“I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will
bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.”
(Philippians 1:6)
A woman living in a Haitian community that recently received a new well said these words in Saint Paul’s letter to the Philippians sprang to mind when she considered how she and her family had been provided with clean water. And it became her prayer for the U.S. Catholics who made this miracle possible.
It inspires me to see how God magnifies our generosity when we practice the Corporal Works of Mercy in a way that addresses both material and spiritual needs. For the men, women and children living in the Diocese of Hinche, this outreach effectively met their need for safe water and helped draw local families closer to the Church and to our Lord.
The Kobonal Haiti Mission not only provided clean water to poor families but also continues to educate thousands of vulnerable children in the area. Most families benefiting from these outreaches see the new wells and the Kobonal Mission School as an answer to prayer and glorify God for the blessings he has provided in their communities.
Thanks to the generous response of Cross Catholic Outreach’s faithful benefactors, the five repaired wells and the three new wells our in-country partner was able to construct are now blessing 2,596 people with clean water, and the expansion of the school to include nearly 300 seventh- and eighth-grade students has greatly increased the mission’s spiritual impact. Blessed by these improvements, the families we helped are now eager to share the joy of God’s love and mercy with everyone they encounter.
Nadia’s Prayer
Nadia Charles is a mother to nine children. Her family struggled because they lacked easy access to clean water. She used to send her children to collect water from a distant spring, and it often made them late for classes at the school.
During the dry season, she and her children would have to dig up water from a hole in the ground, and during the rainy season, if the area flooded, they’d have to wait until the floodwaters subsided to reach that source. When the Kobonal Haiti Mission began drilling a new well near her home, Nadia and her children thought it might be too good to be true.
Praise God, the well is deep, always flows and has been a source of clean, refreshing water for Nadia and her family. “For me, it seems to be a miracle,” she said. “It makes me think of scripture (Deuteronomy) when God provides a rich spring for the Israelites.”
“What you allow Kobonal to do has touched my family and so many other families!”
Do you remember Youdeline Bisinthe and the hardships she once faced? For years, this young woman has had to walk an hour to collect water, and she felt trapped in that life of poverty. Even so, she had a quiet determination, and it led her to hope and pray for something better.
Youdeline is beaming with joy now, and she recently shared about the ways the Kobonal Haiti Mission has blessed her since it began drilling for water in her community. Though work on the well is still in progress, other programs offered by the mission have helped Youdeline turn her life around.
Since we last met with her, Youdeline has started her own business with the help of a microloan she received from the mission. With the funds, she buys tomatoes, onions, cabbages and eggplants at the Dominican Republic border and then resells the food at the public market in Hinche. With the money she has earned since starting that small business, she has been able to buy two goats!
Meet Gaston
What do you like best about Kobonal School?
The way the teachers care for us. Sometimes, I teach other children who live near me because they do not receive the same care I do.
Favorite subject:
Mathematics. My dream is to become an engineer. I remember many people died because of an earthquake in 2013. As an engineer, I can help build up the country to prevent deaths like that.
Favorite Bible verse:
“Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’ So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:26-27)
Message to donors:
Thank you for entering deeply into the lives of the families. My family has benefited in many ways. Without this school, I would have had to go farther for school, and maybe even have had to live on my own. Some of us are too young to go so far or to live apart from family. I will always remember the donors in my prayers.
As a former Kobonal Mission School student, Fedener is another shining example of the legacy of the school — a legacy of tremendous faith in God and hope for the future. At 22 years old, Fedener is looking forward to attending university, but he considers an event held at the mission this past spring his greatest achievement to date. It was then he received his First Communion!
“I would see many people in line to get communion while at Church and I wondered when it would be my time,” he shared. “[Teachers] explained that I need to make my heart ready before I receive [the Eucharist] because it is not just bread, but Jesus’ body.”
The young man smiled with excitement as he spoke about the day he received Jesus for the first time: “As I got in line to receive the Body of Christ, I experienced a transformation, like strength coming to my body. I knew I needed to especially thank God after receiving him.”
Fedener asks for prayers as he continues his education. He hopes to study civil engineering so he can build homes and infrastructure to withstand future earthquakes.
“But the land that you are crossing over to occupy is a land of hills and valleys, watered
by rain from the sky, a land that the Lord your God looks after. The eyes of the Lord your
God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.”
(Deuteronomy 11:11-12)
Nadia reflected on these words from Deuteronomy as she recounted the blessing of a new well in her village — and it truly does describe the fruitfulness found in Kobonal. Through the compassion of friends like you and the work of local Catholic leaders, wonderful things are definitely happening in this once-depressed area of rural Haiti. May God bless all of you who have played an important role in partnering with the Kobonal Haiti Mission to build that brighter future!
At Cross Catholic Outreach, we are grateful to the U.S. Catholics who partnered with us to make this joypossible by providing water and education for families in Haiti! The fruitfulness of the Kobonal Haiti Mission is being felt beyond the borders of the Diocese of Hinche, which has only been possible because of that generosity.
Donations from this campaign will be used to cover any expenditures for this project incurred through June 30, 2027, the close of our ministry’s fiscal year. In the event that more funds are raised than needed to fully fund the project, the excess funds, if any, will be used to meet the most urgent needs of the ministry.
