Are you wondering what these houses are that Servants for Haiti is now funding and helping to construct?  Here are the details.

SFH is working with ASAM Ministries to build “temporary” homes for homeless Haitian families.  Unfortunately, temporary may become permanent unless economic conditions in Haiti improve drastically.  (SFH is working to make that happen, too.)  Fortunately, these homes will serve a critical function as they are.

Here are some of the features of the homes we are building:

1. They have locks. As mundane as that may seem, it’s the difference between safety and vulnerability to Haitian families.  The tent cities, which is where most of the families will move from to occupy these houses, are under the constant threat of violence from local criminals.  The incidence of rape and assault, as well as non-violent crimes such as theft, are out of control in the anarchic tent villages.  A lock is just enough protection to protect most families.
2. They are strong. Unlike a makeshift tent, these structures are built to withstand the rain and high winds that are common to the island nation.
   

   Rain collection system is a lifesaver.

3. The have cement floors. In the tents, families were forced to sleep in mud during and after rainstorms.  Plus, the water that came streaming through those tents is often contaminated with waste materials.
4. A rainwater collection system is built into the roof. In a nation where potable water is not available to most families, clean drinking water can save a child or an entire family from waterborne diseases such as cholera.  As of this writing, Haiti is experiencing the worst cholera epidemic in modern history.  Even before the epidemic, water-borne diseases accounted for more than half the deaths in Haiti.
5. These homes belong to the families. Home ownership is a dream for most Haitians.  Thus, providing a home, albeit temporary, is a major boost to a family’s sense of well-being and security.
6. Construction employs Haitian workers. Except for the tiny percentage of Americans who travel to assist in the building effort (including those who travel under the auspices of SFH), labor is provided by local workers.  Everyone wins.

If you want to watch a home being built, visit this page for a short video.

Hand in Hand with Haiti

Haiti has been called a republic of NGO’s.  An NGO is a Non-Governmental Organization, such as Servants for Haiti.  There are more than 10,000 such organizations dedicated to helping Haiti pull itself out of the mess it has been in for as long as anyone can remember.  How is it that 10,000 groups, some very well-funded, have not made a significant dent in Haiti’s problems in all these years?  There are a variety of reasons.

First, many are just bailing water from the ship, simply trying to keep Haiti afloat.  Those are relief organizations, feeding and educating children, sending short term medical teams, and running other reactive programs.   That was SFH until recently.  All our efforts were essentially life-support.

Let’s be clear. There is nothing wrong with that approach, as far as it goes.  Many people who might have otherwise lost their lives or families that could have been destroyed were saved because of the efforts of such groups.  SFH continues to do relief work by building homes for people living without any shelter.

The problem is that this approach treats symptoms, not the disease.  And as long as we only treat symptoms and never go for a cure, we will always be busy doing so, bailing a sinking ship.  That is the rationale for our change of direction toward creating more economic opportunities for Haitians to help themselves and each other.

A second problem: Sadly, there are some very questionable groups out there.  Well-meaning donors must be on their guards when they support any group working in Haiti.  Do you have personal knowledge of the organization?  Are they forthcoming about their work?  Do they keep overhead costs low?  (SFH spends no more than 10% of our income on administrative costs.)  Checking out a group is good stewardship of your money and serves Haiti better.  Whether the cause is inefficiency, incompetency, or immorality, if a group is ineffective, it does not deserve our support.

Another reason that the republic of NGO’s has been largely ineffective in bringing about change – and the reason for this article – is that they tend to work in isolation from one another and from local people.  That is definitely not the way of Servants for Haiti.  We have been establishing partnerships with other non-profits with philosophies and goals in alignment with ours.

One such alliance is with ASAM Ministries, led by Andre and Sylvie Drisdelle.  Rather than try to learn the ins and outs of supplying housing for the people of Haiti, we have come alongside this group that is already providing housing.  Keep coming back to our site to learn more about ASAM and other groups we will be working with.  (You can visit ASAM’s blog here.  Note that most of it is in French, however.)  If you travel with us on one of our work teams, you can see and participate in this partnership first hand.

Finally, some organizations try to do things  “the American way”.  In other words, they feel they know how to help Haiti better than Haitians do.  That has never been the way SFH has operated and it never will.  In our previous work, we partnered with Haitian pastor Rigaud Antoine, who runs the school and orphanage we supported.  Looking ahead, our micro-loan program is being managed by a Haitian businesswoman.  We will be featuring a profile of her in a future post.

With your support, the blessing of God, and continued partnerships, this man will have that much more to be proud of.

Servants for Haiti recently issued the following letter to its supporters:

Most of you have received information about the upcoming change in the focus of Servants for Haiti. I am writing to update you on where things stand.

As of July 1, 2011, Servants for Haiti will no longer manage the sponsorship programs for Kingdom Kids Orphanage or College Jean Rigaud Antoine (CJRA). The new organization that will take care of those sponsorships is Haiti International Alliance (HIA), founded by Pastor Rigaud Antoine, who also founded and manages the school and orphanage. Two former board members of SFH serve on the board of HIA. We have been cooperating to make sure that this transition goes smoothly and that care for the children will continue uninterrupted. The children of Haiti are the key to Haiti’s future and remain dear to our hearts. Their continued sponsorship is important to their success.

If you currently sponsor a child in one of the programs being transferred to HIA, we encourage you to continue to do so. After July 1, 2011, please send your sponsorship check to:

Haiti International Alliance

22 Goonan Road

Hooksett, NH 03106

If you are ahead in your sponsorship donations, those contributions will be sent to HIA on or about July 1, 2011.

