Bahá'í Faith in Haiti
Encyclopedia
The Bahá'í Faith in Haiti began in 1916 when `Abdu'l-Bahá
, the head of the religion, cited Haiti
as one of the island countries of the Caribbean where Bahá'ís should establish a religious community. The first Bahá'í to visit Haiti was Leonora Armstrong
in 1927. After that, others visited Haiti, and by January 1937 Louis George Gregory
visited the island and cited the presence of a small community of Bahá'ís. The first long term pioneers
, Ruth and Ellsworth Blackwell, arrived in 1940. Following their arrival the first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly of Haiti
was formed in 1942 in Port-au-Prince
. From 1951 the Haitian Bahá'ís participated in regional organizations of the religion until 1961 when Haitian Bahá'ís elected their own National Spiritual Assembly and soon took on goals reaching out into neighboring islands. The Association of Religion Data Archives
(relying mostly on the World Christian Encyclopedia
) estimated some 21000 Bahá'ís in Haiti in 2005.
. The sixth of the tablets was the first to mention Latin American regions and was written on April 8, 1916, but was delayed in being presented in the United States until 1919—after the end of the First World War
and the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. The sixth tablet was translated and presented by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab
on April 4, 1919, and published in Star of the West magazine on December 12, 1919.
Leonora Armstrong
was the first Bahá'í to visit Haiti in 1927 as part of her plan to compliment and complete Martha Root
's unfulfilled intention of visiting all the Latin American countries for the purpose of presenting the religion to an audience. In 1929 Keith Ransom-Kehler
visited Haiti.
, head of the religion after the death of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, wrote a cable
on May 1, 1936 to the Bahá'í Annual Convention of the United States and Canada, and asked for the systematic implementation of `Abdu'l-Bahá's vision to begin. In his cable he wrote:
Following the May 1 cable, another cable from Shoghi Effendi came on May 19 calling for permanent pioneers
to be established in all the countries of Latin America. The Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada appointed the Inter-America Committee to take charge of the preparations. During the 1937 Bahá'í North American Convention, Shoghi Effendi cabled advising the convention to prolong their deliberations to permit the delegates and the National Assembly to consult on a plan that would enable Bahá'ís to go to Latin America as well as to include the completion of the outer structure of the Bahá'í House of Worship
in Wilmette, Illinois. In 1937 the First Seven Year Plan (1937–44), which was an international plan designed by Shoghi Effendi, gave the American Bahá'ís the goal of establishing the Bahá'í Faith in every country in Latin America.
and his wife, who could speak French, in January 1937. While there they had a chance to meet Oswald Garrison Villard
. Gregory indicated a community of at least 5 active members who had French translations of Some Answered Questions
, and that the community was refused permission to hold public meetings. Several Bahá'ís then made stops of varying lengths in Haiti.
Ruth and Ellsworth Blackwell are noted as pioneers
starting around 1940. By 1941 three converts to the religion include Mr. and Mrs. McBean and Muriel Johnson, a Jamaican couple and niece. The first Local Spiritual Assembly of Haiti was formed in 1942 in Port-au-Prince
. Further translations, including the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá
, arrived later in 1942. The Blackwells left by July 1943 though the community continued functioning. Word is received of two converts, Royer Dejean and Andre Paul, by January 1944. In 1943 writer and Bahá'í Alain Locke was on leave as Inter-American exchange Professor to Haiti under the joint auspices of the American Committee for Inter-American Artistic and Intellectual Relations and the Haitian Ministry of Education. Towards the end of his stay there, President Élie Lescot
personally decorated Locke with the National Order of Honour and Merit
, grade of Commandeur. In April 1946 Dr. Malcolm King moved from Jamaica
to Haiti. By August there were some 20 Bahá'ís in Port-au-Prince and the assembly was able to register with the national government. King moved away in 1947 while other pioneers move to Haiti. In early 1948 a Latin American Congress was called in Mexico to coordinate institutional growth across the region and the delegate from Haiti was Martial Coulange. In late 1948 Gayle Woolson and early 1949 Louise Caswell each were able to travel through Haiti communities like Saint Marc and elsewhere and gave public talks.
By 1949 Bahá'ís of Port-au-Prince had a working center which served to have children and adult oriented events including classes, free medical, dental, and legal services as well as chances to hear about the religion. The Blackwell's returned to Haiti in 1950.
