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Creativity at work: Artisans earn wages, serve community in rural Haiti Bill Fentum, Mar 8, 2010
PHOTOS COURTESY OF PAUL JEFFREY/RESPONSE MAGAZINE
A woman in Mizak, Haiti, recycles paper to create journals sold through Haitian Artisans for Peace International.
By Bill Fentum Staff Writer
When Valerie Mossman-Celestin first saw the overwhelming poverty of Haiti while on a college service trip in 1998, she felt called to do more. But she also sensed a nagging question: “How?”
In Mizak, a rural community southwest of Port-au-Prince, she met women whose husbands had left to find jobs and never returned. Most of them didn’t own enough land to farm, and could fall victim to theft or rape if they went to the city to trade.
But today they earn a living through Haitian Artisans for Peace International (HAPI), a fair-trade business co-founded in 2007 by Ms. Mossman-Celestin, now a staff member of the United Methodist West Michigan Conference.
The women embroider greeting cards at a co-op in Mizak, then receive proceeds when the cards are sold online. HAPI is also funded by an Advance Special of the United Methodist Church and recently joined the denomination’s Shalom Zone community development program.
“[Becoming a Shalom Zone] is an exciting step for us,” said Ms. Mossman-Celestin. “It means the women will get more training and opportunities to lay the groundwork for a different future.”
Lorelei VerLee, a member of Saint Joseph United Methodist Church in Fort Wayne, Ind., is the marketing director for HAPI and travels to Haiti to help the women design the cards. Some of the women have more artistic skill than others, but they all pitch in.
“We work together as a family,” Ms. VerLee said. “I tell them if another person needs help, kindly offer it but never make fun. That’s the atmosphere we create.”
Early on, a young widow named Navive arrived for work each day with her eyes downcast. She rarely spoke. Navive had been disowned by her husband’s family after his death and struggled to feed their seven children until the co-op gave her an income.
“The next time I visited, I couldn’t believe the difference in Navive,” said Ms. VerLee. “She ran to me with her arms outspread and gave me a big hug. She has a radiance about her, and she is so grateful for the change that has come into her life.”
The finished embroideries are shipped from Haiti to Fort Wayne, and glued onto the cards by volunteers at a local church, Covenant UMC. The artisans have since developed more products, including purses woven out of old clothing and journals made from used polypropylene cement bags. Recycling is critical in Haiti, where up to 4 million trees are cut down per month for fuel.
“Before, the bags were discarded and strewn all over the landscape,” Ms. VerLee said. “We’re really promoting green products now, to build respect for the environment.”
Other missions
HAPI also sends medical teams to support clinics in Mizak and train local health workers. Chloe VanDenBrink, a pre-med student from Indiana University, came in 2008 to set up Medika Mamba (peanut-butter medicine), a treatment for malnutrition in children.
The tasty mixture of peanuts, powdered milk, oil, vitamins and minerals is served to kids eight times a day for two months, after an initial week’s worth of antibiotics and de-worming medicine. It’s a lifesaver in a country where one in 10 children are chronically malnourished.
One little girl at 19 months weighed less than 7 pounds. Barely skin and bones, she had trouble even taking the mamba. By the end, though, she had reached 18 pounds and gained mobility. “I’m sure I was seeing God at work—something I’ll never forget,” said Ms. VanDenBrink.
Children and youth are invited on Saturdays to Peace Pals, a program sponsored by the World Peace Prayer Society and hosted by HAPI at a park near the co-op. Local volunteers lead the kids in arts and service projects to help build a sense of community.
“We celebrate birthdays and do a lot of music so they can get up in front of their peers and be applauded. That encourages self-worth,” said Ms. Mossman-Celestin.
Since the Jan. 12 earthquake, Peace Pals has taken on an extra mission: feeding the hungry. International relief has been slow in reaching the hundreds who lost their homes in Mizak. So three times a week, HAPI distributes food purchased with donated funds to the children and their families.
“They need about $2,500 a week and they’re trying to find sponsors,” said the Rev. Michael Christensen, who heads Communities of Shalom from an office at Drew University Theological School in Madison, N.J.
Eventually two other Shalom Zones will also partner with HAPI in Mizak. Dr. Christensen met with organizers there in early March and will send teams in June to train local leaders.
The first job, of course, is to rebuild. But Dr. Christensen said they won’t depend only on construction teams from the U.S. “We’ll hire local labor and use local materials to stimulate the economy,” he said. “We want a strategy that empowers the people who live there, which is the Shalom approach.”
Church plant
Most churches in the region are Catholic, rooted in six centuries of mission. Pentecostalism is also common, but according to Ms. Mossman-Celestin, Haitians often hear words that echo televangelist Pat Robertson’s declaration after the earthquake: “Your ancestors made a pact with the devil, so as a nation you need to repent and turn to God.”
“It’s heavy-laden with guilt,” she said, “telling people to accept their poverty in this life and imagine what they will have in heaven.”
Paul Prevost, a local Methodist pastor and co-founder of HAPI, preaches a different message: that God intends justice for the poor and oppressed, here and now. He leads worship on Sundays at the co-op, and the congregation is raising funds for their own building.
Members hosted in February a month-long arts and music festival, inviting seven local churches of other traditions to join them for choral contests. On the last day winners were awarded cash prizes and cameras, and were able to capture the joyful moments in photos.
Ms. Mossman-Celestin said that Mr. Prevost told her after the earthquake: “We don’t know why some died, why some are left. But we do know that God needs people to still be here to bring his kingdom to earth.’”
Another observation from Mr. Prevost also sticks in her mind. On her first visit to Mizak, he pointed to a crowd of people waiting for a free meal at a mission station. “When I see that,” the pastor told her, “I feel so much shame that people in my community stand in line each day for that same scoop of rice and beans. I want us to grow.”
HAPI is all about growth.
“The women can afford to send all of their children to school, instead of just one child,” Ms. Mossman-Celestin said.
“And it isn’t just the income, but also the respect they gain in their families and neighborhoods. As critical as relief is right now, our main focus will still be on development.”
To support HAPI, visit www.haitianartisans.com. Donations to Advance GCFA—marked in the memo line for Advance #3020490—can be sent to Advance GCFA, P.O. Box 9068, GPO, New York, N.Y. 10087-9068.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF PAUL JEFFREY/RESPONSE MAGAZINE
Early on, a young widow named Navive arrived for work each day with her eyes downcast. She rarely spoke. Navive had been disowned by her husband’s family after his death and struggled to feed their seven children until the co-op gave her an income. 
“It’s heavy-laden with guilt,” she said, “telling people to accept their poverty in this life and imagine what they will have in heaven.” 
