food, and most importantly vital protein, lacking in the children’s diet. Our parish has focused on beginning and expanding the goat population.

St. Andrew has raised tens of thousands of dollars over the years to build a successful goat production program that has been an integral part of the children’s food source. Our parish’s generous support has given them hope of a better future by providing our Haitian friends the tools and knowledge needed to build a long-term solution to poverty and hunger.

The Big Picture

The project is headquartered at the Christianville Foundation, a 65-acre compound in the town of Gressier, Haiti. It contains three elementary schools, a high school, a college for educating teachers, as well as medical, dental, and eye clinics. It also contains a farm that produces food for the children at Christianville and two nearby locations: the Macombre School near Leogane, and the Pastor Val orphanage, which is farther up in the mountains.

Our parish’s financial support has enabled FISH Ministries, which runs the farm operation, to build a successful goat program. By introducing genetics from U.S. herds, the program built a sustainable herd – which meant a reliable source of food for 1400 children each day. The program was running so well, Christianville was able to give out 25 goats in November 2009 to local farmers to start their own herds, thus enabling them to rise out of poverty and provide for their families – broadening the circle of hope and promise for a country beset by so many devastations.

A Year After the Quake

Much of what was achieved at Christianville was shaken on Jan. 12, 2010 in the 7.0 earthquake in Haiti. The school compound is located less than six miles from the epicenter of the quake. But the Haitians have shown their resilience in the face of the destruction, rebuilding their country and their lives with assistance from St. Andrew and other churches and organizations in the U.S.

They have accomplished so much in little more than a year. Some classes are held in the goat barn built through St. Andrew’s financial support; it is one of the few buildings that withstood the earthquake. Additional classes are held under tents while new, stronger school buildings rise from the rubble. The farm is again producing food for the children: the fish ponds are repaired, chickens are being raised, and the goat herd is being replenished. But much work lies ahead.

Plans for the Future

In addition to rebuilding the herd, one big project for HGP funds is to develop a canning facility that would utilize products from the farm. Not only will it create jobs, but will also solve a food distribution problem by providing non-perishable foods for school lunches. As the canning facility becomes operational, it can become a demonstration model for other Haitian communities to learn how they can put agriculture to work for their benefit.

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