What impact do you expect Coronavirus COVID-19 to have on your life? It’s hard to answer that question, isn’t it? Many people have already been affected, but we don’t know how much more impact it will have. We’ve seen some countries are reporting having the spread of the virus under control and the number of new cases is decreasing. Other countries are just dealing with the initial onslaught and still have increasing numbers. We’ve also heard that the virus is changing as it migrates from country to country, so that increases the uncertainty even more.
What do you foresee happening in Haiti now that several cases of Coronavirus have been identified there? This is a country that had a cholera outbreak a decade ago that killed thousands of people before it was brought under control. The local scouts are being proactive and helping to get the word out about hand washing to prevent the widespread contamination of this virus according to this article, “Haiti’s Scouts set up mobile hand washing sinks to ward off coronavirus.”
The borders to Haiti are closed, but that didn’t occur until after the virus entered. Now the battle is on to contain and prevent widespread contamination. Haiti is a country where people go to the public market for their daily needs. Most homes don’t have refrigerators or consistent enough power to keep things cold. Many families don’t have the resources to stock up on a weeks or certainly not a months supply of essential items. Life in Haiti is all about going to the crowded public market on the main street in the closest town to buy what they need and sell what they harvested or acquired on a daily basis. Social distancing is not likely to be a priority over acquiring daily rations for the family to eat for that day. The article above also talks about some of these challenges.
So what does that mean about the spread of this coronavirus? God only knows the impact that it will have worldwide and how 3rd world countries will be affected. We do know that God is in control. Please pray that warnings are heeded and that Haiti is spared from a widespread outbreak.
How is Covid-19 affecting our campus? As soon as the virus was reported in Haiti, the government closed schools and universities, and put a curfew in place. Our kids are on campus 24/7 until further notice, and we’re minimizing their contact on campus to only giving campus access to key essential staff. As we do for the summer months, we’ve added some activities to help prevent boredom. Of course we’ve also reviewed with our kids how to wash hands properly and we’ve set up wash stations at the entrance of campus and at key play areas. We’ve also encouraged our older kids to form topic-specific study clubs to help maintain and improve their education until school starts up again. We’re blessed to have staff with a heart for helping our kids along their faith journey, and we’ve asked them to hold Bible studies and a Sunday church service in addition to our weekly devotion time. We pray that God will use this time to encourage our kids to strengthen their faith and put their trust in God alone.
Our essential Haitian staff have been tasked with even more responsibility than ever before during this challenging time. During our absence, our staff have done a great job getting all the food and supplies needed and keeping essential systems working. With our kids on campus all the time and out of their daily routine of school and lessons, there’s even more to do and less staff to do everything. We talk with our staff daily as we push forward with many programs and constant changes, and continue to guide them from afar. It can be challenging and time consuming to lead a team remotely, but we’ve had a few months to practice! Our US staff are spread out as well, so we are regularly on chats, phone calls and posting updates in our online database tool to keep us moving forward. Please keep us, our Haitian staff and our Hands and Feet Project leadership team in your prayers as we move forward into whatever lies ahead.
How can you help? Please pray!
* Pray for our kids – that they would remain healthy, be patient with others on campus, continue to learn and grow, and to help each other through this challenging time.
* Pray for our staff – that God will give them the strength and courage to continue on, remain healthy, encourage our kids and build into them.
* Pray for our Hands and Feet Project leadership – that God will lead them forward in the best way possible, that we can all lead effectively from a distance, and that we all work together well throughout this time.
* Pray for Haiti – that they would be spared from a huge epidemic, that medical workers are protected from contracting the virus, that the government provides solid leadership and direction, and that people would follow good sanitary practices.
* Pray for Denise & Randy – that we would continue seeking God’s direction in all that we do, that Denise is healed of this ongoing nausea that she’s been experiencing since November, and that we would be light to the world around us wherever we are.
* Pray for those who support us spiritually, emotionally and financially – we know this is a challenging time for many people and we pray that God protects and blesses those who support us, our ministry and for those who sponsor our kids.
Thanks to all of you who support our efforts in caring for the children God has entrusted to us in Haiti. Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement in so many ways! We can’t do this without you!