COLRAIN — On Sunday, at their 9:30 a.m. service, Pastor Robert Peck and the congregation of River Valley Christian Church will celebrate a campaign that raised $4,000, enough to build three houses in the community of Canaan, Haiti, to replace houses destroyed by Hurricane Matthew last fall.
Each house costs about $1,300 to build. “We originally hoped to build one house,” says Peck, and now we’re going to be able to build three. The houses we’re going to build will be cinderblock-walled houses. They’ll have a permanency compared to what was there originally.”
Their donation will be received by Pastor Arthur Demosthenes of the Elim Evangelical Church in Fitchburg. Demosthenes, a native of Haiti, lost his mother in the earthquake in 2010. Since then, he has been involved in starting this new community northeast of Port-au-Prince.
“It was built up with the idea of training responsible young people who can go on to become leaders in Haiti,” says Peck. “That’s their dream.
Pastor Peck describes River Valley Christian Church as a church start-up, founded in 2012, with about 30 members. It meets in the East Colrain Chapel at 345 West Leyden Road.
The money was raised by donations from church members, raffles, selling Christmas ornaments at Moonlight Magic in Shelburne Falls, and from several people who heard about the project, thought that it was a worthy project and sent money. The children helped build a flag pole, raising the flag as the fund grew. “When the children found out the final amount, they just cheered,” says Margot Peck, wife of Robert Peck.
For the young church, the project has been an exercise in thinking globally and acting locally. “What we’re trying to instill in the congregation, and especially the children,” says Margot Peck, “is to think beyond their own geographic area to those in need around them and to give, in time and talent. So it’s been a great experience for them.”