from 1957 until 1961, when the Haitian Bahá'ís elected their own National Spiritual Assembly with Hand of the Cause Ugo Giachery
representing the Bahá'í International Community
. The members of the first National Spiritual Assembly of Haiti were: Eustace Bailey, Alcide Narcisse, Jean Desert, Joseph Albert Bajeux, Ellsworth Blackwell, André St. Louis, Joseph C. Pierre, Ruth Blackwell, and Circé Brantome. In 1963 the Bahá'ís of the world looked to the election of the Universal House of Justice
as the new head of the religion. The delegates for the international convention were the members of the national assemblies then in existence. The members of the Haitian National Assembly who participated in the election were: Eustace Bailey, Odette Benjamin, Ellsworth Blackwell, Ruth Blackwell, Circe Brantome, Jean Desert, Alcide Narcisse, Speline Posy, André St. Louis (all of whom voted in absentia). In 1964 Haitian Bahá'ís were then given goal areas to spread the religion including Barbuda, St. Kitts-Nevis, Saba, St. Eustatis, St. Martin, Guadeloupe, Antigua and Martinique. In 1965 Guadeloupe
and Martinique
had families from Haiti pioneer there while members of the national assembly attended a Honduran conference on the progress of the religion there. Over the next few years pioneers from Haiti went to Bangui
, the capital of the Central African Republic
and Dahomey (now called Benin
) followed by Dominica
in 1971 - Hand of the Cause, `Alí-Muhammad Varqá
, offered a conference workshop on pioneering at the Amelia Collins Bahá'í School at Liancourt later in 1971.
and took several opportunities for talks on the religion and the United Nations. In 1955 the regional assembly began publishing a National Bulletin which would be published in English, Spanish and French. 1956 was a year of several developments in Haiti. The first local assembly of Cap-Haïtien
was elected in April and traveling Bahá'ís visited communities across Haiti. The national center was acquired in February and dedicated in May. 1956 also marked the first national conference on the progress of the religion - members of four cities of Haiti were represented. By 1957 the Blackwells had again returned to Haiti for a shorter stay. In 1958 a United Nations Day
celebration was set by the Bahá'ís at which some 70 non-Bahá'ís attended and Bahá'í marriage ceremonies were accepted legally. In 1958 Haiti hosted the convention to elect the regional assembly of the Greater Antilles as well as the first international school of the Antilles with attendees from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Haiti. Hand of the Cause Ugo Giachery
and then US National Assembly member Glenford Mitchell
met with the Antillees assembly as well as giving talks in February 1959 in Haiti. Two conferences on the progress of the religion as well as international schools were again held in Haiti and another set in the Dominican republic were held in 1960 - the Haitian school having Giachery, Mitchell and others giving talks. Public talks on the religion were held in Port-au-Prince and Liancourt. The Blackwells again returned to Haiti November 1960. An organized campaign in 1962 used techniques learned in Africa (see Bahá'í Faith in Uganda
for example) establishing communities of dozens of Bahá'ís. In 1963 there were Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies in 10 towns including Cap-Haïtien
, Port-au-Prince
, and Saint-Marc
- a registered group of Bahá'ís in Pétionville
and isolated Bahá'ís in 5 other locations. The 1964 national convention had 19 delegates from across Haiti representing thirteen local assemblies. In 1969 Ellswoorth Blackwell was able to present a talk to the Toastmasters International
club on the subject of "Equality of the Sexes." In December 1976 a traveling Bahá'í from France, Andre Brugiroux, visited Haiti for a weeklong tour and was able to show a film of his at the Haitian French Institute on two occasions for an audience ultimately of some 670 people. In 1977 secretaries and treasurers of more than half the local assemblies of Haiti were gathered for a one day institute conducted in the Creole language by native believers about assembly functions. The 1979 national convention had 49 delegates present to elect the national assembly. In 1989 the leadership of the Haitian Cayemites
island's population made a decision to adopt the religion for the island and a school was established in 1989.
were placed by Bahá'ís in national and local newspapers and three radio stations in Haiti carried announcements of public meetings.
The religion entered a new phase of activity when a message of the Universal House of Justice
dated 20 October 1983 was released. In December 1983 the national assembly registered with the government as an NGO. Bahá'ís were urged to seek out ways, compatible with the Bahá'í teachings
, in which they could become involved in the social and economic development of the communities in which they lived. World-wide in 1979 there were 129 officially recognized Bahá'í socio-economic development projects. By 1987, the number of officially recognized development projects had increased to 1482. By 1997 Haiti had a functioning Zunuzi School Anis, a forest protection, and a Beudet Kindergarten.
near Port-au-Prince which first began to hold classes in 1980. In October 1982 Rúhíyyih Khanum
, a Hand of the Cause, a position of prominence in the Bahá'í Faith
, presided at the official inauguration ceremony for the school. The initial board of directors were Counsellor Farzam Arbab, Dr. Nabil Hanna, Benjamin Levy, Dr. Iraj Majzub and Georges Marcellus. It reached the point of offering classes K through 10th grade. The student population comes mostly from no to low-income families, and most students are only paying minimal or no fees to attend the school. It follows the national curriculum but also provides moral education and English classes. It is situated on about three acres of land in what has become a suburb several miles north east of Port-au-Prince
proper (and a few north west of Croix-des-Bouquets
.)
