St. James Catholic Church Haiti Committee will host its annual Haiti Yard Sale on July 30 and 31. Proceeds for the sale go to support its Twin Church, St. Ives Parish in Thibeau and St. Joseph’s School in Dubre.
For the past four years, St. James member and local medical doctor at Hematology-Oncology Associates of CNY, Richard Cherny, has made a trip to Haiti through a partnership with Holy Names Hospital in Teaneck. N.J. There, he spends one week working with the doctors at Hospital Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart Hospital) in Milot. This 135 bed hospital is staffed and managed by Haitians and benefits from visiting doctors with varying expertise.
As a member of St. James, Cherny always tries to make the 12-kilometer trip to St. Ives Parish, the twinning Parish to Cazenovia’s St. James Church. There he visits with the local parishioners and attends Mass whenever possible.
Cherny is no stranger to impoverished developing countries, having spent time working with an exchange program in Nigeria. But he said nothing compares to the needs in Haiti. Like most of rural Haiti, Thibeau and its surrounding villages lack safe water, electricity, plumbing and access to education. Life for the real poor is very difficult and education is the most effective way to enable communities to help themselves, he said.
“We [St. James Church] have made a positive impact and need to continue to support in whatever way we can,” Cherny said. “The need is endless and the rewards are priceless. Hope, in various forms, is invaluable and comes as a direct consequence of St. James’ ongoing commitment and support to those people. It means a basic education for some, a job for others, a sense of pride for sure.”
Among other needs, support from the yard sale is used to provide daily meals, education through the St. Joseph school in Dubre and scholarships for students to attend postsecondary schools and further their education
The Haiti Committee is still looking for any gently used household, furniture, toys and game items to be donated. Antiques are always welcome. Item drop off is from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, July 29, at the Route 20 location.
For more information on donating, please contact Kevin Kennedy at 662-3899.
