In Mont-Organisé in Haiti, the spirituality of the Focolare Movement has penetrated among the population.
In 2008 an organization with legal status was set up for all the activities and projects the Movement in Haiti. It was approved by the government as a non-profit organization with the name of PACNE (Action contre la pauvreté du nord-est – Association against poverty in the North-East). The directors and officers of the association are the Haitian members of the Focolare’s Volunteers branch or close adherents. PACNE has set up a commission for its various activities: education, Support Bank, construction, housing centre for the poor, adoptions at a distance.
Sponsors at a distance
This project consists in sponsoring a child, providing for his/her education and health care according to local standards. The PACNE members, being from that area, know their community well and are able to find the families that are most in need. Sometimes the sponsored child is the only one of the family that has the opportunity to go to school. Inasmuch as possible, these families in turn help other families in need.
Schools
1996 marked the beginning of our schools in Haiti. People belonging to our organisation, wanting to care for the education of the children who were unable to attend school in the villages of Lacouève, and Mont-Organisé. A few years later, adults and youth of the Movement in Canada organized fund raising activities. With this ongoing help, the school could welcome more children and each year the number increased.
Housing for the poor
This project is set up to provide housing for Haitians living in poverty, abandoned and in need of daily care. The people belonging to the movement raised funds from their own resources. They received also funds from foreign charities The people lodged in this project number about 15; they are mostly people with some disability or families in very destitute conditions. People from the local community support the centre by providing food for its inhabitants, or in other concrete ways.
