Category: Education

McGarvey Ministry Update: Haiti News – Summer 2023

It’s another hot, humid summer in Haiti, and in Florida! Here’s an update about what is going on in Haiti, our activities with the Hands and Feet Project (HAFP), and what is happening with Denise and Randy McGarvey.

Haiti in the News

Conditions in Haiti continue to be challenging. There are very few news reports about conditions in Haiti. There is a general consensus from news agencies around the world that outside help is needed to resolve the issues in Haiti, but nobody has stepped up to lead it. Talks continue on many levels about possible next steps. We continue to pray for a solution to restore peace and improve the situation for Haitians and ministries that support families and communities. Here’s a link to find recent news about Haiti.

We continue to thank God for providing the means and methods to care for the kids and the communities that Hands and Feet Project supports in various parts of Haiti. Despite all the daunting circumstances people face, schools have finished for the year, graduations have been held, and summer has begun!

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Fall is Here, But Schools Have Not Started in Haiti??

It’s still summertime in Haiti…sort of

We had a great time of fun activities, events and entertainment for all of our kids in Haiti over the summer! On top of regular activities and events with the kids, we also had a week-long Vacation Bible School with huge help from our older kids. The program for this year was “Christmas in August”, and the children got to experience the love, joy, and peace of opening the Bible and learning more about Jesus and why He came.  The VBS program included lesson time, skits, creative crafts, snacks, and games.

We had plans for our annual Village Values weekend celebration, but that was canceled due to protests that prevented a team from the US from coming in, and also prevented safe transportation in and around Jacmel and Grand Goave.

Schools in the USA have all started a month or more ago. The school year was supposed to start in Haiti on September 5th, but the government pushed back the official start of school until early October due to protests regarding ongoing fuel shortages, insecurity, massive inflation and government inaction. Now the gangs have said that they won’t allow school to start until Prime Minister Ariel Henry steps down. We heard similar demands about the former president stepping down that were never met, and protests eventually let up. We hope and pray that those funding protestors run out of money soon so things can stabilize for the people of Haiti. There are still many issues surrounding the control of the country that still need to be resolved.

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Family Preservation, Daycares and the “New Normal”

At the Hands and Feet Project, we focus our efforts on protecting, caring, and serving the vulnerable in Haiti through four projects:

* Preserving Families
* Providing Families
* Experiencing Missions
* Restoring Survivors

You can visit the Hands and Feet Project website to learn more about each of these projects. You can also review the 2021 Impact Report for more impact stats from our different projects.

Preserving Families

The goal of our Preserving Families Project is to keep families together. Among the several projects within our Family Preservation Project is our Little Hands Daycare.  We have talked about this in the past and it is something we are excited about. In 2021 we supported 28 families, 28 children.  That is 28 families where moms, dads, and caregivers can go to work and know that their child is being well taken care of, learning, and having fun as well. It also means they can continue with their jobs and support their family.  Keep the family intact. There is no cost to the family for this service.

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Rochester Visit – Summer 2021

August Activities

It’s been a busy month in Haiti! August brought us a great weekend of celebrating our village values of love, honesty, responsibility and obedience with all of our kids and staff. We taught about the importance of these values, awarded children and staff who exhibit these characteristics.

Jacmel Village Values Performance
Village Values Performance

We also celebrated with dances and singing performed by the kids. The weekend ended with a pizza party Saturday night and a church service on campus on Sunday morning. During this month we also had some fun outings for our kids, unpacked and distributed school supplies & shoes from amazing supporters of Hands and Feet Project (HAFP). We have seen great progress on campus maintenance and improvement projects, too.

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Haiti Update – Summer 2021 Events and Activities

Life in Haiti

Jovenel Moïse, the president of Haiti
Jovenel Moïse, the president of Haiti

Our hearts are broken for Haiti. July has been a tough month with the assassination of the president and the subsequent challenges with the investigation and apprehension of people involved. Changes were in the process of being made, but not finalized, regarding leadership and succession of power. A new leadership team is being formed to help the country move forward and solve the issues of violence that hold many of the Haitian people hostage and make life more difficult. Hands and Feet Project sent out this message about the situation in Haiti recently. If you’d like to receive HAFP messages, you can sign up for their newsletters here. Please join us in praying for peace throughout the country, and a smooth, peaceful transition in leadership. This country needs strong, Godly people in leadership that care about the wellbeing of the Haitian people.

Haiti Flag

We’re thankful that life in Jacmel continues to be calm and peaceful. Our local grocery store has been able to get supplies from Port au Prince on a fairly regular basis despite persistent problems with gangs, armed robbery, roadblocks, kidnappings, carjacking, and protests for various reasons. The local markets have been open for our kids and staff to purchase food and supplies. Schools have been open so that final exams from last school year and placement tests for the upcoming school year can be taken. It’s not long before school starts again in the fall!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Give thanks with a grateful heart

Here we are at Thanksgiving 2020. What a year it’s been for all of us! Covid, travel restrictions, mask requirements, business closings, jobs lost, and election challenges in the United States. Haiti has dealt with huge exchange rate fluctuations followed by substantial price swings for goods and services. Thankfully Covid hasn’t been as big of a factor here in the Caribbean countries. There are many days we’re thankful that we’re in Haiti!

what are you thankful for this year?

