By Treasa Smith
Monsieur Joachim Roboam Anantua, in Creole fondly known as Father Tijwa, was born in the northern town of Limbe, Haiti. He has been a priest for 35 years. Since 2001, his parish has been the Immaculate Conception in Milot. Around the time he came to Milot, he met a woman from Tennessee that became his good friend. The woman and Father exchanged ideas on how to help unemployed residents of Milot and came up with a women’s sewing workshop. It was named The Saint Joseph the Worker Project and became the model for Father Tijwa’s subsequent projects which employ local people that have artistic and organizational skills.
Currently The Saint Joseph Worker Project consists of the following programs:
1. Thirty women from Milot contribute to the production of detailed, colorful embroidery designs to create gift and message cards. The designs are inserted into card cut outs. The women have expanded their artistry to create cloth embroidered book marks, place mats and table cloths. The entire process is overseen by a former sewing and embroidery instructor. She has the title of Director of Workshop.
2. Five men produce the actual card cut outs and apply the final production stamp to each card. One of the men also creates cards from banana bark and another man acts as a messenger and coordinates the production of the cards to a finished product.
3. Each summer 22 or more teenagers have the opportunity to make extra money to help their parents with school expenses. By recycling paper, the teens then make new paper that is used to create custom cards on which 57 additional teens paint colorful, traditional Haitian scenes. Through the sales of these cards, money also goes to support the teens and their desire to attend school.
4. Father Tijwa’s most recent project is the opening of a preschool for children ages 3-5 years in age. The school opened on 10 October 2011. So far he has enrolled 25 children and hopes to be able to enroll more. A concrete block dining hall and the remodel of an outdoor shed into a kitchen with screened windows and a brick cook stove has been completed. The entire area of this brightly painted annex is enclosed so it provides a safe play yard for the preschoolers. To complete the pleasant atmosphere of this area, flowers are also planted.
The preschoolers will attend school in the newly constructed community center that is immediately adjacent to the annex. The large center accommodates many activities such as classrooms for education and a stage for musical performances. The large performance hall is also available for public meetings. On a segment of the property, Father Tijwa has created a garden which enhances the overall beauty of the center.
Father provides lunch and hopes to offer breakfast as the children will attend the preschool from 0800 until 1300 M-F. When fully operational, the preschool will employ a Superintendent, 2 instructors, 2 cooks, and 2 mothers who will act to supervise the children in hygiene. As the program expands, there is potential to not only enrich the lives of the poorest of community children, but to also employ other local citizens.
Seeking to develop work through outreach and skill building and to provide educational opportunities to the poorest children of Milot makes Father Tijwa a great asset to both the community and to the parish he serves.
Treasa Smith recently joined the CRUDEM staff as Sr. Clinical Laboratory Supervisor. She spends 9 months, spread throughout the year, in Milot as a consultant to the HSC lab. When not in Milot, Treasa lives in Durango, Colorado.
