Published on January 20, 2010

Carole Comeau of Evangelistic World Outreach, Inc., congratulated the students of United Christian Academy in Newport for their generous donation of $3,175 for the Goats for Haiti Project. Photo by Richard Creaser

NEWPORT — The students at United Christian Academy (UCA) had a target of $650 in their second annual Goats for Haiti fund-raising campaign.  That sum would purchase 26 goats for Haitian families, enabling them to send their children to school.  The students exceeded their goal by a substantial margin, pulling in $3,175 — or enough money to buy 127 goats.

It would be natural to question how a goat could send a child to school.  Fortunately Carole Comeau of Evangelistic World Outreach, Inc. (EWO) was on hand to explain the math to UCA’s student body on Wednesday, January 6.

The goats not only provide the families with an immediate source of food, but they also provide the breeding stock necessary to raise more goats that, in turn, can be sold to raise money to pay for a child’s education.

In return EWO asks that the firstborn goat be returned to the ministry to provide breeding stock to assist other Haitian families.  The remaining goats form the basis of a breeding pool that provides much needed food and income for poverty stricken Haitian families.

Haiti has the unfortunate distinction of being the poorest country in the Western hemisphere.  The country is struggling to recover from the combined weight of decades of corrupt rule under the Duvalier family and generations of mismanagement of the nation’s natural resources.

The nation’s infrastructure, particularly outside its major cities, is in a terrible state.  In a nation where the roads connecting villages are little more than cart tracks, it is easy to see why education has long been a low priority for the government.

“The town of Arnoux is only about 40 to 60 miles outside of the city of Port-Au-Prince but it takes four hours to get there,” Ms. Comeau said.  “Most of the way is a dirt road, but it’s not like the dirt roads here.  They’re more like a path.”

Without the money to send their children to school and without the guidance of God, it is unlikely that Haitians will ever be able to climb out of the depths of poverty, she said.  That is what makes donations such as that received Wednesday so important, Ms. Comeau said.  It helps to fund the schools that teach children the skills they need, as well as bringing to them the word of God.

“The gift of a goat affects more than one person,” Ms. Comeau said.  “It is a gift to the whole family.  We believe that the nation of Haiti is not going to change until the people turn to the Lord.”

The timing of the donation was not one of mere happenstance, said UCA Headmaster Richard O’Hara.  January 6 marks the twelfth day of Christmas, the start of the Christian Epiphany.  It is the date that commemorates the arrival of the Three Wise Men to deliver gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh upon the child Jesus of Nazareth.

“It couldn’t be a better day to give our goal total as a present to the children of Haiti,” Mr. O’Hara said.

The money was raised through traditional pledges, but took some unusual forms as well.  The ransom paid for a kidnapped snowman, the donation of birthday money as well as a donation of refereeing fees from basketball officials overseeing UCA games contributed to the cause.

The goats are bred from imported stock, Ms. Comeau explained.  The goats native to the island, like many things in Haiti, do not grow well, she said.  The idea is to raise goats that are hardier and meatier than the domestic stock.

“By our standards everybody is Haiti is needy,” Ms. Comeau said.  “But our pastor knows which families are neediest and will deliver the goats to them.”

The gift of these goats does not guarantee salvation for the families who receive them, she said.  It is, however, a vital first step.

“Ministry is not always about success stories,” Ms. Comeau said.  “We have our disappointments, but always we trust in the Lord.  Through our gifts, our prayers and our love, we can improve the conditions for the people of Haiti.”