In a year of challenges, can you still identify positive things that God has provided for you? A good friend? Extra time with family? Time to clean the house? Extra time to devote to Bible reading and devotions?

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Caribbean Chronicles – Fall 2020 Edition

Fall Update

Randy & Denise anniversary getaway in Haiti
Randy & Denise celebrating their anniversary at their favorite restaurant in Jacmel

September 1st seems like it was so long ago. That’s when we returned to Haiti. It seems like every time we write an update we’re saying the same thing, but it’s so true. The time just flies by as we continue to work towards keeping things running smoothly, but also implementing changes to further improve how we care for the kids. Here’s a not-so-quick overview to get an idea of what activities we and our team have been up to since early September:

Visitors and Team Activities

Serious after-dinner discussion about solar power and batteries
Serious after-dinner discussion about solar power and batteries
  • Coworkers and supporters from the States visited and helped move some programs and projects forward
  • Our team visited, inventoried and evaluated each of our 11 residential houses on our campus and have been working on updates based on those findings
  • Some members of our board of directors visited and completed some projects and implemented some upgrades that were a huge help – we now have 2 more working washers, a basketball net up again, improved network and Wi-Fi, better office computers, another solar light and a working lawnmower!
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Working Remotely and School Plans

We Just Passed the 3 Year Mark!

our flight to Haiti in 2017
2017 Flight to Haiti

It’s August 2020, and do you know what that means? We recently celebrated our 3rd anniversary of moving to Haiti! We moved to Haiti on June 20, 2017. Can you believe we’re almost 2 months into our 4th year already? Wow, it’s amazing to think about how much we’ve learned and grown over these last 3 years! If you think back over the last 3 years of your life, it’s likely you’ve seen some big changes as well. We’re excited about how far we’ve come, and we’re looking forward to making further progress in caring for our Haitian kids and preparing them for the future. Here’s an update on what’s been going on in Haiti as we continue to work remotely and make plans for school.

Coronavirus News

Haiti has been on a downward slope of Coronavirus cases and deaths for several many weeks now, and the government has loosened some restrictions. The airport is open for people to fly into the country. Flights are coming down in price as we make tentative plans for our return. Quarantine and Covid-19 test requirements are still unclear for those traveling into the country, but we’re watching, listening and planning for when we can head back into Haiti. We continue to move forward with updated programs and planning for our kids in Haiti.

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Expanding Transition Training

McDonalds Golden Arches are not common in Haiti

When our own kids were still in our house and as they approached their teen years, our focus was on preparing them for the “outside” world.  Preparing them to be “okay” in any situation as they head out to college and the years beyond. Helping them understand the importance of having a job, and supporting them in their quest to find their first one.  McDonalds? Somewhere in the Mall?  Wegmans? The choices for a part time job seemed many. Helping them “transition” into adulthood and the world outside of our house.  Supporting them in what they felt “called” to do in their work after college.

Never would we have imagined at that time in our lives we would have to think about all of this process with over 70 kids in a country like Haiti! It is so different, but we want the same goal for these kids.  We want them to have hope and desires for their futures just as we experienced with our kids in the USA.

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May Reflections

Haiti and Holidays!

Happy Mother’s Day to all of our caregivers!

Can you believe May is nearly over? Memorial Day is now behind us in America and the unofficial summer season has arrived after a long, cold winter and spring in many places. Florida was not one of those cold places, and, of course, neither was Haiti! In the last month, Haiti has also celebrated Labor / Agriculture Day on May 1, Flag Day on May 18, and Mother’s Day on May 31. It’s been a busy month! We’ve celebrated each Haitian holiday from afar as we’ve been in Florida for several months and are now in upstate New York (the Rochester / Finger Lakes region, not the New York City area!)

Haiti Happenings Update

So what have we been up to this month? We’ve been working like crazy to care for our kids during this coronavirus lockdown while looking ahead to next steps as our kids learn and grow. Our days are often filled with Zoom video calls, and WhatsApp calls and chats – the tools we use to communicate with our Haitian and American coworkers. We’re so thankful for the dedication of our essential staff in Haiti and for all the work they’re doing to keep the campus running smoothly and keeping food and supplies for the kids coming in. We have many changes that we’re working on, and of course it’s a bit more difficult to manage change remotely, but we’re moving forward with everyone’s help. We’re moving kids as they hit the maximum age for our campuses, we’re making campus safety improvements, overseeing repair and maintenance projects, and preparing for more of our kids to head out into the community and beyond.

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