Published Thu, Nov 04, 21.
Written by Rebecca Honorat.
Our Program Administrators, Garry (far right in orange) and Luckner (second from right in blue plaid) have been meeting with groups of parents over the past few weeks.
It has been difficult to arrange meeting times due to the unrest in Haiti. The parents who live near our home base in Grande Goave were able to meet in person and the ones who live farther away were contacted by phone. These parent meetings are important to us. Our vision is to strengthen and empower families and that can only happen if the parents are part of the process.
Garry & Luckner facilitated most of the agenda but Renel & Rebecca were also able to connect by video. They were able to discuss our expectation of their involvement and reinforce our commitment to walk alongside them.
They took time in each meeting to discuss the current unrest and heard how it was affecting their families - the impact is immense.
Some of our parents haven't been able to work for weeks, some had merchandise stolen from their stores, and some know people that have been kidnapped. All of the families are feeling stressed. They are scared to leave their community and they are worried about being able to provide for their children in the coming months.
The international news is talking about the 17 foreigners who were kidnapped on October 16th (and still haven't been released) but what is seldom talked about is the sharp increase in the number Haitians who have been kidnapped. There have been nearly 800 kidnappings reported so far this year in Haiti, and many more that are not reported. What is also not being discussed internationally is who is responsible for financing these gangs. It's a complicated problem.
Even though we knew we couldn't offer any resolution, it was important for us to listen to their stories, be empathetic to their struggle, and pray for them. They requested prayer for strength to endure and courage to make tough decisions. Please join us in praying for our families this week.
We are making plans to provide each of our families with a substantial food hamper this holiday. It will contain food essentials, hygiene items, and some special local produce that will help them celebrate their most cherished holiday of the year - New Years Day. We hope this hamper will help ease their worry about providing for their families and let them know that we are celebrating alongside them. We'll let you know soon how you can help make this happen.
Board of Directors Alongside Families in Haiti Society
Have you been thinking about sponsoring a student but don't want to take on an entire sponsorship?
"Men anpil chaj pa lou" ~ "Many hands makes a load lighter"
This Haitian proverb inspired us to divide our sponsorships into $10/month shares so that many hands can join together. We currently have four students who are partially sponsored. Would you like to join a team?