More recently the whole area has been built up with both private homes and businesses. More recently the Mona Foundation
has supported the school with funding for support of satellite schools, scholarships, regular summer camps, and general funding as well as acting as a mediator of larger scale funding for infrastructure improvements.
, then YELE Haiti 2005-6, UNICEF 2006, 2007 and currently is managing the training component of the Rewriting the Future project of Save the Children
(2008–2010).
General Assembly
Resolution on the "Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran" (UN document no. A/C.3/56/L.50) on 19 December 2001. See Persecution of Bahá'ís
. Various Bahá'ís continue to explore Haiti as a place to offer services. In 2007, following the United Nations’ adoption of the "Draft Guiding Principles on Extreme poverty
and Human Rights
", the Bahá'í International Community
organized local consultations with Bahá'í communities in Haiti and several other countries around the world in order to draw out their perspectives on the meaning and experience of poverty, and its connection to human rights in order to provide its comment on the Draft Guiding Principles and submitted to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
, posted messages about individuals, and commented on the spiritual import of such events from the Bahá'í writings:
Bahá'í school
. News of the Bahá'ís as of January 16 reported that the community was generally accounted for with no deaths.
The principal of Anis Zununi school in 2010 reported on January 17 on Facebook
that the school was generally still standing and its staff and others with CAFT were cooperating in relief efforts and sharing space and support with neighbors. A clinic was run at the Zunuzi school by a medical team from the United States and Canada.
(relying on World Christian Encyclopedia
) estimated some 21000 Bahá'ís in 2005. The Institut Haïtien de Statistique et d'Informatique does not offer breakdowns of religions for 5% of the Haitian population, and the only non-Christian group mentioned are the Haitian Vodou (aka Vodouisant.)
`Abdu'l-Bahá
‘Abdu’l-Bahá , born ‘Abbás Effendí, was the eldest son of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1892, `Abdu'l-Bahá was appointed in his father's will to be his successor and head of the Bahá'í Faith. `Abdu'l-Bahá was born in Tehran to an aristocratic family of the realm...
, the head of the religion, cited Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
as one of the island countries of the Caribbean where Bahá'ís should establish a religious community. The first Bahá'í to visit Haiti was Leonora Armstrong
Leonora Armstrong
Leonora Holsapple Armstrong was the first Bahá'í to live in Brazil and she is regarded as a 'Spiritual Mother of the Bahá'ís of Latin America'...
in 1927. After that, others visited Haiti, and by January 1937 Louis George Gregory
Louis George Gregory
Louis George Gregory was a prominent member of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1951 he was posthumously appointed a Hand of the Cause, the highest appointed position in the Bahá'í Faith, by Shoghi Effendi.-Early years:He was born on June 6, 1874 to African-American parents liberated during the Civil War...
visited the island and cited the presence of a small community of Bahá'ís. The first long term pioneers
Pioneering (Bahá'í)
A pioneer is a volunteer Bahá'í who leaves his or her home to journey to another place for the purpose of teaching the Bahá'í Faith. The act of so moving is termed pioneering. Bahá'ís refrain from using the term "missionary"...
, Ruth and Ellsworth Blackwell, arrived in 1940. Following their arrival the first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly of Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
was formed in 1942 in Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
. From 1951 the Haitian Bahá'ís participated in regional organizations of the religion until 1961 when Haitian Bahá'ís elected their own National Spiritual Assembly and soon took on goals reaching out into neighboring islands. The Association of Religion Data Archives
Association of religion data archives
The Association of Religion Data Archives is a free source of online information related to American and international religion. Founded as the American Religion Data Archive in 1997, and online since 1998, the archive was initially targeted at researchers interested in American religion...
(relying mostly on the World Christian Encyclopedia
World Christian Encyclopedia
World Christian Encyclopedia is a reference work published by Oxford University Press, known for providing membership statistics for major and minor world religions in every country of the world, including historical data and projections of future populations.The first edition, by David B. Barrett,...
) estimated some 21000 Bahá'ís in Haiti in 2005.
Early phase
`Abdu'l-Bahá, the son of the founder of the religion, wrote a series of letters, or tablets, to the followers of the religion in the United States in 1916–1917; these letters were compiled together in a book titled Tablets of the Divine PlanTablets of the Divine Plan
The Tablets of the Divine Plan collectively refers to 14 letters written between September 1916 and March 1917 by `Abdu'l-Bahá to Bahá'ís in the United States and Canada. Included in multiple books, the first five tablets were printed in America in Star of the West - Vol. VII, No. 10, September 8,...
. The sixth of the tablets was the first to mention Latin American regions and was written on April 8, 1916, but was delayed in being presented in the United States until 1919—after the end of the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. The sixth tablet was translated and presented by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab
Mirza Ahmad Sohrab
Mírzá Aḥmad Sohráb was a Persian-American author and Bahá'í who co-founded the New History Society and the Caravan of East and West in New York, and was excommunicated from the Bahá'í Faith in 1939 by Shoghi Effendi.-Early life:...
on April 4, 1919, and published in Star of the West magazine on December 12, 1919.
