Strathmore for Haiti almost here

Times Reporter

 

Over the past few months the Hope Community Covenant Church has been silently collecting donations and preparing for this year’s trip to Haut-Limbé, Haiti. March 18 marks the official Strathmore for Haiti community fundraiser, which will include a silent and live auction, guest speakers, specialty coffees and desserts. 

“Every year about April we send a team down to work on the medical clinic that we’ve been supporting. We’ve been involved with them for about 12 years now,” said Josh Foat, a member of Strathmore for Haiti. 

Through a partnership between the Evangelical Covenant Church of Canada (ECCC) and the Ebenezer Clinic, directed by Dr. Emmanuel Maureu, known fondly as Dr. Manno, members of Hope Church and Strathmore have been able to do their part. 

Foat said originally there had been a clinic, and over the last few years Hope Church had been building a hospital. The hospital has children, men’s and women’s sections to it.

“We finished tiling, we left (Haiti) and three days later the cholera outbreak hit. Since then they have treated over 4,000 cholera patients because the hospital has been open. If that hadn’t been open they wouldn’t have been able to do anything,” said Foat. 

Dr. Manno is Haitian and grew up in the area. Foat said a former member of Hope Church had supported him through school and eventually he made it through medical school in the Dominican Republic. Instead of seeking out an illustrious career elsewhere he went back to Haut-Limbé to work at the clinic. 

Since 2007 Dr. Manno has visited Strathmore three times, with his most recent trip being October of 2011.

“This wasn’t a clinic started by North Americans to help Haitians, this was the Haitian Boy Scouts started this to help their own community. Then it’s just expanded, expanded, expanded so all the staff is Haitian…we’re just helping them out how we can. It’s not us telling them how to do it, and I think that’s why it is successful,” said Foat.

The majority of the funds raised on the 18th will go towards construction, and Foat said any money Hope Church raises for Haiti goes directly to Haiti. 

“We did one of these fundraising auctions three years ago, we raised over $15,000 and we were blown away, we didn’t expect to raise that much. That money has kind of been floating us for the past three years,” said Foat.

Each person from the church group who travels to Haiti each year pays for their own trip and in that there is a project fee, which is approximately $260. Foat, who has done the trip six times, said they aim to bring about $5,000 to $8,000 with them for whatever project they are working on. 

A church in the Haut-Limbé area started a food program years ago to help take care of the elderly. There are approximately 96 seniors being taken care of through the program. Every Sunday they are given a meal before church, and then are sent home with a bag of rice and some oil. Once a month they will be given some meat, said Foat, that is all the food they get period. He said Dr. Manno has told them the food project is one of the most significant programs started in the area. Some of the money raised this weekend will also go to the food program.

“Our hope is that this isn’t a Hope Community Covenant Church thing, our hope would be that all of Strathmore eventually would be alongside of Haut-Limbé, so kind of like a community helping a community that’s more of what we’re interested in,” said Foat. 

Strathmore for Haiti begins at 7 p.m. on March 18 and the Hope Community Covenant Church. Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door and are available at Hope Church and M&M Meat Shops.