The Haiti Project Haiti is less than 680 miles from Miami. It shares an island with the Dominican Republic and is slightly larger than the state of Maryland with 10,000,000 people. Jeannette is 70 miles from the capital –5 hours by car.

Jeannette, Haiti Most people are subsistence farmers – living off small gardens and an income of less than $300 a year. This rural mountain community of 6000 has several hundred houses on small plots of land at an elevation of 2,500’ – it’s more of an area than town.

The market is a 2-hour walk down the mountain. With no refrigeration, meat is a luxury. Goat and chicken are eaten only on special occasions; the main meal is rice, beans sweet potatoes, & plantain. Some families own chickens, pigs, goats, and a few have a donkey, horse and cow.

Houses = 200 sq. feet Houses are made of thatched and woven leaves or concrete block. There are 1 or 2 rooms with a dirt floor & at least 6 family members (women average 4 children). Cooking is done outside over a fire.

A Church, a School, a Clinic In 1986, Episcopal Churches in Wisconsin started partnering with St. Marc's Episcopal Church & school (there is no public education in Haiti).

A Church Unassuming in stature, big in spirit, St. Marc's Church, is strong and dedicated to serving the needs of all members of the community. We have videos online of a church service: HaitiProject.org

A School Education is key in a country where half are literate and schooling is the responsibility of parents, not government. The Haiti Project invests heavily in education by paying for teacher salaries, books, paper, daily vitamins, and school lunches in times of crises. As of 2014, classes extend through 12 th grade – this keeps children in Jeannette vs. traveling rough roads for high school. Currently, we school 550 students.

Many score in the top 20% in the nation & go onto higher education to become future leaders.

We take photos each year to give to sponsors. On occasion, we return old photos to students. Her delight says it all.

A Clinic Dirty water is responsible for half of all deaths in Haiti. There is no underground water in Jeannette. People rely on cisterns or carry water for drinking, cooking and cleaning long distances in buckets on heads. Without running water, Haitians wash clothes by hand in small pails with a bar of soap. 1991:Completion of first large, public water cistern using local men apprenticing to be masons.

In 2002, a nutrition program was started at St. Marc's to help the during months when crops are poor & food is sparse. The program gives a chewable multivitamin to each child on school days. With 700 students, 13,000 vitamins are needed monthly. We help organize special medical trips: dental, eye, clean water, etc. This 9-year old is proud of her first pair of glasses.

Join Us in Supporting A Church, School, Clinic  Sponsor a Child : $250 annually pays for teachers, books & daily vitamin. Although the primary source of funding comes from sponsorships, donations and grants, we fundraise with Haitian coffee.  All you have to do: Drink Coffee

Why Coffee? 70% of Haitians are unemployed. Haiti’s potential as a self-sustaining country rests, in part, with economy building: job creation, product improvement, income diversification, and opening up markets for Haitian goods like coffee. For the sake of self-sustainability & economic autonomy

Singing Rooster.org Singing Rooster is a separate 501c(3) & was an outgrowth of the Haiti Project. This nonprofit company was named after Bishop Miller’s favorite alarm clock: Big Red (true story)

the Rooster exceeds fair trade: We provide job stability for thousands Farmers are paid a minimum of $3/lb for crops We return another.50 cents/lb after coffee sells S.Rooster helps farmers with agriculture & business management

The Haiti Project has raised over $30,000 JUST from coffee. Farmers earn $3.50 per bag for their crops & the HP returns another $3 from coffee sale proceeds : that’s $6.50 going to Haiti.

Pledge to Drink Haitian If just 50 households in each parish pledge to drink Haitian for one year – we’ll earn $5400 per parish. January 12 marks the 5 th anniversary of Haiti’s devastating quake. Although problems are still widespread, there is hope. We’re playing our part by supporting Haitian farmers and the small Village of Jeannette with One Simple Act: we’re drinking coffee.

We Need Parish Roosters Tell you’re in! Parish Roosters help coordinate coffee sales at the parish level – large parishes need 2 roosters. Get folks to pledge, hold a special event, add coffee to pre-existing events. Great resources – order forms, cut & paste text, etc: Haitiproject.org/coffee

We built a new school, clinic, public water cisterns, and 60 latrines. We’ve initiated a farmers' cooperative, lending library, and water sanitation. We’ve fixed hungry stomachs, eyes, teeth, broken legs and broken souls. We’ve sent containers of supplies, food, money, love. In 25 Years:

Learn more: HaitiProject.org Keep up to date: join our enews & like us on Facebook