St. Jean du Sud (St. John of the South) Catholic parish and town is located on the southern coast of Haiti 20 miles from the city of Les Cayes and 170 miles from the capital city of Port au Prince. The majority of the 30,000 people in this rural area live in extremely primitive conditions. Most families have a very humble thatched or tin roof home without running water or electricity. Their only means of survival comes from selling produce from the small plot of land they farm. Their average income is $60 / year.
St. Jean was established as a parish around 1910. The main church in the center of the parish is St. Jean Baptiste and there are ten other chapels in the parish (Landelet, MmeJean, Boule, Cornette, Petite Riviere, Carrefour, Jute, Abacou, Boyer, and Embouchure). Five of these chapels are accessible by car and the rest by a combination of car and horseback.
There are eight Catholic or presbyteral schools in St. Jean du Sud. Seven of them are at the primary level and one at the secondary level. The schools are located in Boule, Boyer, Cornette, Carrefour-Joute, Mme. Jean, Embourchure and Landelet. The secondary school (Jean Le Baptiste) is located in Landelet.