Carcasse, Haiti Church Rebuild Fund

Previous St. Joseph's Church after Hurricane Matthew

On October 4, 2016, Hurricane Matthew made landfall in Western Haiti as a Category 4 storm. With sustained winds topping 140 miles per hour, Matthew damaged 80% of all buildings in the western city of Jeramie. Not far from Jeramie, in the small town of Carcasse, Matthew destroyed St. Joseph's church and the second floor of its school.  The reconstruction of the school's second floor was completed in 2017.

Now, with your help, we are preparing to build a new, hurricane resistant, church to serve the faith community in Carcasse and serve as an emergency shelter for the entire town. The twinning initiative between St. Joseph's and St. Mary's parish in Barnesville, Maryland began in 2008, with St. Mary of the Mills joining in 2016. The twinned parishes have deep experience in implementing infrastructure and community improvement projects in Carcasse. They have drilled wells, built the primary/secondary school, a rectory/community center, set up a solar-powered mini-grid, organized local coffee farmers into an association, and, most recently, rebuilt the second floor of the school destroyed by the Hurricane Matthew.

With your help, we look forward to raising the funds necessary to build the new St. Joseph's church. Together, we can help the citizens of Carcasse establish a new house of worship and center of their community.


Blessing the site of the new church - January 2018, Carcasse, Haiti

After the Hurricane, members of St. Mary’s parish rallied together to develop a plan to fund the construction of the new St. Joseph’s Church. S2H/VANGUARD has been selected to design, manufacture, and oversee the construction of the new St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. It will use its advanced light gauge, high-strength steel framing techniques along with its innovative thermal reflective insulation and high-strength structural cementitious finishing system and employ skilled construction labor from the area.



St. Joseph’s Church will be the third religious structure built in Haiti using this technology. The first two buildings successfully weathered Hurricane Matthew, with no reported damage, due to the integrated foundation to wall to roof framing system and the high strength structural exterior and interior finishing system which are the main components that make the structures highly resistant to Mother Nature.

The framing technology is based on Light Gauge Galvanized Steel created in Pittsburgh, PA then designed and engineered by S2H/ VANGUARD to International Building Codes (IBC) which comply with some of the most stringent building standards in the United States. Once engineered, the wall, floor, and roof components are manufactured by specialized, roll-forming, equipment then crated and shipped into the country where they will be fabricated into the components (walls, trusses, pilasters, cornice, etc.).  

Some of the other design features include a built-in gutter that is integrated into a decorative cornice to catch the rainwater from the roof then store it in a cistern constructed under the Narthex and eight burial vaults for the priests in the Nave portion of the church. Burial within the church is a tradition that continues to be supported by the Haitian Catholic Church. Another feature that will keep occupants safe is the inclusion of custom made window and door shutters, made of 1/4” plate steel, which can be installed before future weather events. The project is scheduled to break ground in September 2018, with the completion of the Narthex and Bell Tower by November. For more information, contact Jack Reid, St. Mary’s/St. Joseph’s Twinning and Project Director, at [phone redacted] or by email [email redacted]. Additional project information can be found on S2H/VANGUARDs website (www.vlgsb.net).





Funding Progress (5,095 sq. ft. church):

Total cost ($94.19 per sq. ft.)              $479,910
-  Funds raised to date                                $96,534
Total needed                                                 $383,376

You are invited to be the "Rock" upon which this church will be built!  Donations of any amount are gratefully accepted. If you would like to donate to a specific portion of the church and have your name enshrined on a commemorative plaque, please see below:
 
The nave section of St. Joseph's church was designed to represent the four disciples who authored the Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  Each of the four sections is separated by a semi-circle arched roof truss on a vaulted ceiling.  In recognition of your gift of $25,000, your name alone will be enshrined on a brass plaque within one of the sections.

The Wise Men gave the Holy Family gold, frankincense, and myrrh in tribute to the newly sprouted seed of Christianity, Jesus.  In that spirit of new beginnings, and in gratitude for your gift of $5,000, your name will be enshrined on a brass plaque just inside the doors of the new St. Joseph's Church.   
 
Church Columns (quantity 8)      $500 each
 
Nave Window (quantity 8)      $350 each
 
Footing - 1 linear foot (stone, cement, rebar, and gravel)      $250 per linear foot
 
Concrete Slab - 1 square foot (cement, rebar, and gravel)      $55 per square foot
 
Stucco Wall and Ceiling Finish - 1 square foot      $25 per square foot