Nativity Catholic Church’s Operation Starfish® Donation to FFTP Supports Construction of New Homes in Haiti
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (July 12, 2024) – Today, during a moving prayer service and celebration, Nativity Catholic Church, of Burke, Va., presented Food For The Poor President/CEO Ed Raine with a donation of $450,000 to support projects in Latin America and the Caribbean through the church’s Operation Starfish® campaign.
The donation will fund the construction of the church’s 14th Nativity Village, which will be in Bois-Louroux, Haiti, and completion of the church’s 13th Village, in Bas Fossé, Haiti, as well as other programs in Haiti and Jamaica.
Standing in for Fr. Bob Cilinski, pastor of Nativity Church, Jim McDaniel, Operation Starfish® Coordinator, delivered the donation to Raine at FFTP’s Coconut Creek, Fla., headquarters.
“Today, I’m pleased as the pastor of Nativity Church, to present our annual Operation Starfish® gift to you and the good people of Food For The Poor,” said Fr. Cilinski, who joined the gathering via Zoom from Virginia. “With great confidence we entrust this to you so that you can continue to do the work of Christ wherever it’s needed. This gift represents the generosity, love and sacrificial gifts of the men, women, and children of Nativity Parish.”
This year marks the 26th anniversary of Nativity’s Operation Starfish campaign, which supports multiple projects each year. To date, Nativity parishioners and friends have made monetary donations of more than $8.6 million and provided $3 million in goods to care for children and families in need.
Each Nativity Village starts by addressing basic needs, including shelter, sanitation, and treated water, followed by education, health care, schools, clinics, and vocational training programs.
“We are humbled by the generosity of your gift,” Raine said. “This isn’t about a mere a transaction – it’s about the transformative power of people who truly love someone else and are moved to action by their faith. It’s truly humbling that Food For The Poor can join Nativity Catholic Church in this work, and we take that responsibility very seriously.”
Part of the communal section of Grande Savane, Bois-Louroux is located between Grand-Bassin and Les Perches, in the Nord-Est department of Haiti. Most families in Bois-Louroux live in dilapidated shacks, primarily made of slabs of wood and mud, with roofs made of rusted metal sheets, making them vulnerable to extreme weather.
The Bois-Louroux Community Development project consists of 20 two-bedroom homes and five solar-powered streetlights. Twenty families will live in the new homes, which will provide safe and secure shelter with sanitation, and protection from inclement weather and waterborne illnesses.
The gift will also fund a school expansion and completion of the church’s 13th community, Nativity Village at Bas Fossé. Part of a commitment Nativity announced in 2021 to build 75 homes, the project is improving the lives of almost 700 people. To date, 60 two-bedroom houses have been completed, each with a living area, sanitation, a water component, a cooking area, a sink, furnishings, and lighting, and built to withstand severe weather.
In addition to supporting the two villages, the Nativity gift will fund operating expenses and midwife training at the St. Anthony Clinic, part of Nativity Village at Prolonge, Haiti, a scholarship program for Nativity Villages in Cap-Haitien, as well as scholarships for two medical students in Jamaica and Haiti.
One of the medical students, Keonie White, of Jamaica, visited the church for the first time in May.
“I’m excited to meet the people who are going above and beyond just to ensure that I have everything I need to get through medical school,” White said, prior to her visit. “They are helping me get to where I want to be in life – helping me to achieve my goal of becoming a doctor and, ultimately, a pediatrician.”
A delegation of Nativity parishioners led by Fr. Jonathan Bennett joined McDaniel at FFTP for the check presentation, just hours after returning to the United States from a mission trip to Honduras. While in Honduras, they toured the El Colirio Clinic, which Nativity funded last year through Operation Starfish®, and they blessed medical equipment and supplies the church recently sent to the clinic. They also distributed food to families in need in the area and visited a children’s home supported by the FFTP Angels of Hope Child Sponsorship Program.
Nativity’s Operation Starfish® campaign began with the late Fr. Richard Martin, who died in 2014. He conceived the idea in 1998, while walking his dog on the eve of Lent. In the spirit of the season, he wondered whether parishioners would forego the cost of a small luxury and donate the savings to help those in need. The congregation responded by raising more than $67,000 and partnering with FFTP to build 27 homes in Haiti. Operation Starfish® officially launched the next year. It has since inspired two offshoots: Fish4Hope, which has built three fish farms, and Stella Marina, which supports Haitian midwives with birthing kits, training, and mission trips.
Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry children and families living in poverty primarily in 15 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, water, medicine, educational materials, homes, support for vulnerable children, care for the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. For more information, please visit foodforthepoor.org.
Ernestine Williams
Communications
305-321-7342
[email protected]