Mary, Queen of Peace visitor shines light on life in Haitian village
St. Benoit Catholic Church, the church that hope -- and help from a group of Mandeville parishioners -- built. (Muguet Bolette)
Talking with Jean-Bernard Orival was a revelation. Orival, who grew up in southern Haiti, talked about Christmas in his homeland, and about Christmas Day in Dessources, when he was a boy. He talked about his country's version of Santa Claus, and he talked about his community's traditional Christmas meal.
Orival, 25, a graduate student in computer science at the University of Quebec in Montreal, visited parishioners at Mary, Queen of Peace Church in Mandeville during the holidays. Members of the church’s Haiti Solidarity Partnership Ministry held a reception for him before the annual Christmas concert. Orival's village includes St. Benoit Catholic Church, the partner parish of Mary, Queen of Peace, so ministry members wanted to know all about his life there.
Orival grew up in southern Haiti, 60 miles and five bumpy hours up the mountainside from Port-au-Prince.
He explained that Haitians have Pere Noel, or Father Christmas, but their version of Santa doesn't visit the children in Dessources. Parents in his village can’t afford to give their children Christmas presents.
“In Port au Prince, the children may have toys, but in the village, the children don’t have toys,” he explained. “Sometimes, they don’t even have good clothes to wear to church.”
He remembered one year when his godfather gave him a toy car. “That was very exciting,” he said.
The people of Dessources don’t have a big Christmas dinner -- with too much food -- like we're used to in New Orleans. “They might have rice and chicken,” he said. “Most of the time, it’s like an ordinary day.”
There are no stores for buying food and toys in the village, he reminded us. The villagers eke out a living, raising beans, corn and pumpkins on the mountainous land. If they’re lucky, they might have a few chickens or a goat. On Jan. 1, there is a tradition of visiting neighbors and sharing a meal of pumpkin soup. It’s a time of reconciliation.
“It’s a day when people who have been mad with each other get together,” he said.
Jean-Bernard Orival is the first person in his small Haitian village to go to college. He is now working on a master's degree in Montreal, thanks in no small measure to the help of parishioners at Mary, Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Mandeville, which partnered with his village church after the Haiti earthquake in 2010.
One Christmas tradition Orival talked about is a service at midnight on Christmas Eve, to celebrate the birth of Jesus. People would walk from 10, even 20 miles away, to attend, spending hours traveling from their huts, navigating with the help of the moon and the stars. When the service was over, they would head back home in the darkness.
“Now, they have flashlights,” he said, smiling.
But when Orival was growing up, there was no priest in the village, and so, no Mass. His father, Sauveur Orival, a teacher and village leader, conducted the midnight prayer service at the mission. There were no decorations. There was no music.
“With Monsignor Wildor, it’s different,” Orival said. “The church will be decorated. They will have music. The people are really, really, really happy to have him there.”
Priest establishes a parish
Msgr. Wildor Pierre arrived in Orival's village to start a parish in 2009. I first heard about him from Muguet Bolotte and Teresan Sister Marina Aranzabal shortly after they returned from a mission trip to Dessources.
The two women head up the Haiti ministry, which was started at Mary, Queen of Peace a year after the devastating earthquake struck Haiti, on Jan. 12, 2010. After the earthquake, Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond invited parishes in the Archdiocese of New Orleans to partner with a parish in Haiti. Through Catholic Relief Services, Mary Queen of Peace was put in touch with Pierre, the pastor of St. Benoit. Pierre was born in Haiti and went to seminary in Miami, but always planned to go home after he was ordained, determined to improve the lives of Haitians.
“It was like a blind date, but we got the right priest,” Bolotte said. “Monsignor Wildor is passionate about helping his people.”
You could say it was a match made in heaven. When Pierre was sent to Dessources by the local bishop, he had almost nothing to work with in the village. The chapel had a leaky tin roof, and there was no money to make repairs or build school rooms. There was no electricity in the village and no running water. Getting drinking water required an hour’s walk down the mountain.
View full sizeSchoolchildren line up for morning assembly at St. Benoit Catholic school. St. Benoit is the partner parish of Mary, Queen of Peace in Mandeville.
With a few building materials and the help of villagers, Pierre went to work on the chapel. But the earthquake washed away everything they had done, and much more.
So he prayed to God: “Help me, and bring people to help me.” His prayer was answered through the ministry of Mandeville's Mary, Queen of Peace. Working together, the two parishes have done wonders.
This is how the Mandeville ministry leaders described the people of Dessources in the spring of 2012: “They ask for so little, and they need so much,” Bolotte said. “They are building a community from scratch,” Aranzabal added.
'Building a community from scratch'
Pierre’s first request was for help rebuilding the church and rectory. His second was for help building an elementary school under the same roof as the church.
Much progress has been made in the past three years: A lovely little church was finished in February, and about 400 children attend the school, in first through sixth grades. A school lunch program was started, and the outdoor cooking area has been replaced by a real school kitchen. The villagers are happy to help with the building projects.
