New Charitable Cruise Venture Could Visit Haiti as Port of Call
By James Shillinglaw
February 20, 2012 9:55 PM
A cruise ship may soon call at Port-Au-Prince, the first such visit in Haiti after a quarter of a century, but it’s not a commercial cruise vessel. Nevertheless, it’s a milestone that Haiti’s Minister of the Interior, Thierry Mayard-Paul, welcomed on Friday, Feb. 17, at a gathering in Tuscaloosa, Ala., with the organizers of the cruise that combines tourism with volunteer work.
Mayard-Paull said he saw this as another instance of sustainable development for the Caribbean nation's economy and "breathing new life" into the tourism sector. "Haiti is at a turning point as a nation,” Mayard-Paul said at the retreat of Praisefest Ministries, which throughout the year organizes "Cruise with a Cause," a series of Mission Cruises transporting volunteer workers to various places that are in need of support. Praisefest Ministries is looking into taking their experience to Haiti on a 4,000-person Cruise with a Cause in 2013. The passengers on this cruise would participate in projects that include building homes, repairing schools, and installing new water purification systems throughout Port-au-Prince.
The Government of Haiti has made this project a priority and is diligently working to evaluate and prepare the port in the capital city of Port-au-Prince for the cruise ship's arrival, said Mayard-Paul, one of the chief architects of President Michel Martelly's policy for job-creation and economic progress through local initiatives and decentralized cooperation.
Praisefest Ministries, the non-profit group that organizes Cruises with a Cause, include pastors and church representatives that give the group access to millions of homes and over 60,000 churches, with members willing to get involved with work in Haiti and the potential that they may return to the Caribbean nation in future cruises and visits. "The goal here is to get these organizations to adopt the communities they serve in. They will continue to resource and help develop these communities in the years ahead," stated Dr. Matthew Dunaway of Praisefest Cruise with a Cause.
