“I Want to Rebuild St. Vincent’s”: A New York Doctor’s Gift to a Haitian School the Earthquake Destroyed

• St Vincent’s School for Handicapped Children in Port-au-Prince was destroyed in 2010
• A New York physician, Mary White, made the lead gift for its reconstruction
• The rebuilt campus was planned for 525 students, 165 of them residential
• Plans included 12 classrooms, dormitories, a clinic, a guesthouse and rooftop gardens

In March 2014 the Episcopal Church announced a major boost to its rebuilding work in Haiti: a lead gift to reconstruct St Vincent’s School for Handicapped Children in Port-au-Prince, which the 2010 earthquake had destroyed. Episcopal News Service reported that the donor was Mary White, a New York physician and a member of St James Episcopal Church in Manhattan.

The amount was not made public, but White described it as by far the largest donation she had ever made. She said she came out of a meeting with the church’s development director with a simple resolve: “I want to rebuild St. Vincent’s.”

The plans went well beyond putting back what was lost. St Vincent’s, which served about 250 students, was to be expanded to take 525, including 165 boarders. The design included 12 new classrooms, new dormitory space, a medical clinic offering orthopaedic, paediatric, eye, ear and surgical care, a guesthouse for mission volunteers and rooftop gardens intended to produce food and income.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori called the gift “a remarkable statement – a remarkable witness – to what is possible.” The school’s director, Pere Sadoni Leon, said the earthquake “destroyed not only St. Vincent’s facilities, but also St. Vincent’s children’s hope in a better future.”

Jamaica’s churches own and run many schools, homes and care facilities, and a good number of them depend on friends overseas. The St Vincent’s story shows how a single committed donor abroad can underwrite a whole campus when the plan is clear and costed. For Jamaican congregations with members in New York, London or Toronto, it is a reminder that a diaspora gift works best when it is tied to a specific building, a clear budget and a property the church securely owns, so that the investment stays with the ministry for generations.

Follow Jamaica Homes on Youtube @jamaicahomes and Instagram @jamaica_homes and on Facebook @jamaicahomesnews Send us a message or email us at onlinefeedback@jamaica-homes.com or editor@jamaica-homes.com