Father Kesner Ajax's address to the Haiti Conference for the Diocese of Atlanta

Saturday, October 2nd, 2010, at St. Francis Church, Macon, Georgia

            Ladies and Gentlemen, friends and colleagues, Atlanta Partners of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti: it is with a joyful heart that I address you today.  I am joyful because we have this opportunity to be together and joyful because we share solidarity in our purpose.

            First of all I would like to take this time to thank you for the essential services you provide to the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti and in turn the country of Haiti itself.  Some of you have been working with your Partners in Haiti for decades.  For years you have shared your talent, passion, and vision to improve the situation of thousands of your Haitian neighbors.  The Diocese of Haiti is profoundly grateful for your dedication and consistency.  Others of you are newly committed to this purpose.  The Diocese of Haiti appreciates your attention to our needs and for the work that you have already begun.

           

            As you know, these past 9 months have been challenging for the country of Haiti.  Just as hurricane Katrina tested the United States, so has the earthquake of January 12^th tested every facet of Haiti.  The loss of so many bright lives requires new talent to grow and emerge in the midst of mourning.  Destroyed government buildings render the national infrastructure weaker.  In the absence of centralized distribution of goods and services, churches like us and other non-profits strain to meet basic needs of the vulnerable population.

            Prior to January 12^th the first steps of establishing a strong Partnership Program had been taken.  Support for the mission of the Partnership Program had been shown, and hopes were high.  The Diocese of Haiti with the help of its partners was determined to work towards a state of self-sufficiency.

            However, with the devastating outcome of January's disaster, the obstacles mounted before us are now higher than ever.  The dream of becoming self-supporting has been placed even farther from our reach.  Our efforts must be doubled and even tripled.  We must now completely reconstruct our diocese and start at the very beginning.  This reality is beyond frustrating for us in Haiti, but your interest in our rebirth creates a feeling of optimism that cannot be paralleled.

            Just as Jesus healed the paralytic man, so too can the country of Haiti be healed.  Through faith and through serious collaborative work undertaken with vision, we will realize the goal of walking past the place where we had arrived before the earthquake.

            The Episcopal Diocese of Haiti has 150,000 members, 40 priests, 120 churches, 240 schools, and numerous centers of public health.  Just over 60% of the Church's structures were destroyed in the quake.  Some of the collapsed buildings represent loss of income for the church.  The Diocese lost an overwhelming 80% of its already meager income.

            One of the challenges we have faced in the past is that of clergy stipends and salaries.  This once extremely difficult challenge has now become virtually impossible.  You may remember the relatively small number of priests (40) in relation to the 120 churches and 240 schools within the diocese.  This disparity means that each priest manages many entities at a time.  Providing priests of our diocese with the salaries they deserve is now unfeasible because of the magnitude of loss experienced during the earthquake. 

            One positive byproduct of this problem is strong lay leadership.  A priest with 15 churches cannot possibly be present at each location when needed, so members of the congregation step up.  Still, we simply need more priests.

            There are about 100 men and women who would like to answer a call to serve as Episcopal clergy in Haiti.  We need to increase the number of priests, but we do not have the funds to support them through seminary.  As we look to the future, we wonder, "Where would these priests live and how will we pay them?"

            Securing the strong clergy for our parishes is essential to navigating the next decade of restructuring and is a central priority within the Diocese of Haiti.  We fear that as our work has grown bigger, the possibilities have grown smaller.  However, your participation and presence provides great reassurance for our diocese that these hurdles will be surpassed. 

            I mentioned before that we would succeed in reaching our goals through working collectively with vision.  I would like to discuss more what that might mean for us.  Firstly, I would like to speak about the vision of Diocese of Haiti.  The vision has two basic parts: short term and long term.  It is articulated in a document called the Master Plan to Rebuild the Diocese of Haiti.  It will be presented in detail at the Partnership Connection Conference in November.

