How Can We Help More?
Micro-Finance
Since we began going to Haiti, one of Shantia’s dreams has
been to establish a program of small loans to start businesses—something that
has worked well in other under-developed countries. We were excited to discover that Alex, one of
our young adult team members this year, is studying this very thing in grad
school, and his professor has secured grant funds for such a project! Shantia
set up a meeting with Pastor Ronel and Jutte (yoota), a short term missionary
from Europe working with the Haitian Baptists
as we are, and Alex so we could learn what Pastor Ronel and she have already begun in
this area. A group of women are making
and selling jewelry to raise funds for a chicken farm, and might be an ideal
group to receive a modest loan. This
could be the beginning of something very exciting!
Assistant for an Overworked Leader
Pastor Ronel Mesidor has degrees in both law and theology,
pastors his own church, works for the Haitian Baptist Convention, and oversees
the convention’s programs in Port-au-Prince,
including a day school, orphanage and nursing school. He is the key person forour work in Haiti, and he needs help!
Now that the chicken farm we built in January is up and
running, he estimates that another 80 chickens might provide the income needed
to hire a part time assistant—something that would strengthen this work
greatly. We’d like to help raise the
$1,000 or so needed to make this happen.
University Scholarships
Haiti’s
bright young adults need a future. Some
that we have come to know have done their part to prepare themselves but have
reached a seeming dead end. In the past,
we have seen the benefits of scholarship programs in the Dominican Republic. Could we help to make that happen here?
Transitional Housing for Older Orphans
As we have gotten to know—and fallen in love with—the
children at the Source de Lumiere Orphanage, one of our team members has been
holding a concern and forming a dream.
What will happen to these children as they grow up? What would it take to provide support for
them, and set up transitional housing as they move out of the orphanage in their
high school years? Pastor Ronel is very
excited about this possibility.
This is a longer term
vision, but potentially a big and important one that David will take back to
his church which is looking for a major mission project and even may be willing
to commit to support a missionary for a year to establish this dream.
Discernment for 2014
Each year we give thanks for what we have been privileged to
be part of in Haiti. Each year, we look ahead, think, talk and
pray about what might come next, trusting that the right projects will emerge,
and the right people will respond to the invitation. Twice this year, it seemed that we had just
the people we needed to accomplish the work we had to do. As Pastor Gary, our partner in New Orleans used to say,
“God is good, all the time!”
Our current plan is to offer two back to back weeks in Haiti
next year. March 22-29 will tentatively
be a construction week of some kind, March 29-April 5 would be a week of
medical clinics. As always we would
welcome folks to join us either week to conduct workshops with local people –
educators, nurses, pediatric OT’s or PT’s, Child Life Specialists. And general volunteers are very much needed
too.
People may sign up for either week, or plan to stay for both
weeks. If you would like to be on our
email list for news of upcoming trips, please let us know by writing to: jonathanwg@gmail.com
