Sharon Marchi, chair of The Lincoln County Ecumenical Committee for Haiti (LCECFH), announced March 1 that the annual Lincoln County Haiti Benefit Dinner will not be held again this year because of COVID-19. Needs in Haiti are great, noted Marchi, so the LCECFH has launched a 2022 Lenten GoFundMe campaign entitled Maine Hearts and Hands for Haiti to raise $25,000 to fund urgent projects in the northwestern Haitian town of Gros Morne.

LCECFH’s traditional community contacts in Gros Morne have identified a series of projects which will benefit from the campaign, including:

Education: The continuation of school lunch programs in four schools, and the purchase of “rocket” stoves at one school to decrease wood consumption. Purchase of text books to expand girls' secondary education at St. Gabriel School and to add an 8th grade course at Lekol Jesu Marie. Continued support for book purchases and required school uniforms provides otherwise unattainable access to education for many children.

Agriculture: The expansion of the Family Enterprise project in which farmers attend a training course, construct a simple coop and receive chickens and an improved breed rooster. They also receive chicken feed and are encouraged to join a co-op. Participants in a household garden program will receive training and a starter seed kit of vegetables to improve family nutrition. Farmers also receive seeds for commercial crops such as yams
and sweet potatoes. Some larger farms also receive seed support for beans, corn and peas.

Aid to the indigent: Buying and preparing of two hot meals daily and needed medicines for care facility residents. Children from some of the local schools help out at the facility.

For more information on the projects, past, present and proposed and to donate, please go the Maine Hearts and Hands for Haiti campaign page: https://gofund.me/d8ea93cf

Donations of any size by credit/debit card are gladly accepted and deeply appreciated. Donations by check can also be made payable to LCECFH and sent to P.O. Box 1003, Damariscotta, ME 04543.

For more information, please call 207-529-5239