His Christ Holiness says: Travel ye to the East and to the West of the world and summon the people to the Kingdom of GodKingdom of GodThe Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven is a foundational concept in the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.The term "Kingdom of God" is found in all four canonical gospels and in the Pauline epistles...
.…(travel to) the Islands of the West Indies, such as CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Haiti, Puerto RicoPuerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, JamaicaJamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, the Islands of the Lesser AntillesLesser AntillesThe Lesser Antilles are a long, partly volcanic island arc in the Western Hemisphere. Most of its islands form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, with the remainder located in the southern Caribbean just north of South America...
, Bahama Islands, even the small Watling Island, have great importance…
Leonora Armstrong
Leonora Armstrong
Leonora Holsapple Armstrong was the first Bahá'í to live in Brazil and she is regarded as a 'Spiritual Mother of the Bahá'ís of Latin America'...
was the first Bahá'í to visit Haiti in 1927 as part of her plan to compliment and complete Martha Root
Martha Root
Martha Louise Root was a prominent traveling teacher of the Bahá'í Faith in the late 19th and early 20th century. Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith called her "the foremost travel teacher in the first Bahá'í Century", and named her a Hand of the Cause posthumously...
's unfulfilled intention of visiting all the Latin American countries for the purpose of presenting the religion to an audience. In 1929 Keith Ransom-Kehler
Keith Ransom-Kehler
Keith Ransom-Kehler was an American Bahá'í and Hand of the Cause of God. She is believed to have been the Bahá'í Faith's first American martyr....
visited Haiti.
Seven Year Plan and succeeding decades
Shoghi EffendiShoghi Effendi
Shoghí Effendí Rabbání , better known as Shoghi Effendi, was the Guardian and appointed head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957...
, head of the religion after the death of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, wrote a cable
Telegraphy
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages via some form of signalling technology. Telegraphy requires messages to be converted to a code which is known to both sender and receiver...
on May 1, 1936 to the Bahá'í Annual Convention of the United States and Canada, and asked for the systematic implementation of `Abdu'l-Bahá's vision to begin. In his cable he wrote:
Appeal to assembled delegates ponder historic appeal voiced by `Abdu'l-Bahá in Tablets of the Divine Plan. Urge earnest deliberation with incoming National Assembly to insure its complete fulfillment. First century of Bahá'í Era drawing to a close. Humanity entering outer fringes most perilous stage its existence. Opportunities of present hour unimaginably precious. Would to God every State within American Republic and every Republic in American continent might ere termination of this glorious century embrace the light of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh and establish structural basis of His World Order.
Following the May 1 cable, another cable from Shoghi Effendi came on May 19 calling for permanent pioneers
Pioneering (Bahá'í)
A pioneer is a volunteer Bahá'í who leaves his or her home to journey to another place for the purpose of teaching the Bahá'í Faith. The act of so moving is termed pioneering. Bahá'ís refrain from using the term "missionary"...
to be established in all the countries of Latin America. The Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada appointed the Inter-America Committee to take charge of the preparations. During the 1937 Bahá'í North American Convention, Shoghi Effendi cabled advising the convention to prolong their deliberations to permit the delegates and the National Assembly to consult on a plan that would enable Bahá'ís to go to Latin America as well as to include the completion of the outer structure of the Bahá'í House of Worship
Bahá'í House of Worship
A Bahá'í House of Worship, sometimes referred to by its Arabic name of Mashriqu'l-Adhkár ,is the designation of a place of worship, or temple, of the Bahá'í Faith...
in Wilmette, Illinois. In 1937 the First Seven Year Plan (1937–44), which was an international plan designed by Shoghi Effendi, gave the American Bahá'ís the goal of establishing the Bahá'í Faith in every country in Latin America.
Establishment
Just before this plan was announced, the next Bahá'ís to visit were Louis George GregoryLouis George Gregory
Louis George Gregory was a prominent member of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1951 he was posthumously appointed a Hand of the Cause, the highest appointed position in the Bahá'í Faith, by Shoghi Effendi.-Early years:He was born on June 6, 1874 to African-American parents liberated during the Civil War...
and his wife, who could speak French, in January 1937. While there they had a chance to meet Oswald Garrison Villard
Oswald Garrison Villard
Oswald Garrison Villard was an American journalist. He provided a rare direct link between the anti-imperialism of the late 19th century and the conservative Old Right of the 1930s and 1940s.-Biography:...
. Gregory indicated a community of at least 5 active members who had French translations of Some Answered Questions
Some Answered Questions
Some Answered Questions was first published in 1908. It contains questions asked to `Abdu'l-Bahá, son of the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, by Laura Clifford Barney, during several of her visits to Haifa between 1904 and 1906, and `Abdu'l-Bahá's answers to these questions.Prominent among the topics...
