PROJECTS COMPLETED
OR ONGOING

A fraternity of Little Brothers or Little Sisters, living in the midst of those who are considered marginalized with respect to the church and society, spends the first five years listening to and learning from its neighbors. The fraternity shares in their activities: community work, visiting the sick and attending wake services, local sporting events, etc. These experiences draw the fraternity closer to the people, foster a deeper understanding and give the Brothers or Sisters a chance to identify the natural leaders present in the lay community.

This stage of prolonged presence in the rural countryside gives the peasant families a chance to express their needs and priorities. It is during this time also that the fraternity has time to evaluate and plan for the future. It is a time to gather people together into agricultural collectives and Christian base communitites. Evangelization always goes hand in hand with the work of development. To offer bread without the Word of God is dangerous, just as is offering the Word of God without concern for material needs. Men and women are made to walk on both feet.

While each fraternity considers the reality of their individual location, in general the projects undertaken on behalf of their rural neighbors take into account four main objectives which will enable these peasant families to live and flourish in their surroundings:

To halt the erosion of Faith: to return to men and women their dignity as children of God

• Formation of religious educators
• Ongoing religious education within the communities
• Guidance for the Christian Base Communities, families, youth groups, and teenage mothers
• Retreats for bible study groups
• Spiritual retreats
• Leadership of bible study groups
• Choral singing
• Promotion of justice and human rights

To halt the erosion of Intellect: to create teaching methods adapted to rural surroundings, and to insure educational opportunities for both adults and children

• Preschools
• Elementary schools
• Nutrition centers
• Vocational / Technical High School
masonry
electricity
electronics
sewing
shoe making
ceramics
agriculture (mandatory– with the idea of forming entrepreneurs in a rural setting)
• Public library

To halt the erosion of the land: to enhance agricultural growth and to empower the peasant farmer to be pro-active in his own development

• Construction of mini-dams
• Artificial lakes for irrigation
• Water management
• Pipelines providing drinking water
• Vegetable gardening during the dry season
• Fish farms
• Nursery for fruit trees
• Reforestation
• Agricultural store (seeds, tools etc.)
• Notary / Legal counsel

To halt the erosion of the peasant economy: to create economic opportunities and to improve local housing

• Refining and sale of agricultural products sugar cane (juice, brown sugar) mangoes and pineapples (dried fruit and cookies) corn and millet (ground meal) soybeans (a variety of uses) beekeeping (honey)
• Credit Union to provide help with sales, loans, and co-signing financial documents
• Raising of livestock (cows, oxen, goats and chickens)
• Transportation of products to national markets
• Employment opportunities for students completing their studies at the Vo-Tech School
• Community Store (mainstay items for local consumption)
• Improvement of local housing (Habitat for Humanity joint venture / cement-coated earthen-block houses)
• Medical clinic and pharmacy

All of these projects focus on what can be controlled by rural farmers in their natural surroundings: water, land, fire and air and through which, in turn, they can glorify God who is the author of all life. To this end the fraternity hopes to foster close-knit communities, that are hardworking, selfless and united in their efforts to bring about the fulfillment of God's plan for all of us on Earth.

[Home][Table of Contents][History] [Biographies]
[Charles de Foucauld] [Haiti] [Projects] [Information] [Links]