Celebrating Our 17-Year Partnership with St. Etienne

St. Stephen's has partnered with and helped support St. Etienne Episcopal School in Salmadere, Haiti, for the last 17 years. Despite political and social unrest in the region, the Rev. Todd FitzGerald, St. Stephen’s chaplain, and retired science teacher Johnny Wilson were able to visit St. Etienne Feb. 10-14 to check on the school’s students and staff.

 

St. Etienne draws students from a wide area around Salmadere and educates more than 400 students from kindergarten to 9th grade with a dozen teachers and staff. Thanks to support from St. Stephen’s, they have made a number of significant improvements to the school’s facilities, including constructing a new school building and church.

 

Despite these enhancements, “the cooking shack and bathroom have remained inadequate, given the number of community members,” noted FitzGerald, who was pleased to report that since his visit in the fall of 2018, the old wooden latrine had been replaced with modernized toilets and sinks thanks to capital funds from additional supporters.

 

Next up for upgrades? The kitchen and servery. “The cooks make the best of it, but the cooking shack is high on their list of needed improvements!” he explained.

 

FitzGerald and Wilson plan to return to St. Etienne again during our school’s spring break for additional outreach work and to introduce other St. Stephen’s faculty and staff to the St. Etienne school community. They hope to return next school year with a group of our students.

 

You can learn more about and help support St. Etienne during our annual spring event, Haiti on The Hill, which will be held on April 17. Stay tuned for more information about this exciting celebration of Haitian art and culture.