DP News

By Sarah Hite shite@timesleader.com
Staff Writer
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When the Rev. Charles Gommer thinks of Haiti, Carlo Dupree comes to his mind.

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The Rev. Charles Gommer, third from the right, with Jeannott Dorzeuse, founder and principal of the Mitspa School in Verretts in Haiti, and his family.

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Haitian Volunteers in Mission United Methodist Church interpreter Jean Claude, left, and the Rev. Charles Gommer pose for a photo in front of a map at John Wesley School in Verretts, Haiti. The Rev. Gommer, retired as the district superintendent for the Wilkes-Barre district of the United Methodist church, is planning to go to Haiti to help with the aftermath of a devastating earthquake.

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The Rev. Gommer, his wife, Viola, and other volunteers plan to go to Haiti soon, possibly in about four to six weeks, to help following the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, on Jan. 12. While it is unknown exactly how many people died, the death toll may be in the tens of thousands.

The two met while walking up the mountains into the province of J�r�mie in Haiti. Dupree, a 10-year-old Haitian, was tasked to see that the Rev. Gommer and other missionaries safely made it up the mountain.

By the time the group reached the top of the mountain, the Rev. Gommer knew all the words to the song “Fr�re Jacquesm” thanks to the boy.

“He said he’d go to school every day of the week if he could,” the Rev. Gommer said. “We tried to get what was so attractive about school. He was the first kid in a family of nine to go through school. He will be the first one to get off that mountain and find out what his destiny is.”

The Rev. Gommer, of Dallas Township, is a retired United Methodist minister. He was the pastor of Trucksville United Methodist Church from 1965 to 1970 before becoming district superintendent for the Wilkes-Barre district of the United Methodist Church, which included the Back Mountain.

In 1994, the Rev. Gommer helped initiate missions to Haiti through the Wyoming Conference of the United Methodist Church, Council on Ministries. Since then, at least three teams travel to Haiti each year.

The Rev. Gommer, his wife, Viola, and other volunteers plan to go to Haiti soon, possibly in about four to six weeks, to help following the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, on Jan. 12. While it is unknown exactly how many people died, the death toll may be in the tens of thousands.

“Our plan is to begin to gear up,” the Rev. Gommer said. “We’re also going to raise a lot of money. We’re also being asked to make up health kits.

The Rev. Gommer has been on eight or nine trips to Haiti and has also gone on mission trips to Cuba. For the past 10 years of his retirement, he has been the Volunteers in Mission coordinator for the Wyoming Conference of the United Methodist Church. His wife, who was a nurse educator for many years, has also done mission work in Haiti and Africa.

Although the Rev. Gommer does not know yet exactly what the volunteers will do to help, he is ready to go to the distressed island and do whatever he can. He says the leadership of the Haitian churches will outline their needs. The volunteers will then try to develop teams around those needs.

“It breaks your heart,” the Rev. Gommer said. “Today I couldn’t watch anymore…seeing all that hurt and pain. They were beginning to turn a corner.”

The teams continue to partner with the Haitian people in construction of schools, churches and clinics and other health care projects. They have also begun a project that involves water purification in rural areas.

The volunteers collect medical supplies and equipment, school supplies and church supplies and take them to Haiti. All volunteers pay for their own travel expenses, room and board. They also pack and carry equipment and supplies for the trip.

A few years ago, the Rev. Gommer returned to Dupree’s home to find him a few years older and taller. The first thing Dupree showed the Rev. Gommer was the pocket knife he had given him the first time they met. The Rev. Gommer was pleased to learn the boy was still doing well in school.

“When you sit down at breakfast and you talk with (Haitians) about their family and your family, they talk about the same things…they taught me how to live simply,” the Rev. Gommer said. “They taught me how to live above pain and discomfort.