A lovely little church was finished in February, and about 400 children attend the school, in first through sixth grades. Although the village is small, the villagers believe education is the key to their children's futures.
“Now, all of the community has access to the water,” Bolotte said. "No more walking an hour down the hill.”
Ministry funds have also gone to help pay teacher salaries and provide scholarships for the most promising students to attend secondary school. In a country where half the children don’t get to go to school, an education means everything.
“The people told us, ‘All we want is a school for our children,’” Aranzabal said.
'A miracle man'
At the recent reception for Orival at the church in Mandeville, Aranzabal called the young computer science student “a miracle man.” He is the first person from his village to go to graduate school. We asked him how he was able to do that.
“I’m a very lucky man,” he said shyly. “My father is a teacher. I don’t know how he found the money to send me to high school. We had relatives in Port au Prince I could stay with, so that helped.”
He graduated No. 1 in his high school class and went on to study computer science at INUQUA, or Institut Universitaire Quisqueya-Amerique. Then he received an internship at the University of Montreal in Quebec, and now he is working toward a master’s degree in computer science with the help of a pair of Mary, Queen of Peace parishioners.
The couple, who asked me not to use their names, heard about Orival’s accomplishments through the ministry and found out he needed a laptop. They had one they weren’t using, so they had it refurbished and sent it to him in Canada. That was all they planned to do, in the beginning.
The next time Orival came to Mandeville, though, they had the chance to meet him, and, as soon as they sat down and talked to him, they decided to help him further his education.
“He was just so grateful, and he’s such an amazing kid, and he’s so committed to going home to make things better,” the woman said. “Jean-Bernard will have a chance to make a difference in Haiti.”
At the reception, Orival talked about a few of the things Dessources needs: a hospital or mobile clinic where villagers can get medical care, a vocational school for older students, a high school within walking distance.
“The parents have the determination to send their children to get a better education, but they don’t have the resources,” he said.
None of his ideas seemed impossible to the people gathered at the reception. One ministry member said he sensed "a culture of optimism" in the village.
“It's all about 'before Wildor' and 'after Wildor,'" Bolotte said. "Now, they have a vision."
Orival talked about returning to the village for the first time since the new church was finished. “I said, ‘Wow! Oh, my God, a church!’ I was so happy,” he said.
Bolotte explained that Pierre has a solar panel and a generator he can use to bring electricity to the rectory and the church. “Just not both at once,” she explained.
Last Sunday, the village priest staged a Christmas concert, where he handed out food for the hungry and trinkets for the children. And this year, for the first time, Christmas lights grace the church.
When the reception in Mandeville was almost over, Orival played Haitian rhythms on his guitar, then everyone sang a French Christmas carol together. While we sang, I imagined midnight Mass at St. Benoit, and I could just see the smiles on the faces of the children as they marveled at the twinkling lights.
Orival, 25, a graduate student in computer science at the University of Quebec in Montreal, visited parishioners at Mary, Queen of Peace Church in Mandeville during the holidays. Members of the church’s Haiti Solidarity Partnership Ministry held a reception for him before the annual Christmas concert. Orival's village includes St. Benoit Catholic Church, the partner parish of Mary, Queen of Peace, so ministry members wanted to know all about his life there.
Orival grew up in southern Haiti, 60 miles and five bumpy hours up the mountainside from Port-au-Prince.
He explained that Haitians have Pere Noel, or Father Christmas, but their version of Santa doesn't visit the children in Dessources. Parents in his village can’t afford to give their children Christmas presents.
“In Port au Prince, the children may have toys, but in the village, the children don’t have toys,” he explained. “Sometimes, they don’t even have good clothes to wear to church.”
He remembered one year when his godfather gave him a toy car. “That was very exciting,” he said.
The people of Dessources don’t have a big Christmas dinner -- with too much food -- like we're used to in New Orleans. “They might have rice and chicken,” he said. “Most of the time, it’s like an ordinary day.”
There are no stores for buying food and toys in the village, he reminded us. The villagers eke out a living, raising beans, corn and pumpkins on the mountainous land. If they’re lucky, they might have a few chickens or a goat. On Jan. 1, there is a tradition of visiting neighbors and sharing a meal of pumpkin soup. It’s a time of reconciliation.
“It’s a day when people who have been mad with each other get together,” he said.
Jean-Bernard Orival is the first person in his small Haitian village to go to college. He is now working on a master's degree in Montreal, thanks in no small measure to the help of parishioners at Mary, Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Mandeville, which partnered with his village church after the Haiti earthquake in 2010. “Now, they have flashlights,” he said, smiling.
But when Orival was growing up, there was no priest in the village, and so, no Mass. His father, Sauveur Orival, a teacher and village leader, conducted the midnight prayer service at the mission. There were no decorations. There was no music.
“With Monsignor Wildor, it’s different,” Orival said. “The church will be decorated. They will have music. The people are really, really, really happy to have him there.”
Priest establishes a parish
Msgr. Wildor Pierre arrived in Orival's village to start a parish in 2009. I first heard about him from Muguet Bolotte and Teresan Sister Marina Aranzabal shortly after they returned from a mission trip to Dessources.