, and that the community was refused permission to hold public meetings. Several Bahá'ís then made stops of varying lengths in Haiti.
Ruth and Ellsworth Blackwell are noted as pioneers
Pioneering (Bahá'í)
A pioneer is a volunteer Bahá'í who leaves his or her home to journey to another place for the purpose of teaching the Bahá'í Faith. The act of so moving is termed pioneering. Bahá'ís refrain from using the term "missionary"...
starting around 1940. By 1941 three converts to the religion include Mr. and Mrs. McBean and Muriel Johnson, a Jamaican couple and niece. The first Local Spiritual Assembly of Haiti was formed in 1942 in Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
. Further translations, including the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá
Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá
A seminal document, written in three stages by `Abdu'l-Bahá. Several sections were written under imminent threat of harm. The first section was probably written in 1906....
, arrived later in 1942. The Blackwells left by July 1943 though the community continued functioning. Word is received of two converts, Royer Dejean and Andre Paul, by January 1944. In 1943 writer and Bahá'í Alain Locke was on leave as Inter-American exchange Professor to Haiti under the joint auspices of the American Committee for Inter-American Artistic and Intellectual Relations and the Haitian Ministry of Education. Towards the end of his stay there, President Élie Lescot
Élie Lescot
Louis Élie Lescot was the President of Haiti from May 15, 1941 to January 11, 1946. He was a member of the country's light-skinned elite and used the political climate of World War II to sustain his power and ties to the United States, Haiti's powerful northern neighbor...
personally decorated Locke with the National Order of Honour and Merit
National Order of Honour and Merit
The National Order of Honour and Merit is the highest honour of merit of Haiti. The Order was instituted on 28 May 1926 and is awarded in five grades to both Haitians and foreign nationals...
, grade of Commandeur. In April 1946 Dr. Malcolm King moved from Jamaica
Bahá'í Faith in Jamaica
The Bahá'í Faith in Jamaica begins with a mention by `Abdu'l-Bahá, then head of the religion, in 1916 as Latin America being among the places Bahá'ís should take the religion to. The community of the Bahá'ís begins in 1942 with the arrival of Dr. Malcolm King. The first Bahá'í Local Spiritual...
to Haiti. By August there were some 20 Bahá'ís in Port-au-Prince and the assembly was able to register with the national government. King moved away in 1947 while other pioneers move to Haiti. In early 1948 a Latin American Congress was called in Mexico to coordinate institutional growth across the region and the delegate from Haiti was Martial Coulange. In late 1948 Gayle Woolson and early 1949 Louise Caswell each were able to travel through Haiti communities like Saint Marc and elsewhere and gave public talks.
By 1949 Bahá'ís of Port-au-Prince had a working center which served to have children and adult oriented events including classes, free medical, dental, and legal services as well as chances to hear about the religion. The Blackwell's returned to Haiti in 1950.
Internationally
From the early period of development the Bahá'í community in Haiti grew in relation to its regional neighbors as well as internally. The Bahá'ís of the region of northern Latin America were first organized under the regional national assembly of Central America, Mexico and the Antilles from 1951. The inaugural convention was witnessed by Hand of the Cause Dorothy Beecher Baker at which the Bahá'ís of Haiti were assigned two delegates from its local assembly of Port-au-Prince. Then Haitian Bahá'ís were assigned to the regional assembly of the Greater AntillesGreater Antilles
The Greater Antilles are one of three island groups in the Caribbean. Comprising Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico, the Greater Antilles constitute almost 90% of the land mass of the entire West Indies.-Greater Antilles in context :The islands of the Caribbean Sea, collectively known as...
from 1957 until 1961, when the Haitian Bahá'ís elected their own National Spiritual Assembly with Hand of the Cause Ugo Giachery
Ugo Giachery
Ugo Giachery was a prominent Italian Bahá'í from an aristocratic family from Palermo. At an anniversary of the founding of the spiritual assembly of Perugia Giachery told the story of how, as a young wounded soldier, still ignorant of the Bahá'í Faith, he was in Perugia in 1916...
representing the Bahá'í International Community
Bahá'í International Community
The Bahá'í International Community, or the BIC, is an international non-governmental organization representing the members of the Bahá'í Faith; it was first chartered in March 1948 with the United Nations, and currently has affiliates in over 180 countries and territories.The BIC seeks to "promote...
