The Haiti Outreach Ministry has partnered with St. Dominque Parish, in Marigot, Haiti to help the people of that area.  

Good Shepherd has worked for the past five years to develop programs to support self-sufficiency at St. Dominique parish in Marigot, Haiti.

During the first phase of our mission to help this community become self-sustaining, Good Shepherd provided 120 female goats to church families.  We are happy to report that the livestock program is thriving at the main church and its five remote chapels. The goat population has grown to 224, nearly a 90 percent increase, including the birth of 64 females. Farmers have already been contributing their first-born female to the program. Females will be bred, and males will be sold by the families as needed to pay for school tuition, uniforms, health care and home improvement.
 
In 2019, from donations provided by Good Shepherd parishioners, a Village Bank was established. The bank makes 12-month loans to families to start or expand small businesses.  For the first round, loans were set at $200 per participant. In May 2019 the bank made loans to thirty St. Dominique members. By June 2020 all but two loans had been repaid.  A second round of business loans were made to a new group of parishioners in March 2021.
 
In February 2020, members of the Good Shepherd Haiti Outreach Ministry traveled to Marigot to meet with new pastor Andre Leveille and parish leaders to review our current partnership programs and to exchange ideas on additional ways we can help improve the lives of St. Dominque members. In addition to attending Mass at St. Dominque, they visited St. Michael, St. Theresa and St. Andrew chapels. At St. Michael, they were able to see new pews and altar furniture provided by a contribution from Good Shepherd. Previously, members either sat on crude benches or were required to bring their own chairs.
 
During 2020, through the generosity of the Good Shepherd family, we have provided food security assistance to St. Dominique made necessary by continued political unrest in Haiti.  In early 2021 work began on a critical roof repair at St. Andrew Chapel located in a remote fishing village near Marigot.  The project was funded by Good Shepherd and should be completed in May 2021.
Our five-year commitment to our partnership with St. Dominique Church will end in 2021.  Our tentative plan is to travel to Haiti in November to attend the dedication of the new roof at St. Andrew Chapel and hopefully meet with the pastor and leaders of a new parish that we hope to identify by that time.

Once we meet with the pastor and parish leadership at a new partner parish in Haiti, the Haiti Outreach Ministry will develop a fundraising plan to implement our financial assistance. We will keep you informed of our activities through periodic updates in the weekly bulletin and on this webpage.
 

The Mission of the Haiti Outreach Ministry is to help the Catholic families of Haiti become economically self-sufficient.  

• Local people identify the problem and determine the long-term solution.

• We undertake no project, nor fund any service or activity that is not sustainable.

• We require full accountability and stewardship so recipients know their responsibilities and donors know their gifts are being used wisely. 

• Our commitment to any one parish is time-limited.  "if they are still dependent on us in 5 years, we've failed."