Nativity Catholic Church, of Burke, Va., presented Food For The Poor with a donation from its Operation Starfish® campaign to support three schools in Nativity Villages in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, including Ecole Notre Dame de la Nativite de Prolonge (shown here), Ecole Communautaire Emmanuel de Chastenoye, and Ecole Communautaire St. Pierre de Madras. The gift, which will enhance the lives of 595 community members, covers student meals, staff salaries, and operational expenses to ensure that education is accessible to low-income families in Madras, Plaine du Nord and Fort Saint Michel.
For the parishioners of Nativity Catholic Church, supporting Food For The Poor (FFTP) and its mission is a spiritual quest, rooted in their desire to help vulnerable children and families in Latin America and the Caribbean. That spirit of love and generosity was on display Thursday when the Very Reverend Monsignor Robert C. Cilinski announced that Nativity is donating $719,290 to FFTP through its Operation Starfish® fundraising campaign – the largest gift in the 27-year history of the partnership between the two organizations.
“Thank you for being there in these troubled places among the poorest of the poor in our world and in the human family and lifting them up to a new dignity and a better way of living,” Monsignor Cilinski said. “We're so privileged to partner with you, and today as you receive this gift, and I know you're going to use it well.”
FFTP President/CEO Ed Raine expressed his overwhelming gratitude for the groundbreaking gift and his appreciation for Nativity’s continued support of Haiti, particularly during this tumultuous time in its history.
“I’m totally in awe,” Raine said. “The fact that no one has given up on Haiti, and that we’re able to expand into other countries and ventures, I can only say ‘thank you.’ Obviously, we work hard to earn your trust to keep doing this, but this is a truly remarkable moment for us. Not only is this the largest gift that Nativity has given us, but I'm pretty sure it rates up there as one of the largest gifts we've ever received.”
Monsignor Cilinski, members of his staff, and parishioners participated online from the church’s headquarters in Burke, Va.
Nativity’s gift to FFTP will fund the construction of Nativity’s 15th village in Haiti, as well as other programs in Haiti, Honduras, and Jamaica.
Nativity Village at Bois-Louroux will provide families with two-bedroom furnished homes, equipped with water, sanitation, and solar-powered streetlights.
Part of the communal section of Grande Savane, Bois-Louroux is located between Grand-Bassin and Les Perches, in the Nord-Est department of Haiti. Residents survive on meager crops they grow themselves, such as peanuts and cassava, supplemented by wood cuttings they use to make charcoal. Much of the land remains uncultivated because many families don’t have the money to grow crops. They live in houses made of wood slabs covered with dried mud, making them vulnerable to strong winds and heavy rainfall.
This year’s donation also includes funds for health clinics for three communities in Honduras, including San Juan, Guaimaca and Monteverde. Overcrowded with patients, the existing clinics in each location are in severe disrepair – with cracked walls, leaky roofs, broken windows and doors, faulty electrical systems, and rodent infestation. Each new clinic will provide safe, reliable health care for children, pregnant women and the elderly, featuring two exam rooms, an observation room, waiting room, pharmacy, four restrooms, and a storage room.
The Operation Starfish gift also provides tuition and living expenses for students from Jamaica studying medicine, including a student at the University of West Indies and a recent medical school graduate who is transitioning into her residency.
Other projects include:
* Medicines for El Colirio Clinic in Honduras, which the church funded in 2024.
* Birthing kits for distribution in Haiti and a generator for New Hope Hospital in Haiti.
* Continued funding for operational expenses and midwife training at the St. Anthony Clinic in Cap-Haitien, Haiti.
* A water purification project in Bondeau, Haiti.
* Scholarship programs for three schools at Nativity Villages in Cap-Haitien, including Ecole Communautaire Emmanuel de Chastenoye, Ecole Notre Dame de la Nativite de Prolonge, and Ecole Communautaire St. Pierre de Madras. The gift, which will enhance the lives of 595 community members, covers student meals, staff salaries, and operational expenses to ensure that education is accessible to low-income families in Madras, Plaine du Nord, and Fort Saint Michel.
This year marks the 27th anniversary of Nativity’s Operation Starfish campaign, which supports multiple projects each year. To date, Nativity parishioners and friends have made monetary donations of more than $9.8 million and provided over $3 million in goods to care for children and families in need.
Nativity’s Operation Starfish campaign began with the late Fr. Richard Martin, who passed away in 2014.
Fr. Martin conceived the idea for the campaign in 1998, while walking his dog, Pete, on the night before Lent. Thinking about the sacrificial theme of the season, he wondered if his parishioners would be willing to forego one order of french fries or one extra topping on their weekly order of pizza and donate the savings to help those in need.
Fr. Martin posed the question to the congregation and to his delight, they raised more than $67,000 and decided to work with FFTP and build 27 homes in Haiti, the most impoverished nation in the Western Hemisphere. The following year, Nativity officially launched the campaign as Operation Starfish®.
“I remember when Father Martin first began this adventure and enterprise of caring for the poor in Haiti,” Monsignor Cilinski said. “Little did I know that I would be doing that in his spirit and in his footsteps here at Nativity for the past 11 years. I've witnessed firsthand the generosity of the community of Nativity and how it has grown.”
Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the United States, is committed to facilitating paths out of poverty and transforming lives. As an interdenominational Christian ministry, we help families across Latin America and the Caribbean.
Our efforts span urgent humanitarian relief and long-term development – from emergency aid and hunger alleviation to education, housing, and economic empowerment. We follow a distinctive approach that integrates faith, multi-sector strategies, and trusted partnerships. Whenever possible, we strive to work at the community level, partnering with local leaders and residents to co-create sustainable solutions that address the multi-dimensional nature of poverty. For more information, please visit foodforthepoor.org.