. The members of the first National Spiritual Assembly of Haiti were: Eustace Bailey, Alcide Narcisse, Jean Desert, Joseph Albert Bajeux, Ellsworth Blackwell, André St. Louis, Joseph C. Pierre, Ruth Blackwell, and Circé Brantome. In 1963 the Bahá'ís of the world looked to the election of the Universal House of Justice
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
as the new head of the religion. The delegates for the international convention were the members of the national assemblies then in existence. The members of the Haitian National Assembly who participated in the election were: Eustace Bailey, Odette Benjamin, Ellsworth Blackwell, Ruth Blackwell, Circe Brantome, Jean Desert, Alcide Narcisse, Speline Posy, André St. Louis (all of whom voted in absentia). In 1964 Haitian Bahá'ís were then given goal areas to spread the religion including Barbuda, St. Kitts-Nevis, Saba, St. Eustatis, St. Martin, Guadeloupe, Antigua and Martinique. In 1965 Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
and Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
had families from Haiti pioneer there while members of the national assembly attended a Honduran conference on the progress of the religion there. Over the next few years pioneers from Haiti went to Bangui
Bangui
-Law and government:Bangui is an autonomous commune of the Central African Republic. With an area of 67 km², it is by far the smallest high-level administrative division of the CAR in area but the highest in population...
, the capital of the Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
and Dahomey (now called Benin
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
) followed by Dominica
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
in 1971 - Hand of the Cause, `Alí-Muhammad Varqá
`Alí-Muhammad Varqá
`Alí-Muhammad Varqá was a prominent adherent of the Bahá'í Faith. He was the longest surviving Hand of the Cause of God, an appointed position in the Bahá'í Faith whose main function is to propagate and protect the religion on the international level.Varqá was born in 1911 in Tehran, Iran to a...
, offered a conference workshop on pioneering at the Amelia Collins Bahá'í School at Liancourt later in 1971.
Internally
Internally in 1953 Guillermo Aguilar, former chairman of the Lima, Peru local assembly, directed the establishment of a technological school for Haiti on behalf of the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
and took several opportunities for talks on the religion and the United Nations. In 1955 the regional assembly began publishing a National Bulletin which would be published in English, Spanish and French. 1956 was a year of several developments in Haiti. The first local assembly of Cap-Haïtien
Cap-Haïtien
Cap-Haïtien is a city of about 190,000 people on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the Department of Nord...
was elected in April and traveling Bahá'ís visited communities across Haiti. The national center was acquired in February and dedicated in May. 1956 also marked the first national conference on the progress of the religion - members of four cities of Haiti were represented. By 1957 the Blackwells had again returned to Haiti for a shorter stay. In 1958 a United Nations Day
United Nations Day
In 1947, the United Nations General Assembly declared 24 October, the anniversary of the Charter of the United Nations, as which "shall be devoted to making known to the peoples of the world the aims and achievements of the United Nations and to gaining their support for" its work.In 1971 the...
celebration was set by the Bahá'ís at which some 70 non-Bahá'ís attended and Bahá'í marriage ceremonies were accepted legally. In 1958 Haiti hosted the convention to elect the regional assembly of the Greater Antilles as well as the first international school of the Antilles with attendees from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Haiti. Hand of the Cause Ugo Giachery
Ugo Giachery
Ugo Giachery was a prominent Italian Bahá'í from an aristocratic family from Palermo. At an anniversary of the founding of the spiritual assembly of Perugia Giachery told the story of how, as a young wounded soldier, still ignorant of the Bahá'í Faith, he was in Perugia in 1916...
and then US National Assembly member Glenford Mitchell
Glenford Eckleton Mitchell
Glenford Eckleton Mitchell served as a member of the Universal House of Justice, the supreme governing body of the Bahá'í Faith. He was elected in 1982, and served in this capacity until April 2008. The Universal House of Justice announced in November 2007 that it had given permission to Mr....
met with the Antillees assembly as well as giving talks in February 1959 in Haiti. Two conferences on the progress of the religion as well as international schools were again held in Haiti and another set in the Dominican republic were held in 1960 - the Haitian school having Giachery, Mitchell and others giving talks. Public talks on the religion were held in Port-au-Prince and Liancourt. The Blackwells again returned to Haiti November 1960. An organized campaign in 1962 used techniques learned in Africa (see Bahá'í Faith in Uganda
Bahá'í Faith in Uganda
The Bahá'í Faith in Uganda started to grow in 1951 and in four years time there were 500 Bahá'ís in 80 localities, including 13 Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies, representing 30 tribes, and had dispatched 9 pioneers to other African locations...
for example) establishing communities of dozens of Bahá'ís. In 1963 there were Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies in 10 towns including Cap-Haïtien
Cap-Haïtien
Cap-Haïtien is a city of about 190,000 people on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the Department of Nord...
, Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
, and Saint-Marc
Saint-Marc
Saint-Marc is a coastal port town in western Haiti in the Artibonite Department. Its geographic coordinates are . At the 2003 Census the municipality had 160,181 inhabitants....
