Hello everyone! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all! Here’s a year-end update about how things are going in Haiti and how we’re able to help keep programs moving forward.
Haiti Status
We’re really thankful that things are opening back up in Haiti. It started with restoring power on our campus. We had a system malfunction in September that disabled our power system, and it took a long time before the repair guy was able to come from Port au Prince to assess the damage and begin repairs. Then internet was recently restored and we can finally have our Haitian team working in the spreadsheets, documents and communication tools we all use every day. One of our big challenges while systems were down was getting financial information. We had to use photos and text messages to get vital information while power and internet were out. We’re so thankful we can move forward and try to catch up before the year-end finance reports are due! I have taken on a much bigger role in finances while I also train our new Haitian bookkeeper and bring him up to speed.
We’re super grateful that some gasoline and diesel have been released from the gang-controlled fuel port in Port au Prince to be distributed nationwide. Black market fuel is horribly expensive and risky to put in vehicles and generators. We’re praying that the fuel continues to flow to gas stations and that food will be more readily available. Right now, food is scarce and many things have doubled or tripled in price since the summer. Thankfully we’ve still been able to purchase what we need to continue providing for the children on our campus and for those we help in the community.
Daycare Update
Through all of the negativity that is happening in Haiti right now there are some good things happening. In the last year Denise has taken on a new role as the Director of Daycares in Haiti. This is a fairly new concept in Haiti and is being received very well. This is part of the Hands and Feet Project “Preserving Families” Program. Our goal in all we do is to keep the families together if at all possible. Our daycares are free to families who are in crisis, or would be in crisis because they cannot work for lack of someone to watch their child.
We have been blessed with the opportunity to partner with local churches in Haiti to open more daycares. We started this program on a small scale at the end of 2017. There was one daycare, open four hours a day and about 7 kids coming. We doubled our capacity in 2018. The goal is to have many daycares in each neighborhood as the needs arise. This year we are in the process of opening 2 more with 2 that are in the queue. As a matter of fact. on January 3rd one of our new daycares will open its doors! So exciting! You can read more about our daycares, sponsoring a daycare in full or partial as well, at this link.
The daycares have also created many jobs for the Haitians. We have hired 16 teachers, 2 day care administrators as well as 2 cooks. As we open more daycares this will create even more jobs.
We’re excited that schools finally opened for the school year a few weeks ago. Schools had not previously opened because of the unstable situation in Haiti, (this is a huge prayer).
Recent Reunifications
Through the extended summer, our Haitian staff have been doing a great job caring for our kids, reunifying several children with family, doing some remodeling to improve efficiencies in meal preparations. Here’s an amazing story about Kerby being reunified (https://vimeo.com/778898145). We’ve also distributed new Bibles to all of the kids in our care and continue having regular devotions with them. Social services has placed several new children with in our care as challenges intensify for families in Haiti.
Commitment to Haiti
In a recent HAFP newsletter, the chairman of the board, Dean Cline, said this about our commitment to Haiti:
“This year has proven to be one of the most difficult years in recent history for the people of Haiti. Increased gang violence and control has led to shortages of food, clean water, and fuel. The instability in the country has shut down many businesses and local markets, eliminating most of the opportunities for families to earn money. With the demand for available goods being so high, inflation is limiting our ability to buy critical supplies to run our campuses.
“Regardless of conditions in the country, Hands & Feet Project has an obligation to our children and staff. We have walked alongside them since 2004, and we are committed to staying the course. In this season, we have continued looking for ways to provide for basic needs while also communicating that God is real, and there are still reasons to hope for the future. Our focus remains the same: providing for families when needed and preserving families when possible.”
We are still committed to helping our children and staff in Haiti succeed and grow in their faith. We’re scheduled to return to Haiti in mid-January to take next steps in a variety of projects. We ask for your prayers to bring peace and Christian leadership to the country.
Thank you for your prayers and support to help make all this possible!