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Claudner Pierre, 37, is a man who works with his hands. As a mason, he knows exactly how much hard labor goes into building the foundation, walls, and ceiling of a proper house. But even with that knowledge, he still didn’t have the resources or money to build a house for his own family. He instead earned a living building houses for others through the Haiti Kobonal Mission housing project in the rural areas of Kobonal, Haiti.
Though Claudner, his wife, and their four children lived in a shoddy house of sticks with mud walls, he quietly prayed that someday he, too, would receive a house from the mission. He says his prayers were rewarded: after five years of building homes for others (86 to be exact), Claudner and his family finally were given a home to call their own.
His wife, Valcin, says their new house is much sturdier and solid than the old one, which she constantly feared would wash away in storms. She says it’s a safe place to raise their children. “I like the new house because I hear the rain, I don’t feel the rain,” she says.
Today, the Pierre family is enjoying a sturdy cement home on a half-acre plot of land they can use for farming to feed themselves and generate income. Cross Catholic is proud to support the Haiti Kobonal Mission and its founder, Father Glenn Meaux. At a cost of only $5,500 per house, the mission has saved many families like the Pierres from abject poverty and helped them become responsible homeowners living in dignity.
Claudner says that if he could thank the people who made it possible for him to have a home, he’d tell them God will surely bless them just as He has blessed the Pierre family. “And I would ask them to pray for me and my family that God would continue to bless us, and my family would pray for them and ask them to continue to do for others what they’ve done for us,” he says.
