This weekend we had the opportunity to celebrate the first high school graduation from one of our kids within the Hands and Feet Project (HAFP) organization! Congratulations to Marvensky for making it through 13th grade (Filo) and we pray that he will continue with his educational success and fulfill his dream of becoming a doctor! He is currently looking at universities in Port au Prince where he can continue his education.
Category: General
Open House & Fundraiser at Panera in Penfield
As we mentioned in a previous post, we’re having another open house at Panera in Penfield. These events have been highlights of our visits to Rochester because so many people stop by that we wouldn’t get to see otherwise. The next one will be on Friday, May 17th from 4-8pm. This event will be an official fundraiser. For those who present our fundraiser flyer to the cashier, Panera will donate 20% of your purchase price towards our support!
Continue reading “Open House & Fundraiser at Panera in Penfield”May in Rochester
What are your plans for May? Here are some of ours:
- Lilac Festival at Highland Park
- Rochester Public Market
- Rochester Twilight Criterium bike race
- Animal Adventure Park visit (think giraffes!)
- Dunkin’ Donuts latte
- Coldstone Creamery ice cream
- Wegmans Food Market grocery store
- Panera Bread Company Open House
- Church and small group conversations
- Time with family, friends and our awesome supporters
15 Year Anniversary
Happy New Year everyone! 
It was over 1.5 years ago that we moved to Haiti to serve with The Hands and Feet Project (HAFP). This year, HAFP is celebrating 15 years of serving in Haiti! In the short time we’ve been there, we’ve seen positive change and so much potential. We can’t even imagine what those who have been part of the organization for 15 years have seen! Here’s a video Continue reading “15 Year Anniversary”
Merry Christmas from the McGarveys
Our Christmas this year is quite a bit different than last year. After hosting an amazing Christmas team at our Hands and Feet Project campus in Haiti, we headed to the states with the team. We are in upstate New York; the sun is no where to be found and it is seriously cold to us.
Our Christmas team in Haiti helped decorate our kid’s ten houses with Continue reading “Merry Christmas from the McGarveys”
We Are Thankful
As we write this we can almost guarantee that anyone reading it has a full belly. We have seen posts on Facebook all day of all the turkey, stuffing, 
cranberry sauce, pies, and even pizza that has been prepared and consumed. So now you have someone napping, watching football, doing dishes or maybe even out starting the Christmas shopping!
Village Values Weekend
What are Village Values?
Love, Obedience, Honesty and Responsibility. These are the values we strive for here at The Hands and Feet Project. Our Village Values. We talk about them, teach them, strive for the best of them in everything we do. From our littlest of kids to the caregivers, wash ladies, cooks, maintenance and our office staff.
Transition Time
Moving Off Campus
Some exciting news is that some of our kids young adults have moved! Social Services in Haiti has a policy that kids can only stay within an orphan care facility until the age of 18. Considering the challenges that kids face here in Haiti, on top of the effects of trauma from abandonment or possible abuse that kids in our care may have dealt with, the age of 18 comes too quickly. 
Therefore, Hands and Feet Project has transition housing outside of our facility where our kids can live for a few years to help them transition into living in the community. They have a resident assistant to help them navigate living independently without all the benefits of those living on our campus.
Summer Sizzles and School Starts
Every time we write a new post, it seems like we talk about how fast the time goes by. This is no exception. Summer is sizzling away here with temperatures at least in the 90s every day and the heat index into triple digits. We visited our old hometown of Rochester, New York in the last part of June and into July. Soon after our return to Haiti, there was a period of unrest and some rioting over a proposed significant increase in fuel prices. You can read more about this and the impact on the Hands and Feet Project in a post from Mark Stuart by clicking here.
The period of unrest resulted in an increase in the travel advisory level from the US embassy / state department that caused us to cancel 2 teams that were supposed to visit us this summer. Continue reading “Summer Sizzles and School Starts”
Church Family
We would not be here in Haiti if it wasn’t for God, our friends, family, and our church family at LifeTree Fellowship in Rochester.
We quickly realized how much our church family meant to us as we started to miss them almost right away. We, fortunately were able to watch the weekly church service online and that helped. We also went to a few of the churches here in Haiti that our children and caregivers go to. While we are getting better in the language, we are far from understanding all that is said in a Haitian church. Our home church culture is quite different from here as well. We were missing the community that comes from a church family. Continue reading “Church Family”