Why a Memphis group raises money to buy goats for people in Haiti - and how it helps them
Debra Bartelli is a professor in the University of Memphis School of Public Health, and chair of IC Haiti Outreach Ministry, a charitable group comprised of parishioners at Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and St. Patrick Catholic Church. Its focus is supporting the people of Notre Dame d’Altagrace, a Catholic church in Layaye, Haiti; and its members have visited the parish many times.
For Bartelli, there is a memory from a trip that stands out. She and other Haiti Ministry members attended Mass at Notre Dame d’Altagrace, and they watched Haitian parishioners put their donations in the collection box. It was a stirring sight. These were poor subsistence farmers, who had no running water, electricity, or livestock. Yet they were giving something despite having so little.
Bartelli contrasted it to many American Catholics who have more material wealth but are less willing to give. And the memory has continued to drive her and the other Haiti Ministry members as they support parishioners at Notre Dame d’Altagrace, which has around 8,000 parishioners spread across its church and seven chapels.
In recent years, that effort has involved goats.
A few years ago, Notre Dame d’Altagrace got a new priest, Wildranc Servil, who wanted to help his parishioners economically. Working with Servil, the Haiti Ministry started raising money for goats, which provided the churchgoers with a boost. The goats provide milk. They produce offspring that can be sold at market. They can be slaughtered and eaten. They can provide manure for composting.
“If they have a steady supply of goats,” Bartelli explained, “that’s really going to help them.”
In 2022, Haiti Ministry held its first “Be the G.O.A.T. for Haiti” fundraiser at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and raised $13,600, enough to buy 130 goats. That year, 65 families each got two goats ― a male and female ― which means they can breed them. Last year, they raised another $8,800, and they’ve continued the work this year.
Haiti Ministry held the 2024 fundraiser on April 28, and as of May 6, it had raised $7,500. But money was still coming in, and Bartelli expected that number to reach $8,000 ― enough to send goat pairs to 40 families.
The goat fundraising is also just one element of the Haiti Ministry’s work.
For example, it sends roughly $20,000 a year to support parish administration and cover some student tuition. It sends another $12,000 a year for a medical clinic, and it paid for the education of the doctor who staffs it. It sends medicine and has provided parishioners with water filtration systems since the mountain springs they use are often polluted.
In the last few years, Haiti Ministry members haven’t been able to visit Notre Dame d’Altagrace because of safety issues, and Bartelli sometimes gets frustrated and wishes their work made more of a difference. But she has no intention of stopping.
“I can't not do it. They really need our support,” Bartelli said. “And they really care about us and take good care of us when we’re there.”
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis Catholic group raises money to buy goats for people in Haiti
