The Holy Spirit Haiti Mission (HSHM) statement “To share God’s love by supporting those in need through education, housing, healthcare, economics, water source and purification systems throughout Haiti.”
For over 20 years now, this mission has supported the communities of Leogane and Palmiste au Vin through the Parish Twinning Program. Based out of Huntsville, Alabama, and associated with Holy Spirit Catholic Church, this mission works to provide five main services in Christ to those in Haiti: Water, Healthcare, Work, Service, and Education. We work together with the local Haitians to bring these basic needs into their lives to improve the current condition of living in Haiti.
Everything that we do is focused on support of those in need, education, job development, and seeking self-reliance.
HEALTHCARE
For many years the mission has been funded a Haitian doctor in the St. Charles Clinic for two days a week. For the past 2 years we have funded a doctor to run a mobile medical clinic which provides needed healthcare in the most remote areas of Haiti. The doctor also takes time to provide the education needed to help people avoid disease though simple practices we take for granted, like washing our hands and drinking clean water.
SERVICE
There are many aspects to our service within the Haiti Mission both physically and spiritually. We respond as needed to many different areas. One very important part of service to this mission is through prayer for our Haitian brothers and sisters as well as using the gifts of education God has given us to help solve everyday problems of living in Haiti.
WATER
The water program has two aspects. One is helping to provide sufficient reservoir or well capacity for the community to survive through the dry season. The other is in water purification. Water purification is in the form of education of clean water, building water purification systems, and finding other ways to purify their heavily bacteria-laden drinking water. We work together with Living Waters for the World, a faith based 501(c)(3) organization that brings clean water to the world, to accomplish this goal.
WORK
Each team that goes to Haiti not only provides of their time and labor in Haiti and pays their own way, but there are often many hours spent stateside preparing. The mission has many talented people from many walks of life that serve and so we are able to reach out to the Haitians in a variety of ways. Our ultimate goal though is to teach the Haitians how to fish instead of just giving them fish.
EDUCATION
Virtually everything we do in this mission has the theme of education in back of it. We support children in the orphanage and at the monastery school through food, clothing, and education programs. We also support university studies for over twenty students who will then come back to their communities and share their education with the next generation. More importantly though, we have been striving to find ways to allow the community to become independent of our mission.