Educators Retreat by the Ocean

We recently hosted a retreat for all of our educators! Our Kindergarten-7th grade teachers joined us on the beach in Jacmel as we debriefed on the recently finished school year and discussed ideas to improve education at CPCS for our 400+ students this coming year.

Jacmel is an artistic, cultural hub of Southeast Haiti with beautiful beaches, great food, and lots of places to hang out together. We LOVED hosting this little 2-day retreat for our education staff, especially because several of them had never been able to visit Jacmel before! We cannot thank these teachers enough for giving so much of themselves for these kids who are going to grow up to love and improve their home communities.

Haiti's Unmatched Beauty

The natural beauty of Haiti is quite unmatched. As so many stories are filling our social media feeds about the impossibly difficult situation Haiti continues to find itself in, we try our best to stop and dwell on the beauty that is present here whenever we can. This doesn't mean that we turn a blind eye away from the difficulties. Rather, it means that we choose to believe that, despite the difficulties, beauty and love will be what change this country for the better.

Taken off of the coast of Jacmel, Haiti, by our friend Louis.

Our 7th grade teachers with some of their students!

Two of our 7th grade teachers with a few of their students last week after class at Cascade Pichon Community School.

Last semester we helped the teachers at Cascade Pichon Community School open the FIRST EVER 7th-grade class in the history of the community. And we’re currently raising money so that next semester we can open classes for these same students as they move on to the 8th grade!

Quincy Foster's trip to Haiti 10 years ago. . .

10 years ago today, Quincy Foster set off on a trip to Haiti with a small group of friends from MidAmerica Nazarene University. She had no idea how her experience in Haiti was going to alter the trajectory of her life. And, of course, she had no idea that the passion ignited within her from this trip would catalyze an entire movement, an entire organization, an entire mission to love the people of Haiti.

We're honored to have Quincy's dad and one of LQVE's (now Love Haiti) founders share his thoughts with us as we look back an entire decade on everything that has transpired.

"It’s been ten years since my daughter first journeyed to Haiti. It changed her: the mountains, the banana groves, the soccer, the sunshine, the people. Eventually, it changed my family and me, for, in the wake of her passing, we were drawn to Haiti as well. We went to honor our girl, our grief, and the Haitians for whom she had so much affection, and yes, it changed us. I suppose it’s impossible to make such a trip and not have one’s perspective affected.

Crazy how one person influences another, isn’t it? How one year bleeds into the other, one life bleeds into the other. How interconnected we all are in time, in life, in love.

I was thinking about all this recently as I read a little about the first astronauts going to the moon in the late 60s. Apparently, they were caught off guard by the new perspective they gained around the idea of interconnection. Imagine being the first humans to turn around and see Earth from space.

David Beaver, co-founder of the Overview Institute, recalls comments from one of the astronauts: “When we originally went to the moon, our total focus was on the moon. We weren’t thinking about looking back at the Earth. But now that we’ve done it, that may well have been the most important reason we went.” They were focused on the moon but came back thinking about Earth.

Going to Haiti has been a little like that for me. Yes, I have gone to remember my kid, to do whatever I can to help this beautiful wreck of a country. But being involved with Haiti also helps me look back, to gain a sense of where I come from, to remember how important it is to honor people within my own circle, to slow down, look people in the eye in the US––beautiful wreck of a country that it is.

Haitians and Americans aren’t that different. We share the same world, water, air, and environment. The only thing we don’t share is the same economic possibilities, which is a travesty because these are our brothers and sisters. If we were on the moon looking back at earth, we would realize how enmeshed we all are, the Global North and Global South, the entire world. We’re deeply interconnected. We ignore this to Haiti’s peril. We ignore this to our peril.

I hope whatever is going on during this important season––a season where we remember the interconnectedness of humanity with both each other and the divine––that you consider getting involved with the “interconnectedness” of what's going on at lovehaiti.org. You might not take a trip like the one Quincy took ten years ago, but you could pray, subscribe, or give. I can tell you from first-hand experience that as you do, you’ll gain a deeper perspective, a new respect for life and love. And in the end, seriously, what else could any of us ask out of this journey we’re on?"