- a registered group of Bahá'ís in Pétionville
Pétionville
Pétion-Ville is a commune and a suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in the hills east and separate of the city itself on the northern hills of the Massif de la Selle. It was named after Alexandre Sabès Pétion , the Haitian general and president later recognized as one of the country's four founding...
and isolated Bahá'ís in 5 other locations. The 1964 national convention had 19 delegates from across Haiti representing thirteen local assemblies. In 1969 Ellswoorth Blackwell was able to present a talk to the Toastmasters International
Toastmasters International
Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that operates clubs worldwide for the purpose of helping members improve their communication, public speaking and leadership skills...
club on the subject of "Equality of the Sexes." In December 1976 a traveling Bahá'í from France, Andre Brugiroux, visited Haiti for a weeklong tour and was able to show a film of his at the Haitian French Institute on two occasions for an audience ultimately of some 670 people. In 1977 secretaries and treasurers of more than half the local assemblies of Haiti were gathered for a one day institute conducted in the Creole language by native believers about assembly functions. The 1979 national convention had 49 delegates present to elect the national assembly. In 1989 the leadership of the Haitian Cayemites
Cayemites
The Cayemites are a pair of islands located in the Gulf of Gonâve off the coast of southwest Haiti. The two islands, known individually as Grande Cayemite and Petite Cayemite, are a combined in area. Petite Cayemite lies just west of the larger island, Grande Cayemite...
island's population made a decision to adopt the religion for the island and a school was established in 1989.
Socio-economic development projects
Since its inception the religion has had involvement in socio-economic development beginning by giving greater freedom to women, promulgating the promotion of female education as a priority concern, and that involvement was given practical expression by creating schools, agricultural coops, and clinics. In 1978-9 articles relating to International Year of the ChildInternational Year of the Child
* Maureen Millicent Bomford founded International Year of The Child and it was endorsed by the United Nations. Maureen was born in Canterbury Punchbowl in 1930 and had four brothers. Her father was a Mayor and she always learned to appreciate the value of leadership. As the wife of a prominent...
were placed by Bahá'ís in national and local newspapers and three radio stations in Haiti carried announcements of public meetings.
The religion entered a new phase of activity when a message of the Universal House of Justice
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
dated 20 October 1983 was released. In December 1983 the national assembly registered with the government as an NGO. Bahá'ís were urged to seek out ways, compatible with the Bahá'í teachings
Bahá'í teachings
The Bahá'í teachings represent a considerable number of theological, social, and spiritual ideas that were established in the Bahá'í Faith by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the religion, and clarified by successive leaders including `Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'u'lláh's son, and Shoghi Effendi, `Abdu'l-Bahá's...
, in which they could become involved in the social and economic development of the communities in which they lived. World-wide in 1979 there were 129 officially recognized Bahá'í socio-economic development projects. By 1987, the number of officially recognized development projects had increased to 1482. By 1997 Haiti had a functioning Zunuzi School Anis, a forest protection, and a Beudet Kindergarten.
Anís Zunúzí Bahá'í School
The Anís Zunúzí Bahá'í School is a Bahá'í SchoolBahá'í school
A Bahá'í school at its simplest would be a school run officially by the Bahá'í institutions in its jurisdiction and may be a local class or set of classes, normally run weekly where children get together to study about Bahá'í teachings, Bahá'í central figures, or Bahá'í administration...
near Port-au-Prince which first began to hold classes in 1980. In October 1982 Rúhíyyih Khanum
Rúhíyyih Khanum
Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum , born Mary Sutherland Maxwell was the wife of Shoghi Effendi, the head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921–1957. She was appointed by him as a Hand of the Cause, and served an important role in the transfer of authority from 1957–1963...
, a Hand of the Cause, a position of prominence in the Bahá'í Faith
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
, presided at the official inauguration ceremony for the school. The initial board of directors were Counsellor Farzam Arbab, Dr. Nabil Hanna, Benjamin Levy, Dr. Iraj Majzub and Georges Marcellus. It reached the point of offering classes K through 10th grade. The student population comes mostly from no to low-income families, and most students are only paying minimal or no fees to attend the school. It follows the national curriculum but also provides moral education and English classes. It is situated on about three acres of land in what has become a suburb several miles north east of Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
proper (and a few north west of Croix-des-Bouquets
Croix-des-Bouquets
Croix-des-Bouquets is a city in the Ouest Department of Haiti. It is located to the northeast of Haiti's capital city, Port-au-Prince. Originally located on the shore, it was relocated inland after the 1770 Port-au-Prince earthquake. Due to this fact, it was not as badly affected in the 2010...
.)
More recently the whole area has been built up with both private homes and businesses. More recently the Mona Foundation
Mona Foundation
Mona Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports grassroots initiatives focused on education and raising the status of women and girls in the US and abroad...
has supported the school with funding for support of satellite schools, scholarships, regular summer camps, and general funding as well as acting as a mediator of larger scale funding for infrastructure improvements.
