Catholics in Haiti help the underserved as country prepares for elections

Andrés Henríquez By Andrés Henríquez for EWTN News

A Catholic community is quietly working on a water project that will improve the health and daily lives of many as the first presidential elections in a decade have been announced.

Credit: flagmotions/Shutterstock
Credit: flagmotions/Shutterstock

Despite the unchecked violence of criminal gangs and the political crisis that has been roiling Haiti for several years, a Catholic community there has set to work addressing the needs of an underserved area.

“Just two days ago, we began work to extend the village water system by about one kilometer down into the valley,” said Father Massimo Miraglio, explaining to the Fides agency the details of a project destined to “make a tangible difference” in the daily lives of the small community of Pourcine Pic Makaya.

The project aims to bring spring water to “two new distribution points,” which will make it possible to “serve three additional hamlets near the plateau where Pourcine is located,” the Camillian missionary explained.

“For many families, this will mean a real improvement in everyday life: Children and young people, who are usually responsible for carrying water for their households, will have much shorter distances to walk and a far lighter burden,” he added.

The community hired several local residents for the aqueduct expansion project. The work is expected to be completed in a few weeks. With improved water quality, the Catholic community will help “prevent many diseases linked to the use of contaminated water,” Miraglio said.

“Healthcare remains one of Haitiʼs most fragile sectors. A significant sign of hope came on July 14 with the inauguration of the new St. Camillus Hospital in Jérémie, created to provide essential healthcare services to the local population,” the priest stated.

These initiatives unfold amid a nation still locked in a profound crisis. While media coverage centers on gang violence, political instability, and migration, deeper humanitarian emergencies, such as internal displacement, hunger, and the growing vulnerability of women and children, persist unresolved.

Date set for first presidential election in a decade

On July 27, Haitiʼs electoral council set the date for the first presidential and legislative elections in a decade. The schedule sets the first round for Dec. 13, while the runoff will take place on Feb. 21, 2027.

The final results will be announced on March 7, 2027. Additionally, the electoral council specified that citizens will also be able to vote on constitutional changes and elect other local representatives. Initially, the first round of elections was scheduled for this August but was postponed due to security concerns.

The last elections in the Caribbean nation were held in 2016 and were marred by controversy. Following that process, Jovenel Moïse became president, holding office until his assassination in 2021.

Since then, Haiti has spiraled into political chaos and violence, particularly in the capital, Port-au-Prince, where armed gangs operate with free rein and control much of the territory.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.


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6 Comments

  1. Haiti spiraled into violence and chaos ever since it rebelled against the French in 1791. French rule, which was often brutal, at least brought a measure of order to people who were incapable of maintaining a civilized society on their own. This new water system will fall into disrepair as soon as the foreigners who install it leave, if sabotage doesn’t prevent it from being built in the first place.

  2. All those highly skilled and hard-working Haitians living in Springfield, Ohio, are needed to help the “underserved” portions of their mother country. They should be put on planes to Port-au-Prince immediately so they can turn Haiti into the crown jewel of the Caribbean. How could such extraordinary people not be successful?

    • Sending them back would be returning them to a very real risk of death & destruction. Nothing has changed for the better in Haiti since they left.

  3. See book Haitians of Springfield: An Oral History by Joshua Lisec:
    https://www.amazon.com/Haitians-Springfield-When-Culture-Another/dp/1510788840
    —The Haitians are getting goodies from food banks and churches and then selling them. Opening businesses without licenses. Selling liquor and hooka paraphernalia.
    —They do not obey traffic stops or signals. Stop signs, yield signs, lights mean nothing to them. If a car in front of them stops for a stop sign, they will just drive around or bump the car or drive through a yard and get ahead.
    —They just do what they want in Springfield and the local police have been instructed not to issue citations and enforce the law on the Haitians. They are married and apply as single to get single parent benefits. Springfield is Haitians first despite being run by Republicans. They are celebrating, getting married, getting rooted. They load up their carts at stores, while local veterans and working class people barely have enough for them and their families. The Haitians are levering birth right citizenship to have as many children as possible even among Haitian women in their forties. They are being helped by Christian and other religious foundations plus NGO’s created to serve the people of Haiti over the people of Springfield. Local police have been going around telling businesses not to cooperate with Ice. The city of Springfield functions as a sanctuary city that is replacing the local Christian population with the Haitians. —The GOP governor of Ohio, DeWine even has charitable foundations in Haiti. His policies have filtered down not only to Springfield but other cities of Ohio.
    —EBT cards for food (SNAP benefits) are available to eligible Haitian immigrants, including those with TPS or humanitarian parole, provided they meet income and household size requirements. In Ohio, a family of four with a gross monthly income under $3,380 may receive up to $975 per month in SNAP benefits via an EBT card.
    —Car vouchers: cash assistance programs like Ohio Works First (for families with children) or Refugees Cash Assistance (for immigrants without children) provide monthly cash payments that recipients may use for necessities, including transportation costs such as car payments or gas.
    —Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier says the horrific murder of a woman who was bludgeoned to death at a Fort Myers gas station on April 3 was totally preventable, pointing to the fact that the suspect is a Haitian national in the U.S. illegally who benefited from former President Joe Biden’s open border policies.
    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/04/08/florida-attorney-general-james-uthmeier-another-horrific-illegal-ali
    —Trump Administration Cracks Down on Haitian National Who Made $58 million in 340B Drug Clinic Fraud; Faces Years in Prison and Deportation
    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/06/16/trump-administration-cracks-down-on-haitian-national-who-made-58-million-in-340b-drug-clinic-fraud-faces-years-in-prison-and-deportation/

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