End of year notes – 2017

2017 in Review

• The feeding program started in 2013 continued by providing over $22,000 worth of beans and rice to the neediest people through 30 neighborhood churches. (That’s about 88,000 meals!)
• Again, we provided 1,200 lbs of beans and 600 lbs of rice to AIDs patients who cannot take their medicine without food.
• Our teams in January and July worked on the construction of two church community buildings. One was completed with a roof and the other, much larger and much higher up the hill was partially completed.  Our US teams work side by side local laborers.  Blocks were hauled up a mountainous hike, along with bags of concrete and rocks.  These church buildings are more than just churches, they are also schools, community centers and often serve as emergency shelters for orphans.
• We organized 10 days of vacation bible school for children from multiple communities of Cap Haitian.
• We provided funds for critical home repairs damaged by hurricane flooding.
• Hosted a Christmas Party for the children in the community where we work.
• We helped our Haitian Leader, Patrick Charles get access to dialysis and medical tests that we hope will enable him to have a kidney transplant. While this may seem routine in the States, the poor of Haiti have little to no access to basic lifesaving medical care.  Many people there suffer and die from curable and preventable diseases.
• Vilouse Charles passed away in February 2017 from Breast Cancer. We are so saddened by her loss.  She was a dear friend and instrumental in our micro lending and sustainable feeding program.

For the future:

The health of Patrick, our leader in Haiti, continues to concern us.  We have laid plans for him to receive a new kidney this month.  Please keep him in your prayers.

We traveled again to Haiti on January 12.  We put a new roof on a church and built stairs up the mountain.  Previously, the path up the hill was mud and rock.  It was very difficult to navigate.  Now the new steps make traversing this well worn path much easier.  This kind of project really lifts up an entire community and we find we have many volunteers from the neighborhood who give of their time to help us build.

As we prepare for 2018, we also recognize that the feeding program may very well end this year from lack of funding.  This is unsettling.  We feel like we’ve done great work feeding the hungry.  But even if this program ends we will continue to do our best to lend a helping hand in other ways to our impoverished brothers and sisters in Haiti.

Our long-term vision remains the same that we may find new ways to encourage economic growth and truly ease the suffering of the poor.

Thank you again.  We are so grateful for your gifts in 2017 and hope that you will continue to consider our mission in Haiti one worth supporting in 2018.