Meet Our
Partners in Haiti
The Haiti Project partners with over 25 community leaders in Chermaitre, Haiti, to make our work possible. These leaders range from school teachers to a doctor and a water technician. Our partners are the backbone of our initiatives, guiding how THP works and where it will go next.
Pere Jean Jonas Laborde
Episcopal Priest & District Director
Jean Jonas Laborde is our partner on the ground in Haiti who ensures that our projects are working well. He is an Episcopal priest who is responsible for five villages in the northwest. Pere Jonas was born in Gressier, a township near Léogâne where he also attended the local university. After his undergraduate years, he graduated from the Episcopal Church University with a focus on Communication and Public Relations and Divinity classes. He states, “I love the partnership with the Haiti Project who helps and supports our community especially the people of Chermaitre in the field of Education, Health, Reforestation, and women.”
Pere Andre Wildaine
Episcopal Priest & District Director
Pere Andre Wildaine is the priest in charge of the Partnership Program with Chermaitre and several neighboring villages. The Partnership Program is an extension of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti, which is based in Port au Prince. We chose to work through the Episcopal Diocese on the recommendation of many that they were an organization with a high degree of financial integrity, and also one that placed good people in charge of village projects. Pere Wildaine was Deacon under Pere Soner for a number of years and was promoted for his hard work and assigned to several villages. He works with our organization toward making positive impact and fostering sustainable development in Chermaitre in the areas of education, health, reforestation, water access and purification, and a women’s cooperative.
Clairvoix Adelphin
Primary School Principal
Clairvoix is a member of the Chermaitre community who helped to found the school more than 25 years ago. His ongoing love and care for the community has helped to educate thousands of young children in the only school in the remote mountains. His dedication and resilience has changed the lives of so many.
Dr. Norvilus Bertrand
Medical Director & Head Physician, Fiervil Clinic
Dr. Norvilus provides and coordinates essential services at the clinic to ensure healthcare access despite limited resources. Unimpeded by the political turbulence that has made it difficult to receive vaccines and medicine, he continues to serve over 3,000 people from 47 different villages. Dr. Norvilus is a family medicine specialist who received a full scholarship to medical school in Cuba. He brings medical expertise to his patients in Fiervil from his experience as a noted physician at the local Alma Mater Hospital. Despite traversing dangerous roadblocks, unpaved roads, and riverbeds to reach the clinic, he remains steadfast in serving his patients and has displayed extraordinary organizational skills, autonomy, foresight, motivation, open-mindedness, innovation, and the ability to adapt to any environment.
Nurse Amoly Joseph
Clinic Nurse
Nurse Amoly works alongside Dr. Norvilus in the clinic and the pharmacy. He distributes medications from the on-site pharmacy and keeps an inventory of the medications. He staffs the clinic every day with the help of Nurse Junie. Together, they rotate in making trips to the school in Chermaitre, promoting health education among the students.
Marie Vierge
Midwife
Marie Vierge is the village matron. Trained as a midwife at Alma Mater hospital in Gros-Morne, the nearest city, she used to be supported by the staff there. However, after the earthquake, their support ceased. She perseveres on in her work because she believes in the importance of helping other mothers.
Benoit Profelus
Artist and Founder/Director of Galerie Benoit, Gros Morne
Benoit is a young artist who started to paint when he was 7 years old. When he was 17, Benoit opened his own art workshop, recently named Galerie Benoit & Atelier, and has since been teaching a growing number of students interested in learning from him. Benoit also exhibits his works in Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haitien and continues developing his craft to achieve his goal of “become[ing] a bigger artist… becom[ing] a good businessman and a painter, travel[ing] to sell paintings, go[ing] to every country and exhibit.” As a graduate of the secondary school in Chermaitre, Benoit continues to collaborate with artists in Chermaitre to paint schools and houses in the community.
