Pourcine Pic Makaya – It is a project set to make a tangible difference in the daily lives of the local population.
“Just two days ago, we began work to extend the village water system by about one kilometre down into the valley,” Father Massimo Miraglio, MI, parish priest of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in the small Catholic community of Pourcine Pic Makaya, told Fides.
“The spring located higher up the mountain provides enough water to supply two new distribution points, making it possible to serve three additional hamlets near the plateau where Pourcine is located. For many families, this will mean a real improvement in everyday life: children and young people, who are usually responsible for carrying water for their households, will have much shorter distances to walk and a far lighter burden,” the Camillian missionary explained.
Pourcine Pic Makaya is located in the mountainous hinterland of the Grand’Anse department, near Jérémie, about 290 kilometers from Port-au-Prince. Several local residents have been hired to carry out the excavation work needed for the extension.
“We are confident that the project will be completed within the next few weeks. The new water points will not only make access to safe drinking water easier, but will also help prevent many diseases linked to the use of contaminated water,” Father Miraglio added.
Healthcare remains one of Haiti’s most fragile sectors. A significant sign of hope came on July 14 with the inauguration of the new St. Camillus Hospital in Jérémie, created to provide essential healthcare services to the local population .
These initiatives take place against the backdrop of a country still gripped by a profound national crisis. Headlines continue to focus on gang violence, political instability, and migration, while severe humanitarian emergencies, including internal displacement, hunger, and the increasing vulnerability of women and children, remain unresolved.
On the migration front, Haitians have obtained a temporary extension of their Temporary Protected Status , whose expiration had been expected around July 24. In the United States, however, deportation orders have increased, particularly in cities such as New York, while weekly repatriation flights for Haitian citizens have been scheduled.
Meanwhile, armed gangs continue to expand their control over large areas of the country, with some regions now being described as “death zones.” In response to the deteriorating security situation, the Multinational Security Support Mission, backed by the United Nations, has requested a two-year extension of its mandate to continue operations against armed criminal groups.
According to the latest figures published in the 2024 Pontifical Yearbook, the Diocese of Jérémie, which includes the Catholic community of Pourcine Pic Makaya, covers an area of 1,912 km². and has a population of approximately 550,000. Out of the 375,000 Catholics, 3,935 are baptized.
Furthermore, the diocese has 63 parishes or quasi-parishes, 93 secular priests resident in the diocese, 5 diocesan priests ordained during the year, 5 regular priests resident in the diocese, 28 seminarians studying philosophy and theology, 18 members of male religious orders, 60 members of female religious orders, 145 educational institutions and 31 charitable institutions.
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