- Dr. Jonathan Foster (author, theologian, pastor, entrepreneur, and father)
 

to see more of Dr. Foster's work, check out jonathanfosteronline.com

Some pictures of Quincy's group trip to Haiti:
 January 2013

Nurse M standing in front of that same clinic, where she has given medical care to thousands of Haitians over the years

Quincy and the MNU group in front of the almost-finished health clinic in Cascade Pichon, January 2013

 

Training session for our micro-finance group in Cascade Pichon under that same ceiling, March 2022

The group helps install the clinic ceiling in Cascade Pichon, January 2013

 

Azemite, now a 6th grade student at our school in Cascade Pichon

Quincy and her friend Azemite, whom she met on her short trip to Haiti ten years ago

Combatting Cholera in Haiti this Giving Tuesday 2022

 

Tomorrow on Giving Tuesday, we

are aiming to raise $8,000 to combat

the growing cholera crisis in Haiti

This money will help us improve

water filtration systems and purchase

medications to treat active cholera cases

in our partner communities 

Every dollar given tomorrow will

be matched - We have set our goal

at $4,000, and once matched

that will bring our total to $8,000

We invite you to partner with us

tomorrow by giving to our 

fundraiser and helping spread the

word so we can help 

Haitians respond to this crisis

 

Phoenix Pickleball Tournament Fundraiser!

Do you love Pickleball, competition, winning prizes, AND supporting 2 incredible causes? Then look no further!

Love Haiti and Pinnacle High School Girls' Soccer Team Booster Club team are hosting a joint-fundraiser to raise money for girls' soccer in both Phoenix and rural Haiti! Come out to the Desert Ridge Marriott on Saturday December 10th for some friendly competition, raffle prizes facilitated by the Booster Club, and to support girl's soccer in Phoenix and Haiti. $100 entry per team saves a spot in the double-elimination doubles tournament (*ticket purchase includes a 1 free parking voucher at the Desert Ridge Marriott).

We’re 26 days away and there are still several spots left in the tournament! Whether you are a seasoned pickleball veteran or have never played before - we would love to see you come out and show your support for girls’ soccer programs around the world. And you can take a shot at the 1st place prize of a $500 Target gift card!

There will be prizes for the teams coming in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, as well as raffle buckets for which we will draw winners by the end of the tournament. Other prizes/raffles include local PHX restaurant gift cards, Haitian art and coffee, new pickleball equipment, and more. Scan the QR code or click the link to sign up!

https://www.eventbrite.com/.../pickleball-fundraiser-w...

(Shoutout to Target for donating the gift card for our 1st place prize!)

Love Haiti receives award from local school district

Last week we felt so blessed and thankful as we were awarded a “Certificate of Honor and Merit” from the local School Superintendent in Belle-Anse for our continued work and partnership with the Cascade Pichon Community School (CPCS).

Our Director of Education, also the Principal at CPCS, was also given an award recognizing his incredible perseverance and the high-quality education he has provided for hundreds of students at this rural community school.

⚽ We're expanding our Soccer program! ⚽

Starting this August 2022, our Soccer program is partnering with 16 elementary schools in the Pichon and Belle-Anse regions of Southeast Haiti.

Our partnership allows these K-6th graders the opportunity to compete against each other on weekends throughout the year, and compete in a tournament at the end of each semester! The School Principals we partner with love the cooperation we've curated between the schools and their respective teams, as these teams have encouraged more students to enroll in school! This helps mutually reinforce our commitments to both education and recreation for our community partners in Southeast Haiti.

(psst! We love this soccer program so much . . . and YOU could help us by sponsoring one of our 10 teams by giving $40 a month! Click here to do just that!)

Training Locals to Identify and Respond to Future Cases of Child Malnutrition

Last week, we began training our “community health agents” in Mabriole as a part of our malnutrition project. These 10 Mabriole locals are learning from Nurse Nathalie and Dr. Bien-Aimé how to identify cases of malnutrition in the future, and at what point children should be referred to a specialist.

This training of community health agents is an integral part of our malnutrition project; focused on sustaining the health of children in Mabriole long after our program has concluded. Because of our staff and our great partnership with Heart to Heart International - Haiti, 15 children have already reached healthy status and have completed their time in this program!

Our New Friend Noè

Last month we met our new friend Noè at a migrant shelter in Acuña, Mexico. Noè is a 25 year-old Haitian who fled Haiti in May of 2021 because of political persecution and moved with his sister to Brazil. Largely due to new anti-immigrant policies of several South American countries, Noè and his sister were soon forced to leave Brazil and decided they would try to make their way to the U.S., where some relatives of theirs are residing. They liquidated and sold everything they owned, hoping that this trip would be worth it for them in the end.