CAFT (Centre d'apprentissage et de Formation pour la Transformation) Program
Another Bahá'í development program in Haiti, CAFT (Centre d'apprentissage et de Formation pour la Transformation) Program, is also supported by the Mona Foundation, which offers teacher-training programs in cooperation with other NGOs helping schools across Haiti and is registered with the Haitian Ministry of Social Affairs and is authorized to function as a training agency by the Ministry of Education. Its projects began in 2000 with Plan InternationalPlan (aid organisation)
Plan is a global children’s charity which operates in 48 countries across Africa, Asia and the Americas. It is made up of 21 national organisations responsible for raising funds and awareness in their respective countries...
, then YELE Haiti 2005-6, UNICEF 2006, 2007 and currently is managing the training component of the Rewriting the Future project of Save the Children
Save the Children
Save the Children is an internationally active non-governmental organization that enforces children's rights, provides relief and helps support children in developing countries...
(2008–2010).
Modern community
A decade of collaboration was developed between a village and a network of people in the United States through Bahá'í contacts. Others had made trips recently as part of a documentary on Bahá'í efforts in Haiti. Two of the schools recently added include New Horizon School, which is run by Bernard Martinod, a French architect, outside of Port-au-Prince that serves some of the small villages in the area, and the Georges Marcellus School in the rural village of Gureot. The government of Haiti voted in favor of a United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
Resolution on the "Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran" (UN document no. A/C.3/56/L.50) on 19 December 2001. See Persecution of Bahá'ís
Persecution of Bahá'ís
The persecution of Bahá'ís is the religious persecution of Bahá'ís in various countries, especially in Iran, where the Bahá'í Faith originated and the location of one of the largest Bahá'í populations in the world...
. Various Bahá'ís continue to explore Haiti as a place to offer services. In 2007, following the United Nations’ adoption of the "Draft Guiding Principles on Extreme poverty
Extreme poverty
Extreme poverty, as defined in 1996 by Joseph Wresinski, the founder of ATD Fourth World, is:"The lack of basic security connotes the absence of one or more factors enabling individuals and families to assume basic responsibilities and to enjoy fundamental rights. The situation may become...
and Human Rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
", the Bahá'í International Community
Bahá'í International Community
The Bahá'í International Community, or the BIC, is an international non-governmental organization representing the members of the Bahá'í Faith; it was first chartered in March 1948 with the United Nations, and currently has affiliates in over 180 countries and territories.The BIC seeks to "promote...
organized local consultations with Bahá'í communities in Haiti and several other countries around the world in order to draw out their perspectives on the meaning and experience of poverty, and its connection to human rights in order to provide its comment on the Draft Guiding Principles and submitted to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
After the 2010 Haiti earthquake
The United States National Spiritual Assembly directed prayers to be offered at the Bahá'í House of WorshipBahá'í House of Worship
A Bahá'í House of Worship, sometimes referred to by its Arabic name of Mashriqu'l-Adhkár ,is the designation of a place of worship, or temple, of the Bahá'í Faith...
, posted messages about individuals, and commented on the spiritual import of such events from the Bahá'í writings:
"... When such a crisis sweeps over the world no person should hope to remain intact. We belong to an organic unit and when one part of the organism suffers all the rest of the body will feel its consequence. This is in fact the reason why Baha'u'llah calls our attention to the unity of mankind. But as Bahá'ís we should not let such hardship weaken our hope in the future... "Prayers and raising donations were also offered at the Green Acre
Green Acre
Green Acre is a conference facility in Eliot, Maine, in the United States. It was founded by Sarah Farmer in 1894. The name Green Acre came from poet John Greenleaf Whittier, a personal friend of the Farmer family....
Bahá'í school
Bahá'í school
A Bahá'í school at its simplest would be a school run officially by the Bahá'í institutions in its jurisdiction and may be a local class or set of classes, normally run weekly where children get together to study about Bahá'í teachings, Bahá'í central figures, or Bahá'í administration...
. News of the Bahá'ís as of January 16 reported that the community was generally accounted for with no deaths.
The principal of Anis Zununi school in 2010 reported on January 17 on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
that the school was generally still standing and its staff and others with CAFT were cooperating in relief efforts and sharing space and support with neighbors. A clinic was run at the Zunuzi school by a medical team from the United States and Canada.
Demographics
The Association of Religion Data ArchivesAssociation of religion data archives
The Association of Religion Data Archives is a free source of online information related to American and international religion. Founded as the American Religion Data Archive in 1997, and online since 1998, the archive was initially targeted at researchers interested in American religion...
(relying on World Christian Encyclopedia
World Christian Encyclopedia
World Christian Encyclopedia is a reference work published by Oxford University Press, known for providing membership statistics for major and minor world religions in every country of the world, including historical data and projections of future populations.The first edition, by David B. Barrett,...
) estimated some 21000 Bahá'ís in 2005. The Institut Haïtien de Statistique et d'Informatique does not offer breakdowns of religions for 5% of the Haitian population, and the only non-Christian group mentioned are the Haitian Vodou (aka Vodouisant.)