This chapter argues that citizens living in states so fragile that they are incapable of providing public goods are often forced to turn to private actors. Citizens urgently concerned with the provision of education, health care, and public safety cannot afford to be concerned about accountability and equity of public goods provision. International actors often describe such settings as places “where there are no systems”—yet state fragility does not necessarily mean that systems are absent, as most of these societies have tribal, clan, community, or faith-based systems that attempt to fill the void left by a fragile state. As the first independent Black republic, Haiti has long contended with weak governance and chronic state failure, leaving the crucial public good of education largely in the hands of private providers. Among these, the Catholic Church has been the most significant and enduring. By situating Haiti within the broader discourse on fragile states and the provision of public goods, this chapter asks whether the Church can serve as a substitute for the state in education, and whether it can do so equitably.