Mission To Haiti

 
School supplies were delivered to local children in Nan Mango by the mission from Covenant Presbyeterian Church.

In the 1963 movie, Lilies of the Field, Sidney Poitier builds a chapel for a group of East German nuns who have escaped their home country to settle in Texas. In 2008, a Buckhead church mimics the beloved 1960’s tale. Covenant Presbyterian Church has committed to build a church in Nan Mango, Haiti.

Brent Adams and Jim Ingvoldstad, two members of Covenant Presbyterian Church, have been traveling to the island of La Gonave, Haiti for several years. In conjunction with the Greater Atlanta Haiti Partnership, they have delivered supplies and financial support to the people of La Gonave. Ingvoldstad, an OB/GYN in a practice affiliated with Piedmont Hospital, has long volunteered at the Bill Rice Clinic on the island.

"I often diagnose malnutrition and TB." Ingvoldstad said. "I also screen children who would be candidates for corrective surgery through the Childspring, International program."

Adams, an executive with Private Bank of Buckhead, works closely with Pere Soner Alexandre the Episcopal priest who supervises activities in eighteen communities, assessing the needs and coordinating programs.

 Volunteers worked in the Nan Mango medical clinic.

Covenant Presbyterian, located on Peachtree Street at the corner of Terrace Drive, has long been active in outreach programs. Over 20 percent of the members volunteer at the Central Night Shelter and the church sponsors an annual Habitat for Humanity build. The congregation has provided financial support to the Greater Atlanta Haiti Partnership but is developing a deeper and more personal relationship with the people of Nan Mango.

In February, Ingvoldstad and Adams took a group of 11 people from Covenant to Nan Mango. Ingvoldstad and Katherine Lord, a student in Emory’s Physician Assistant program, volunteered in a medical clinic while the rest of the group assessed needs and delivered school supplies and clothing. The Vine and Bean, a shop in Clayton, donated 95 new pairs of the popular Croc shoes, which proved perfect for the rocky paths on the island.

Like most of Haiti, the village of Nan Mango is desperately poor. The school is the only communal building in the village. There is a shell of a church, only the outside walls, and the people use the school for their worship services. Despite the broad range of needs, a church building is what the villagers truly want. For six years, Pere Soner has been searching for a way to complete this church. The congregation of Covenant Presbyterian Church with an anonymous donor have committed to pay the estimated $40,000 needed to complete the church. In order to provide jobs, Covenant will pay for the building supplies. People from Nan Mango and neighboring communities will have paying jobs to build the church.

 
Mission member Ernie Hess delighted school children with his guitar playing.

A group from Covenant will return to Nan Mango in the fall to assess progress on the church, begin a micro-enterprise operation with women and spend time with school children. In the meantime, several members of Covenant Presbyterian are studying Creole…preparing for their Haitian journey with enthusiasm.