The two women head up the Haiti ministry, which was started at Mary, Queen of Peace a year after the devastating earthquake struck Haiti, on Jan. 12, 2010. After the earthquake, Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond invited parishes in the Archdiocese of New Orleans to partner with a parish in Haiti. Through Catholic Relief Services, Mary Queen of Peace was put in touch with Pierre, the pastor of St. Benoit. Pierre was born in Haiti and went to seminary in Miami, but always planned to go home after he was ordained, determined to improve the lives of Haitians.
“It was like a blind date, but we got the right priest,” Bolotte said. “Monsignor Wildor is passionate about helping his people.”
You could say it was a match made in heaven. When Pierre was sent to Dessources by the local bishop, he had almost nothing to work with in the village. The chapel had a leaky tin roof, and there was no money to make repairs or build school rooms. There was no electricity in the village and no running water. Getting drinking water required an hour’s walk down the mountain.
View full sizeSchoolchildren line up for morning assembly at St. Benoit Catholic school. St. Benoit is the partner parish of Mary, Queen of Peace in Mandeville.So he prayed to God: “Help me, and bring people to help me.” His prayer was answered through the ministry of Mandeville's Mary, Queen of Peace. Working together, the two parishes have done wonders.
This is how the Mandeville ministry leaders described the people of Dessources in the spring of 2012: “They ask for so little, and they need so much,” Bolotte said. “They are building a community from scratch,” Aranzabal added.
'Building a community from scratch'
Pierre’s first request was for help rebuilding the church and rectory. His second was for help building an elementary school under the same roof as the church.
Much progress has been made in the past three years: A lovely little church was finished in February, and about 400 children attend the school, in first through sixth grades. A school lunch program was started, and the outdoor cooking area has been replaced by a real school kitchen. The villagers are happy to help with the building projects.
Once the church and school were finished, the Mandeville ministry group started raising money for a well. Now complete, the well cap is inside the gates of the school/church/rectory complex, and a distribution line takes the water from the well to the front of the church.
“It was like a blind date, but we got the right priest. (He) is passionate about helping his people.” -- Muguet Bolotte of Mary, Queen of Peace
A lovely little church was finished in February, and about 400 children attend the school, in first through sixth grades. Although the village is small, the villagers believe education is the key to their children's futures.Ministry funds have also gone to help pay teacher salaries and provide scholarships for the most promising students to attend secondary school. In a country where half the children don’t get to go to school, an education means everything.
“The people told us, ‘All we want is a school for our children,’” Aranzabal said.
'A miracle man'
At the recent reception for Orival at the church in Mandeville, Aranzabal called the young computer science student “a miracle man.” He is the first person from his village to go to graduate school. We asked him how he was able to do that.
“I’m a very lucky man,” he said shyly. “My father is a teacher. I don’t know how he found the money to send me to high school. We had relatives in Port au Prince I could stay with, so that helped.”
He graduated No. 1 in his high school class and went on to study computer science at INUQUA, or Institut Universitaire Quisqueya-Amerique. Then he received an internship at the University of Montreal in Quebec, and now he is working toward a master’s degree in computer science with the help of a pair of Mary, Queen of Peace parishioners.
The couple, who asked me not to use their names, heard about Orival’s accomplishments through the ministry and found out he needed a laptop. They had one they weren’t using, so they had it refurbished and sent it to him in Canada. That was all they planned to do, in the beginning.
The next time Orival came to Mandeville, though, they had the chance to meet him, and, as soon as they sat down and talked to him, they decided to help him further his education.
“He was just so grateful, and he’s such an amazing kid, and he’s so committed to going home to make things better,” the woman said. “Jean-Bernard will have a chance to make a difference in Haiti.”
At the reception, Orival talked about a few of the things Dessources needs: a hospital or mobile clinic where villagers can get medical care, a vocational school for older students, a high school within walking distance.
“The parents have the determination to send their children to get a better education, but they don’t have the resources,” he said.
None of his ideas seemed impossible to the people gathered at the reception. One ministry member said he sensed "a culture of optimism" in the village.
“It's all about 'before Wildor' and 'after Wildor,'" Bolotte said. "Now, they have a vision."
Orival talked about returning to the village for the first time since the new church was finished. “I said, ‘Wow! Oh, my God, a church!’ I was so happy,” he said.
Bolotte explained that Pierre has a solar panel and a generator he can use to bring electricity to the rectory and the church. “Just not both at once,” she explained.
Last Sunday, the village priest staged a Christmas concert, where he handed out food for the hungry and trinkets for the children. And this year, for the first time, Christmas lights grace the church.
When the reception in Mandeville was almost over, Orival played Haitian rhythms on his guitar, then everyone sang a French Christmas carol together. While we sang, I imagined midnight Mass at St. Benoit, and I could just see the smiles on the faces of the children as they marveled at the twinkling lights.
Contact Sheila Stroup at sstroup@bellsouth.net.
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