Haiti Connection-STA Indy

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Haiti Connection-STA Indy

The St. Thomas Aquinas Parish and Haiti Committee in Indianapolis, Indiana, works to serve our sister parish in Belle-Rivière, Haiti.

06/03/2026

Sunday, May 31, was Mothers’ Day in Haiti. Besides a blessing during Mass, each mother received three pots of rice, a pot of beans, a small bottle of oil, a thermos and some soap and candies. We thank the mothers of Belle-Rivière for their strength as they support their families with faith, hope and love.

05/27/2026

May 18 was Flag Day in Haiti. It is a day of great pride for Haitians. Here the students in the three Kindergarten classes are showing their patriotic spirit and love of their country. May their hope for a peaceful future come soon!

05/20/2026

The St. Thomas Aquinas Haiti Committee will be discussing proposals from Belle-Rivière for the 2026-27 fiscal year over the next weeks.

One item of absolute necessity for the school is a new printer with the necessary ink and paper supplies. This will be covered immediately.

The Haiti Department of Education is telling Pere Jean Philippe that a sixth kindergarten teacher is needed. There are three years of kindergarten with 113 students. Currently, the first two years have two teachers for each year. The sixth teachers will work with the oldest kindergarten students. Pere Jean Philippe is asking for a director of kindergarten to work with and supervise the six teachers. This will bring to twenty-three the number of teaching positions in the Pre-K through Grade 13 school.

With the construction of the new classrooms, all grades will be able to share the same hours of school beginning in September. With this development, there is a request to expand the hot-lunch program to the secondary students. This will add about $600 each month to lunch costs.

Finally, the committee is working to raise teacher pay as much as possible. Primary teachers currently receive $115 each month for 12 months. They have asked this to be raised to $200 per month. One generous STA parishioner has donated $10,000 to this effort. The committee is working with known donors of the programs in Belle-Rivière to try and match or exceed this amount in order to make an increase sustainable.

The committee firmly believes that STA is making a positive difference in the lives of thousands of people in Belle-Rivière. This is being done because parishioners and their families and friends have chosen to be caring and empathetic. They take the Gospel at its Word for them to serve the poor.

05/13/2026

We are filled with gratitude this week for the generosity of the students at St. Thomas Aquinas School. Throughout the Lenten season the students raised funds to support the school-lunch program in Belle-Rivière. This program feeds 956 students in the parish school and the National School. The STA students raised $1,235 through their lunchbox campaign.

God bless these students and those whom they are helping to feed!

05/06/2026

Prayer of Solidarity with Haiti

Into your hands, O Lord, we place the people of Haiti.
Into your hands we place the people of Belle-Rivière.
Watch over them.
Bless them in their daily struggles to find food and water.
Protect them so that no evil or harm will come upon them.
Bless us here at St. Thomas Aquinas, O Lord.
Protect us so no evil or harm will come upon us.
In our respective countries, help us to work for justice and peace on
behalf of our global village.
Give both our communities an increase of faith in your promises, a hunger and thirst for You.
Teach us your way to grow truth, seek justice, and know peace.
Lord Jesus, pour your Spirit upon us.
Amen.

04/29/2026

The Miami Herald reports that the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today, April 29, on a case that could determine the future of hundreds of thousands of Haitians and Syrians, and over a million immigrants from other countries who are currently living in the United States. The high court will then decide whether the Trump administration should be able to terminate Temporary Protected Status for more than 300,000 Haitian beneficiaries of the program. TPS shields people from countries in turmoil from deportation and also gives them work permits.

If the Supreme Court accepts the Trump administration’s argument that TPS decisions are not reviewable by the federal courts, that would mean that the Department of Homeland Security can go ahead and end TPS protections for 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrian, as it has been trying to do for over a year amidst fierce litigation.

The photo shows members of the Haitian community holding signs in support for the extension of TPS and against deportation at a rally in North Miami on April 26, 2026, calling on federal decision-makers to extend Temporary Protected Status for Haitian nationals in the U.S. Carl Juste [email protected]

04/23/2026

The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation on April 16 that would extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian immigrants, approving H.R. 1689 in a bipartisan 224–204 vote.

The bipartisan legislation would extend TPS for Haitians for three years, through 2029, allowing those eligible to continue living and working legally in the U.S. The bill now needs to pass through the Senate. Please contact your Senator to show that you care about this important piece of humane legislation and the welfare of Haitian immigrants. Thank you.

04/16/2026

The comprehensive curriculum at the College of St. Thomas Aquinas, the school covering grades 7-13, in our partner parish of St. Jean Marie Vianney in Belle-Rivière, Haiti, promotes proficiency in language arts far beyond the national medium of Creole. Students take on English, French and Spanish as they prepare for participation in the larger world. The photo shows a Spanish exercise on the blackboard.

04/08/2026

An addition has been added to the playground area for the kindergarten students. Two wading pools have been included in the project. On Fridays the students get to play in the water. Each week the pools are drained and over the course of the next week enough water is carried from wells for the pools to be used again. The pool water is treated before the students use it.

04/01/2026

Last week the Pre-K and Kindergarten classes at the parish school in Belle-Rivière celebrated “Egg Day.” Each student had one egg to eat and another to take home. This was a day to celebrate spring and prepare for Easter. Thank you to the teachers and parents who prepared for the day. Thank you to the gardener who made the baskets. May you have a blessed Easter!

Address

4625 N. Kenwood Avenue
Indianapolis, IN
46208

Website

https://www.staindy.org/church/haiti/

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