CAZENOVIA — The St. James Catholic Church Haiti Committee will host its annual Haiti Yard Sale on Saturday, Aug. 7 through Monday, Aug. 9.
All proceeds will go towards supporting the committee’s mission to serve and advocate for St. James’s twin parish in Haiti, St. Ives, as well as St. Joseph’s School.
This year, the event will be held across the street from its previous location, one mile east of the Village of Cazenovia on Route 20.
The sale will feature furniture, household items, sporting goods, toys, books, holiday decorations, kitchenware, and other items in good condition. Donated items may be dropped off at the sale site from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 5 and Friday, Aug. 6.
Located in the rural village of Thibeau in Haiti’s Nord Department, St. Ives is about a 30-minute drive on mainly dirt roads from the port city of Cap-Haïtien.
According to the St. James website, Thibeau, like much of rural Haiti, lacks access to safe water, electricity, plumbing and education.
“Life for the rural poor is very difficult,” the website states. “Haiti Committee members have seen first hand what life is like in Haiti on St. James’s annual mission trips to Thibeau.”
For the past few years, the trips have been canceled due to civil unrest, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the abductions of priests and nuns this past year.
According to Haiti Committee Chair Sheila Talbot, the parish twin program began over 20 years ago with the building of the St. Ives church and rectory.
“Our relationship with the program of twinning is built on trust and faith,” Talbot said.
St. Joseph’s School was also constructed roughly two decades ago to educate the children of Thibeau and the nearby village of Dubre.
Talbot said the school currently serves 300 students in grades K-8.
“Without running water, toilets, or electricity, the children are sent to school clean and immaculate,” said Haiti Committee member Peggy O’Connor. “As we walked the rural dirt roads, we saw mothers heating irons made of solid iron in fire pits in front of their single room homes, and then ironing their children’s uniforms. Haitians are a resilient and proud people who have endured countless hardships and yet get up each [morning] looking forward to the day. The children sing and dance and are so proud of their school and what they are learning.”
The Haiti Committee believes that in impoverished countries, like Haiti, with high unemployment rates, education is the most effective way to break the cycle of poverty and dependence and enable communities to help themselves.
“Our primary goal is first to support the education of our students at St. Joseph’s School who would never have the opportunity from their government,” Talbot said.
Funding for St. Joseph’s School provides not only an education for local children, but also a daily meal for its students and scholarships for individuals to attend post-secondary schools and further their educations.
For more information on St. James and the Haiti Committee, visit stjamescaz.org.