Noè and his group of Haitian migrants kept close together as they traveled through Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico (they also traveled through the “Darien gap,” perhaps the most dangerous jungle on earth connecting Panama and Colombia). One of the groups of Haitians that joined them along the way had sadly lost 8 people on the trek due to starvation and gang violence.

More than 4,000 miles and $8,000 dollars later, Noè and his sister arrived in Del Rio, Texas in late September with around 10,000 other migrants. After a brutally violent show of force from a handful of border patrol agents and dozens of deportation flights organized by the U.S. government, Noè and his sister crossed back over the Del Rio river into Acuña, Mexico for safety. There they have stayed as they await to hear if any foreign country will give them a chance at seeking asylum.

We met Noè in Acuña after all of this happened. We talked with him and he gave us permission to share his story. He and 500 other migrants were, and still are, staying in a makeshift migrant shelter there. There are 500 other stories just like Noè’s. 500 other tragedies and injustices experienced by men, women, and children at this shelter.

We don’t know how to solve macro issues like immigration reform, it’s beyond our scope as an organization. But, we know that we can help in the little places that we can. That’s why we’re going back to this migrant shelter next month; to listen to more stories from the voices of the voiceless, and to help the shelter care for these beautiful, wonderfully made people.

(side note: we absolutely understand the majority of border agents have their hands tied and are expected to enforce the current laws of their country. However, the tactics used in Del Rio by SOME of the border agents in September were reprehensible and illegal in light of international laws).

A Word on the Kidnappings in Haiti

We don’t need to tell you that we hate what is happening in Haiti right now with kidnappings, gang violence, fuel shortages, and immense insecurity. But we don’t really know what else to say, so . . . We hate it. And for the most part, we don’t know what to do about it.

What the gangs are doing in Haiti is unacceptable. And so, we pray for those who have been taken hostage. And we also pray for the kidnappers themselves. Just as these hostages are held captive by their kidnappers, so are these kidnappers held hostage by their own mindsets of violence, desperation, and lack of empathy.

We prayerfully imagine ourselves in solidarity with the millions of innocent Haitians caught in crossfires, both literal and metaphorical. But we also recognize the limitations of “prayerful imagination,” for there’s never been a people group liberated exclusively by prayer. It has always involved localized, embodied, human interaction.

We’re not leaving Haiti. Our work, friends, relationships, and mission are bigger than violence and kidnappings. Love is greater than hate. But, we can’t turn a blind eye to the realities in Haiti either.
So, we are modifying some of what we do so as to give maximum anonymity and safety to our friends, beneficiaries, and staff in Haiti. In the coming months, LQVE Haiti will be very frugal with posting or sharing any names or faces of our friends in Haiti. People who work for or receive care from non-profit organizations are often prime targets for kidnappings, and so we are going to do everything we can to keep our friends safe. We are also in the process of helping those connected with us to get out of Port au Prince and move to safety in the countryside. The overwhelming majority of the violence and insecurity is in Haitian cities right now, mainly Port au Prince. We hope our friends will be able to return to their homes someday soon in Port au Prince, but as of right now we know we cannot ask them to stay there.

We pray for the safe release of kidnapped foreigners and Haitians alike. We hold onto hope that love and peace will win in the end. We pray for God’s kingdom to come in Haiti (and the U.S). as it is is in heaven.

Amen.

An Update on the Insecurity in Haiti

As you have likely seen in the news, the insecurity situation in Haiti, specifically in Port au Prince, has been getting worse. A terribly bold new threshold was even crossed over the weekend when one of the major gangs in Port au Prince kidnapped a bus full of missionaries from the U.S., Canada, and Haiti.

We are currently in the process of trying to help our friends and partners get out of Port au Prince and move to either the countryside or another Haitian city. We are also doing our best to limit any personal information about our partners and beneficiaries online in an effort to keep them safe from kidnappers (we have even redacted information about our Haitian staff on our website for the time being).

We hope and pray that this terrible situation in Port au Prince ends soon. But until we are sure things are getting better, we want to make sure all of our friends in Haiti remain safe. While we don't work in the capital, the security situation of Port au Prince in some ways effects even our most rural partners in the Southeast. We encourage our supporters to pray with us and to look out for ways in the future to help us with moving our friends to safety.

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