“Give yourself fully to God. He will use you to accomplish great things." Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Check here regularly for the most recent PTPA news.
News of the Day:
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The PTPA Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Cassandra Bissainthe as our new Executive Director, effective July 1. We are blessed to have Cassandra lead our organization moving forward in the future. Her extraordinary experience and leadership skills will benefit PTPA and strengthen our ability to have a positive impact on poor Catholic communities in Haiti and Latin America.
Cassandra’s experience includes leading many successful projects in Haiti and Latin America. For the past three years, Cassandra led program management and partner engagement for University of Notre Dame global education initiatives focusing on literacy and social-emotional learning resources for grade school children in impoverished countries, including Haiti. Cassandra also worked for Catholic Relief Services (CRS) for more than seven years developing emergency preparedness and response projects across Latin America, the Caribbean and West Africa. She brings strong multilingual and cross-cultural communication skills, as she is fluent in English, Spanish, French and Haitian Creole.
With her legacy of leadership and global impact, Cassandra is the right person to lead us forward in continuing the vital mission of PTPA. She embraces our commitment to share God’s love with impoverished Catholic communities in Haiti and Latin America by supporting the important work that you do on behalf of your twin parishes.
Cassandra wrote a message to you that she asked us to share: "I'm truly excited about this new role because it allows me to deepen my connection with the incredible work Catholic parishes in the U.S. are doing to support parish communities in Haiti and Latin America. It’s a meaningful opportunity to build stronger relationships, share stories of impact, and walk in solidarity with our brothers and sisters across the region."We are eager for you to get to know Cassandra. We held a special Zoom meeting to meet her on Thursday evening, May 29. Also, we hope you will take advantage of the opportunity to meet Cassandra in person at the upcoming 2025 PTPA National Conference, August 15-17, in Nashville.
Click the link above to view the news release issued by PTPA when we announce Cassandra's hiring.
If you have any comments or questions, feel free to send PTPA Board President Mike Hogrefe an email at info@ptpausa.org
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PTPA hosts a national conference every several years to provide an opportunity for twinning members to network and share best practices.
Individuals from U.S. Catholic parishes will have the unique opportunity to share information and learn about new and best practices for building spiritually enriching twinning relationships by attending the PTPA National Conference in Nashville on August 15-17, 2025.
CLICK THE LINK ABOVE TO LEARN EVENT DETAILS, including keynote speakers, topics and full schedule.
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Report about PTPA Trip to Honduras with Food For The Poor
Several members of the PTPA Board and the PTPA Executive Assistant traveled as guests of Food For The Poor (FFTP) to San Pedro Sula, Honduras on March 31–April 4. We visited a PTPA twin parish in El Progresso, went to see some of FFTP’s projects in Honduras, and met with Archbishop Michael Lenihan of the Archdiocese of San Pedro. The purpose of the trip was to get better acquainted with the work of FFTP in Honduras, to learn about CEPUDO, FFTP's partner in Honduras, and to explore how to establish a working relationship with the Catholic Church in Honduras.
CEPUDO's name is based on an acronym for its mission and work: Capacitacion (training), Educacion, Produccion, Unificacion, Desarrollo (development), Organizacion. Working together in Honduras, FFTP and CEPUDO build homes for those in need, help impoverished communities develop, provide education and training services, support homes for orphaned and abandoned children, provide food, supplies and medical care, and even more.
Following our trip, our goal is to identify new US parishes interested in a twinning relationship with a parish in Honduras and elsewhere in Latin America. Of our approximately 250 parish members, only about 30 are twinned with a parish in a Latin American country, with 6 twinning in Honduras; PTPA currently only has a few U.S. parishes twinned in Honduras. The need is tremendous. We hope and pray to find U.S. Catholic parishes who will be inspired to respond!You can read more about Food For The Poor here: https://foodforthepoor.org
and CEPUDO here: http://cepudohonduras.org/index.php/en/ -
On Monday, October 21st, David Siler, PTPA's Executive Director, traveled to Haiti, His article details all that he is constantly amazed at that he witness while in Haiti and details safety issues in and around the north of Haiti.
CLICK THE TITLE ABOVE TO VIEW DAVID'S ENTIRE STORY!
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PTPA wants to establish more twinning relationships between Catholic parishes in the
United States and Haiti, but to do so PTPA needs your financial support. Together with the
other Bishops of the CEH, I would be grateful if you would consider making a generous
donation to PTPA.
Mgr. Max Leroy Mesidor
Archbishop of the Metropolitan Area of Port-au-Prince
President of the CEHCLICK THE TITLE ABOVE TO VIEW THE LETTER.
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Tennessee Register article published 27 Feb features two parishes in the Nashville Diocese with twinnings in Haiti through PTPA.
CLICK THE TITLE ABOVE TO VIEW THE ARTICLE.
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Click the title above to read our most recent blog posts.
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Check the title above regularly for copies of the PTPA Newsletter and read about the impact of PTPA and the Twins.
The Most Recent & Upcoming Zoom Sessions: Click on the Titles to View the Recordings
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Most Recent Zoom Gathering: May 29 - Meet Cassandra Bissainthe, the incoming PTPA Executive Director
At the PTPA May Zoom Gathering, PTPA President Mike Hogrefe introduced Cassandra Bissainthe, PTPA's new incoming Executive Director, effective July 1 and explained the process.
CLICK THE LINK ABOVE TO VIEW THE YOU TUBE RECORDING (the heading).
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P4H Global believes that good education helps end poverty, and they serve as a great resource to help US parishes support education in their twin parishes by helping to train teachers in Haiti and throughout the world. As P4H states, “Quality education is fundamental to the development and advancement of every society. We are committed to investing in the capacity of educators because Education Ends Poverty."
To achieve this goal, P4H offers several services in Haiti and throughout the world, both in person and virtual. They not only offer School Quality Assurance Programs to train and equip educators through professional development, they also offer classes and consultations to help organizations achieve greater impact by helping organizations think critically and creatively about the work it does and how to make it more sustainable. Click here to learn more.
Click here to learn more about the services that P4H offers: https://p4hglobal.org/p4h
Click here to watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/1vVGZBUbdHc
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Mendy was born in Petite Riviėre de Nippes, Haiti. After high school in Haiti, he was able to attend the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering. Growing up where electricity was scarce, or available at all, he had a desire to make solar energy accessible and affordable to communities worldwide, especially those like his own. Mendy has designed an all-in-one solar solution, available in a variety of power sizes, that is essentially “plug and play”, long lasting and requiring minimal maintenance. You can learn more at https://www.solargeny.com/shop.
Click here if you’d like to learn more about Mendy and his journey to found Solargen
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Dr. Dantil has trained 37 “vet agents” to serve small family farmers, multiplying his ability to provide veterinary services. He has also established a vocationaTo learn more about Dr. Dantil and his programs, click here: https://emma-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/xz1fb/dab24053f52a9d8219416f09acaa4687/Vet_Agent_Program_Description_and_Service_Area__8_15_23.pdf