Missionary priest builds up Haiti one student, one classroom at a time

“We are also investing in education because the Catholic population has shrunk in Haiti,” Merosne told CNA. “Haiti was considered a Catholic country, but the population has gone down because there are systematic efforts to convert people out of the Church. And it works. And we haven’t had a systematic response to it. So education is very important — not only as ministry but also to inform the mind and heart of the young child, to bring them up in the faith and as good citizens of the country, who will love the country.”

Merosne believes that forming the minds and character of students and helping them to grow in virtue is important for the recovery and flourishing of Haiti. “If they don’t grow in virtue then we’re not doing the country any favors because some of the corrupt people that are in the country went to Catholic school. And yet, their heart is not where it’s supposed to be; it’s not converted with the Lord. So that’s why I’m taking education seriously.”

Merosne is currently raising money to build classrooms as the chapels, the mission churches, will soon be too overcrowded.

“We need to start building classrooms outside the church buildings, even if it’s one classroom at a time. And that’s how we’ll eventually end up with a school building for each village. It has been hard but it’s important. We are seeing the results — beautiful kids are getting Catholic education.”

Some of the chapels were damaged by the powerful earthquake in August 2021 so the community had to build some makeshift classrooms so the students could keep going to school. “We don’t stop no matter what happens; we keep going,” Merosne said. 

Paying the teachers is a challenge because parents can’t afford very much. “It’s less than $100 for the whole year per student and still for some families, that’s difficult,” Merosne said. “And then the teachers get paid peanuts — a little less than $100 per month. We try to get them food, like rice and beans, so they don’t have to use the little money they make for food. And we try to help them with transportation.”

But Merosne would like to properly train teachers and pay them a good wage. 

“We realized we need to have a school that trains teachers in the area, especially if we want to encourage our Catholic young adults to become teachers so we can have good Catholic teachers in the schools,” Merosne explained. “So we started a school for teachers. And that’s been growing for two years. We hire them even while they’re in school. So that’s good news.” 

A project like this in Haiti requires support at many levels. Merosne broke down how individuals and groups can help.

“First, you can pray,” he said. “You can also sponsor a student ($100 per year) or a teacher ($100 a month) or sponsor a classroom — that’s about $20,000- $25,000 per classroom to build.” 

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“We would love people to work with us on a monthly basis. Our monthly donors are amazing because they allow us to be able to hope for something — even if it’s $20 a month, we know we have this much coming each month. That’s huge. If we have enough people doing this, I can rest my heart a bit more as I am always thinking about how to get enough money to take care of the people under my care.” 

Merosne said he relies on providence to provide through the generosity of others who feel called to support their brothers and sisters Haiti and to rebuild the country little by little. 

“If I look at the big picture, I can’t do it. But if we start small and allow God to work with us consistently, we can make this happen. We can actually turn this thing around by investing in the Haitian people, giving them something that will last for a lifetime — an awesome Catholic and strong academic education that can help to bring about good citizens for the country of Haiti and for the kingdom of God.” 

To find out more about Merosne’s work in Haiti you can follow him on Facebook and visit Mission to the Beloved.