            One aspect of this vision deals with how we can work together with you, our dedicated partners, to reconstruct what we have lost.  Collaborating with architects, leaders within the church have determined the capital needed to rebuild each building that was destroyed.  We also determined a list of the top nine priorities of reconstruction.  Many of the buildings among the prioritized are those that produce income.  The physical structures are imperative to meeting the spiritual needs of our congregations as well as providing basic services such as health care and education. 

            The other aspect of the Master Plan focuses on the more distant future.  Refining this part of the vision required a deep evaluation of programs.  It required discernment on all levels.  It's not something that could be undertaken hastily.  We asked ourselves, "How can our programs most effectively increase the positive advancement of our diocese, church and our country?"  (We return here to the goal of self-sufficiency.)  This reimagining of possibilities dictates the plans for rebuilding physical structures. 

            I would like to pause here to tell a rather dramatic story often used to illustrate the importance of both long term and short term planning.  You know in Haiti, storytelling is a widespread cultural art.  When a story teller begins a story, they say, "Krik" and the audience replies, "Krak."

            So, "Krik." ...."Krak."

           

            There was once a man sitting on the bank of the river enjoying a snack of bread and avocado when a most unusual site caught his eye.  He had to rub his eyes twice to believe what he was seeing.  There before him was a helpless baby laying on a plank of wood floating down the river with the current.

            He dove into the water immediately and saved the baby from certain death.

            No sooner had he placed the baby safely on the riverbank did he turn around and see another baby in the very same predicament.  Before the baby could fall off the plank and drown, he rescued it and placed it next to the first. 

            With both babies comfortable on the shady grass, the man turned back towards the river and was astonished to behold yet another infant bobbing through the water on a piece of wood.  He had barely enough time to bring this third baby to safety before seeing that there was yet another floating by.  This continued over the course of many hours until the man collapsed into exhaustion.

            He never had a second's time to jog up the river to determine who was putting babies in the river in the first place!

            The true message behind this story is that though each child, each challenge, each mission is equally important and deserves close attention.  It is also of great importance to gain a clear perspective of the big picture and establish successful and promising approaches to achieving our common goal. 

            We are not alone in our purpose as was the man in the story.  As Christian brothers and sisters, we joyfully labor together to bring both relief and development.  Relief in the form of rebuilding the fallen structures of the Diocese of Haiti and development of the vital programs housed therein.  In our pursuit the lives of many individuals are positively affected including each of our own!

            As we work together, let us keep in mind that every relationship has affirming boundaries.  These boundaries afford open communication, which leads to trust, and in turn results in accomplishing goals.  The purpose of the Partnership Program is to unite our efforts to make them more effective.

            We can continue our commitment to honesty and transparency between us.  All partners will achieve greater success with detailed record keeping.  We can also improve by recognizing the difficulties that language can present.  We can double check that statements are understood to avoid frustration and disappointment.  When reaching agreements, it's useful to put things in writing and ensure that both parties have a copy.  Procedures pertaining to sending money, making commitments, and corresponding are outlined in the Partnership Program Guidelines.

            This is a good time to mention our new Partnership Program Assistant, Angela Galbreath.  Angela will be living and working full time in Port Au Prince.  Her role is to facilitate clear and open lines of communication between US dioceses and the Diocese of Haiti.  The bright and capable young woman will without a doubt serve as a great asset to our diocese and will soon become a great resource for you all!

            Along the same line, I am equally delighted to share with you the assignment of 2 additional communications advocates who were appointed by the Presiding Bishop.  The Rev. Joseph Murrenz Constant and the Rev. Dr. Rosemari Gaughan Sullivan will be stationed primarily in the United States but will be working in Haiti often.

            The presence of all of these individuals devoted to facilitating clear and successful communication will serve to build a stronger relationship for us all! 

            The January 12^th earthquake left the country in ruins but it also created opportunity:  opportunities to engage one another in worthy pursuits; opportunities to reimagine possibilities...Opportunities for positive change.  Walk together with us towards self-sufficiency.  With your continued support, we will rise from this tragedy stronger than before.  Just as Jesus instructed the paralytic man in the book of Mark, the Diocese of Haiti will...Leve, Kompe, Mache...Rise, Stand and Walk!