by Janee’ Hanzlick
For years, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Torbeck, Haiti, dreamed of having a hurricane-resistant, covered pavilion on the grounds of their parish school. They wanted a place where students can eat lunch outside their classrooms, where pre-K through high school classes have additional learning space, where the local community can gather for celebrations and meetings, and where parishioners can gather for weekly worship (their previous church was destroyed in 2016). Now, with the help of St. Michael and All Angels in Mission, that dream has come true!
Tears of joy and prayers of gratitude were the order of the day when Father Fred Menelas and the St. Paul’s community dedicated the new 200-square-meter pavilion in June 2022. The building, constructed by paid Haitian workers using local supplies, can accommodate up to 80 people, is furnished with benches and tables, and is powered by solar panels on the roof. Bob Carlson, an architect, and a member of St. Michael’s Haiti Ministry, created an initial drawing for the pavilion when he first visited Haiti twelve years ago. Since then, he continued to modify the design to utilize local construction materials, reduce building costs, and incorporate solar panels.
Although the pandemic and political violence in Haiti prevented members of St. Michael’s from traveling to Haiti to help dedicate the pavilion, the church contributed $24,500 to fully fund the project. Significant donors are recognized on a plaque that will eventually be mounted on the pavilion.
The pavilion is part of St. Michael’s 40-year relationship with St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and school in rural southwest Haiti. St. Michael’s is the sole source of support for the school of 500 students, including funding teachers’ salaries, facilities maintenance, and school supplies.
For more information about St. Michael’s ministry in Haiti, contact Gary Welker at gwelker@gmail.com.
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