By Romina Acosta Bimbrera, Communications and Public Relations Advisor
It is with deep sadness that Development and Peace – Caritas Canada learned of the passing last week of Joseph Willard Vancol, a close collaborator of our organization for more than 20 years.
On August 20, our long-standing partner in Haiti, the Institute of Technology and Community Development (ITECA), informed us of an attack by street gangs on their training center in Petit Boucan, Gressier, during which Vancol went missing. As director of the community radio station Ti Boukan FM and coordinator of the training center, he was a dedicated leader in his community and a passionate advocate for rural communities. Tragically, his body was found on September 9 in the forest near the center.
Beyond the loss of a man deeply committed to Haitian communities, his passing is a severe blow to our programming in Haiti. Vancol played a central role in many of our projects and, over the years, helped strengthen farming communities and local organizations.
Ti Boucan, a close partner of Development and Peace – Caritas Canada
The ITECA Training Center in Ti-Boucan was established in 1979, when the organization was founded. Over the years, it has become an important hub for training, exchange, and mobilization for farming communities and families in the region. Workshops and training sessions were regularly held there on various issues affecting the communities.
The center features meeting rooms and a dormitory that can accommodate up to 60 people, allowing farmers to gather for training sessions. It also houses a documentation and archival center that preserves ITECA’s history and legacy.
An experimental farm was also established there to train farming communities in agricultural techniques. At the time of the attack, rabbits, goats, and ducks were stolen and eaten by the gangs. Equipment belonging to the Ti Boukan community radio station, also based at the training center, was stolen or vandalized.
The attack on the Ti-Boucan Training Center was an assault on a place that held great significance for Haiti’s farming community. It has witnessed their struggles, victories, and challenges, and has played a vital role in strengthening this sector, which is essential to Haiti’s economic and social life.
After the 2010 earthquake, we also supported reconstruction efforts in Gressier, the earthquake’s epicenter. Thanks to a project funded by the Government of Canada, 400 homes were built for farming families in Ti-Boucan, surrounding the Training Center. Designed to withstand earthquakes and hurricanes, these homes have withstood several major weather events since their construction in 2013. Unfortunately, the homes were looted by gangs, and the families fled.
Vancol, as the lead facilitator at the Center in Gressier, played a key role in this initiative, particularly through community radio and by helping to train the solidarity teams responsible for reconstruction.
According to Chenet Jean-Baptiste, director of ITECA, access to the training center remains impossible due to insecurity. Several pieces of equipment, including a generator, solar panels, and three vehicles, have also been stolen or vandalized, dealing a blow to ITECA’s training activities and programming.
Vancol: A life dedicated to serving the community
Joseph Willard Vancol devoted much of his life to grassroots organizing, education, and strengthening farmers’ organizations, according to Le Nouvelliste. His work took him to several regions of the country, where he worked with grassroots groups, farmers’ associations, young people, and rural women. In particular, he helped train local leaders and strengthen community organizations.
A founding member of the Société d’animation et de communication sociale (SAKS), he also helped establish several other community radio stations. For nearly 20 years, his work with ITECA led him to collaborate with rural communities on projects supported by Development and Peace – Caritas Canada.
Tributes and recognition
The news of Vancol’s assassination has caused deep sadness and dismay among our team and throughout our movement. To express our solidarity, a letter of condolence was sent to the ITECA team.
On September 16, Bishop Pierre Goudreault of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, a former member of our National Council and president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, celebrated a Mass in Vancol’s memory. He also addressed a message to his loved ones:
“Acts of violence that lead to disappearances and homicides constitute serious human rights violations and cannot leave us indifferent. In the face of such injustices, the voices of the victims and their loved ones remain essential: they preserve memory, keep the truth alive, and serve as an indispensable driving force for justice. May the memory of Joseph Wilard Vancol continue to inspire all those who work for human dignity, peace, and justice in Haiti.”
We join him in honoring the memory of Joseph Willard Vancol and calling for a full investigation into his murder, so that justice may be served for his family and loved ones.
As his funeral will take place on Saturday, September 19, in Les Cayes, a city on the country’s southern coast, our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, colleagues, and all those who mourn his passing.