If you’ve ever lived “Up North” you know that March can be a long month. As you long for spring with flowers budding and birds chirping, the days of winter drag on. Occasionally you will enjoy a nice day with the sun shining, but as soon as you put away your snow boots and warm coats, a winter storm comes along with freezing temperatures and a foot of snow to shovel.
This picture can also describe life in Haiti right now. Most days are challenging – like the winter months – as families are longing for peace in their country. Those in the rural areas like Williamson and Luly live with the daily realities of malnutrition, cholera on the rise and economic hardships.
During these difficult times, you continue to be a bright spot in the lives of so many families in Williamson & Luly, Haiti. You are providing education, healthcare, new vocations, water, spiritual encouragement and so much more. Thank you for shining like the sun during these long winter months.
Here’s What’s Happening in Haiti:
EDUCATION: Schools have officially been open since January in areas like Williamson & Luly. Students are learning, growing, and receiving school lunches. We are thankful for the safety in our rural villages that allow children to continue in school. Thank you to our sponsors for giving each month to send a special child to school.
HEALTHCARE: The programs at Sant Sante Espwa continue to provide healthcare to moms and babies, medication and monitoring for blood pressure patients, and wound care for first aid emergencies. We typically purchase medications through Blessings International – an organization that provides reduced-cost medications to non-profits.
With safety concerns surrounding travel to Port-au-Prince, we have been unable to access those medications being shipped into Haiti. Instead we have been purchasing medications locally in rural Haiti. This is quite a bit more expensive, but we are committed to providing these life-saving medications. A special thanks to our monthly donors as part of the Cornerstone Club, for making these programs possible!
VITAMIN PROGRAM: With almost half the population of Haiti currently facing food insecurity, malnutrition is on the rise. One of the ways you are helping to fight malnutrition is by providing vitamins to young children in Williamson & Luly. Vitamins are being delivered through community clinics and our partner-schools, promoting health! Read more at: worldwidevillage.org/vitamin-program.
COMMUNITY ENRICHMENT: The sewing school is running strong and a new session of English classes will be starting in April. These opportunities for learning vocational skills is so important for providing new livelihoods!
HAITI IN THE NEWS: In areas like Port-au-Prince, gangs continue to wreak havoc. Here are a few news headlines from the last month:
- ‘War Scene’: MSF (Doctors without Borders) temporarily shutters hospital in Haiti’s capital.
- Haiti police pursue new suspects in presidential slaying.
- Haiti spinning out of control on every metric from gangs to kidnappings, migration to murder.
- ‘Intolerable risks’: Haiti’s escalating violence, including sexual attacks, shuts hospital.
- Children affected most during Haiti’s most recent cholera outbreak.
- 60 deaths in 8 days in Haiti.
The church in Haiti continues to fast and pray for an answer to these scary realities, yet holding onto hope for the future is difficult. Please pray for the country of Haiti and the people who live with these daily burdens. We know God hears our prayers.