“Come and see.” This was the invitation the Rev. Canon Dr. Ogé Beauvoir of Haiti extended to his partners in the Anglican Church of Canada after the Jan. 12 earthquake. Now Dr. Andrea Mann, General Synod’s global relations coordinator, has taken him up on this offer and is visiting the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti from March 23 to 30.
In the first entry on her Haiti travel blog, Dr. Mann describes the scene: “Mountains of rubble, constant, hazy dust, pancaked buildings, lopsided and partially collapsed walls, burnt out cars and houses, tattered drapes fluttering at squashed window, single sandals and abandoned clothing testify to an enormous devastation and death. And yet life goes on.”
Dr. Mann, who most recently visited Haiti in October 2009, will be learning about post-earthquake life in Port-au-Prince and Léogâne, and will meet many who live and work in the temporary camps. She is travelling with Naba Gurung of the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF) and Jim Hodgson of the United Church of Canada.
Canadian Anglicans are connected to Haiti through the work of the national Partnerships Department, which for many years has partnered in God’s mission with the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti:
- Volunteers in Mission have served in Haiti, including C.J. James, who provided administrative support to Haiti’s Sisters of Saint Margaret in the mid-1990s.
- For the past six years, Partnerships grants have assisted the Séminaire de Théologie de l’Église Épiscopale d’Haïti (STEEH) to train men and women for ordained ministry.
- The Rev. Canon Dr. Ogé Beauvoir, a graduate of Montreal Diocesan College, is dean of STEEH. Previously, Ogé served as a General Synod mission personnel in Haiti and as the Africa mission coordinator for Partnerships.
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