The challenges of a pandemic and politics continue to be a burden on Haiti. They also impact the ministries and other organizations that work there. The instability continues to affect the tourism industry and short term mission trips in a big way, resulting in countless jobs lost and a significant reduction in income for many people and businesses. Here’s a recent newsletter from Hands and Feet Project that provides an overview of the current issues and the impact on each area of our Circle of Care. This covers a lot of key areas of our work and how we’re accommodating the challenging times.
If you aren’t already a subscriber to the Hands and Feet Project newsletter but would like to sign up, you can do that here. They share details and information about the programs and kids that affect all of our campuses and offer a wider perspective than our work that focuses primarily on caring for kids in Jacmel.
The political climate continues to be challenging due to differing understandings of when the president’s term ends, in February of either 2021 or 2022. Also, there are areas in the Port au Prince capital region where gangs have arisen and in some cases they are stronger than the police force in that area. There are other issues as well. Thankfully, the Jacmel and Grand Goave areas where we work are more stable. We’ve reduced how often we travel into the capital and take extra precautions when we do.
The Covid occurrences in Haiti had a spike that peaked in late January but have settled back down again. There are still limited options for testing, and tests are required to enter Haiti and also to enter the United States. Thankfully there’s an organization that has stepped up to offer testing before departing from PAP.
Please continue to keep Haiti in your prayers, for the political climate to settle, and also for the continued good health of our kids, staff, communities and the country.