Mercy Focus on Haiti

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Haiti and GMercyU United in Spirit and Story
Mercy Focus on Haiti is a ministry of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. Its members are led to service and solidarity with people who are materially poor, especially those living in Haiti. They partner with the Haitian people to meet their unmet needs and we collaborate with like-minded organizations.

Since 2018, the GMercyU community has embraced the efforts of this ministry by seeking opportunities to support on-ground efforts through service, scholarship, education, and fundraising.

To learn more about Haiti, visit our Library Guide.

Service

GMercyU first engaged with Mercy Focus on Haiti (MFOH) in 2018 when a team of faculty, staff, and student delegates visited Gros Morne, Haiti to learn about the various programs offered by MFOH. With an initial hope to engage with our Haitian partners through travel to Gros Morne, since then political unrest in Haiti and the global pandemic challenged us to explore creative ways to collaborate with our international partners from home. 


Theme and Mission for 2023

Theme: Earth

Project: Cistern Fundraiser for Safe Drinking Water 
One cistern allows the people of Gros Morne, Haiti to collect 1,000-1,500 gallon of rainwater. Rainwater harvesting provides clean water to the community for drinking and for gardens, and helps control soil erosion. Without the cisterns, water collection usually falls to women and children who must walk one to two hours to collect river water and carry it back uphill to their homes.

Campaign begins: February 1, 2023, continues throughout Spring semester

Event: Join us on February 21, 2023 for presentation on this project from the Mercy Focus on Haiti members. Learn more and register here!

Make a donation

What Your Funds Will Buy
$11 – day laborer salary for one day (3 laborers work for 5 days on each cistern)
$11 – spigot and piping
$18 – chicken wire
$20 – one day of meals for masons and laborers (5 days needed)
$24 – one bag of cement (17 bags are used to build a cistern)
$36 – eaves, downspouts and fixtures to gather the rainwater from roofs
$42 – steel rebar for cistern reinforcement
$50 – qualified mason (2 are needed to supervise and build the cistern)
$60 – community organizer (works with village to prepare and train for maintenance)
$93 – shipping, handling, transportation of cistern materials to village
$100 – master mason (to purchase materials and oversee the project)

 

Past Projects

2022
The Gwynedd Mercy University community was thrilled to present a $3600 donation to benefit the Lekól Jesi-Mari (Jesus & Mary Primary School). This spring, our community held a fundraising campaign that engaged students, staff, faculty who were humbled to learn about the efforts and community work provided by the school.

2021
Social Work, Occupational Therapy, and Public Health faculty members at GMercyU partnered with Mercy Focus on Haiti in 2021 to conduct a secondary data analysis of the Chemin Lavi Miyo (CLM) program, also known as Pathway to a Better Life. The research project seeks to understand the factors that contribute to sustained outcomes for CLM graduates in the two years following graduation from the program. Anticipated results are expected in Spring 2022 and the team looks forward to engaging GMercyU students with our partners at CLM in responding to the findings of the study. Learn more here: Chemin Lavi Miyò Leads a Woman Out of Ultra-Poverty

Here are a few more examples of our innovative community-engaged learning projects from the past several years:

 

GMercyU Mercy Focus on Haiti Team

  • Cindy Casey, Program Director and Assistant Professor of Practice, Computer Information Science
  • Tatiana Diaz, Assistant Vice President of DEI
  • James Gallo, Vice President for Mission Integration
  • Mindy MacRone-Wojton, Assistant Professor, Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy
  • Thomas Mernar, Associate Professor and Director, Occupational Therapy
  • Janice Nuss, Assistant Professor & Director of Field Education, Social Work
  • Mary Jo Pierantozzi, Assistant Professor, Education
  • Betsy Stone Plummer, Director of Service and Catherine's Cupboard
  • Jill Winnington, Assistant Dean and Business Program Director
  • Sharla Willis, Program Director, Public Health