About

Empowering Haitians is:
– The Sudley UMC Haiti Mission
– The Lynnhaven UMC Haiti Mission
– Support (medical and non-medical) for the Haiti Mission
– Project support for the Robert Ford Foundation Haitian Orphanage
 
Empowering Haitians was formed to coordinate the existing mission activities of various churches and organizations. Michael Hertz and MaryLu Hertz, have been leading teams to Cap Haitien as a part of Sudley United Methodist Church (UMC) since 2001. At one point, the teams going to Haiti grew to 30 people. Many of those people did not belong to just one church but attend various Virginia churches or are involved in local non-profit groups (e.g. Sudley UMC, Lynhaven UMC, Park Valley Church, Helping Haitian Angels). It has become very difficult to coordinate the trips of so many people and the projects of three or more groups through Sudley UMC.
Empowering Haitians is an organization that provides the coordination and management of the humanitarian and faith based volunteer trips to Haiti by providing a single point of communication as well as one collection and dispersion point for funds to support the trips and projects.
Since, January 2005, Michael Hertz has also led projects in Grison Garde, a town 15 miles outside Cap Haitien. These projects have included plumbing and sanitation projects at the Robert Ford Orphanage and the construction and improvements to the medical clinic run by Providence UMC’s “The Haiti Mission”.
Since the pandemic and the political unrest in Haiti, we’ve been unable to lead mission trips.  We’ve continued to organize and fund projects twice a year and fund a feeding program throughout the year. Our team on the ground is a non-governmental organization, Foundation Patrick Charles.  Things look different every year, but regardless, we are committed to helping the people of Cap Haitian as best we can.