SFH will retain our continuing education program. We are in the process of selecting a graduating student from CJRA to receive a scholarship to attend university in Haiti. We already sponsor a medical student, currently doing very well in his fifth year. We are also sponsoring a young man attending trade school in hopes of becoming a mechanic .

In addition, we are excited to announce two new programs. First, SFH is starting a program that will train people how to begin and run a small business. After training, each student will have an opportunity to receive a micro-loan to start a new business.

Second, we will focus on providing shelter. Although it has been almost a year and a half since the earthquake, hundreds of thousands of people still live in tents. Again, we plan to partner with other organizations already working in Haiti. We are looking into both temporary and permanent shelter solutions. The crime in the tent cities is staggering. SFH wants to help keep families safe by simply allowing them to lock their doors.

If you are interested in hearing more about our new programs and discovering ways that you can help, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Thank you for your continued support for the people of Haiti.

This is an exciting time for all of us at both organizations.  HIA will make sure there is no lapse in the care for the kids at Kingdom Kids orphanage and SFH can move forward with its new calling.  To learn more about HIA or to contact them, visit their web site here.

If you have any questions about this transition, please  don’t hesitate to contact either team.  Now and in the future, both organizations share a single goal: The long term physical, spiritual, and emotional health of the Haitian people.

These Frequently Asked Questions are regarding the new direction that SFH is taking in 2011.  The changes were introduced in a letter from SFH president Laurae Richards dated 12/26/2010.

Q. How was the decision arrived at to change the direction of SFH?
A. Individual board members had been sensing for some time a need to change how SFH serves the people of Haiti. Through further prayer and discussion, the board agreed unanimously that our methods had to change. Part of the motivation was the earthquake, but it’s likely we would have made these changes eventually anyway.

Q. When are these changes taking place?
A. We have already begun implementing a few of the new initiatives. As far as the old programs are concerned, as of 7/1/2011, they are officially managed  by a new organization, Haiti International Alliance (HIA).

Q. Does HIA have a web site that I can check out?
A. The HIA web site is currently under construction.  When it is up and running, we will post a link to it.

Q. What happens to all the children who are now being sponsored through Servants for Haiti today?
A. Every child at both Kingdom Kids Orphanage (KKO) and College Jean Rigaud Antoine (CJRA) will be sponsored through HIA, which was recently created by Rigaud Antoine.  The one message we want to make sure everyone understands is this: No Haitian children or adults will suffer or lose out in any way as a result of these changes. In fact, we believe our new efforts are the best way to help all Haitians in the long term.  SFH remains committed to the people of Haiti.

Q. I currently sponsor a child through SFH.  How will these changes affect my sponsorship?
A. Please read this letter to get complete details about the transition and your responsibility.

Q. How will you be addressing the massive homelessness problem in Haiti?
A. We have no illusions about making a big dent in the problem. We plan to address homelessness the same way we have addressed issues in the past, one step at a time. We can’t help everyone, but we can make a difference for one family, then another, then another, … We depend on your help in the future as we have in the past.

Q. I’d like more details on the new efforts you are beginning.
A. The new programs are now listed under the “Programs” tab above.  As soon as we have more specifics, those pages will be updated.

We have tried to anticipate questions our supporters, new and old, might be asking.  If you have further questions, please contact us at  info@servantsforhaiti.org.  We will try to answer them directly and add them here.

There can be no doubt in anyone’s mind that the horrific events of January 12, 2010 have brought about substantial changes in the physical, spiritual, political, and economic landscape of Haiti. Those changes will affect the conditions in Haiti for the foreseeable future.

While we have continued our support and relief efforts, the board members of Servants for Haiti have also been busily thinking and praying about whether and how our activities should be affected by the new context there. Is what we have been doing for the past five years the best way we can address the long term after-effects of the earthquake? Are the assumptions under which SFH was founded in 2005 still valid in a post-earthquake Haiti?

In our discussions and deliberations, we have become convinced that we need to alter our current methods. We are very pleased with the effectiveness of those methods in the past. Supporting the Kingdom Kids Orphanage and CJRA school has given us – and you, our supporters – a chance to improve the conditions and lives of many children. In some cases, lives have been literally saved. We are gratified to know that we have fully lived up to our slogan, “Serving Haiti, one child at a time”.

Today, SFH is making plans for a new direction for the future, involving dramatic changes that can be best characterized as proactive. Our desire is to move from a support model to one of economic empowerment. Until there is a healthy economic base, Haiti will remain reliant on foreign support funds. Our long range desire is to make the need for organizations like ours obsolete.

As part of this change of focus, we are in the beginning stages of moving away from our work at the CJRA school and Kingdom Kids Orphanage. We are no longer accepting new sponsorships for children in either KKO or CJRA. Pastor Rigaud Antoine, the founder and director of those institutions, is establishing his own non-profit organization to continue the work SFH began at its inception in 2005. The children of Haiti remain dear to our hearts and key to the future of the country. Over the next several months we will be shifting responsibility for all sponsorship programs to the new organization, working closely with them to ensure that the transition is smooth and has absolutely no negative impact on any of the children or employees involved.

Even as we have considered this change of direction, such opportunities have already begun presenting themselves. At least three proposals for new businesses in Haiti have been brought to us in recent weeks. We find this an exciting development, in keeping with our belief that God is directing the steps of SFH.

As an example of the kind of work we plan to do, we are currently assisting Haitian nationals in the creation of a class to teach people how to operate their own businesses. On successful completion of the class, its participants will be eligible for micro-loans to get them started. With follow-up and support, we expect these people will not only be able to provide for themselves and their families, they may also offer employment to many others so they can do the same.

As needed, SFH will still perform short term relief, especially in the form of providing housing for the homeless. Such needs will exist for some time yet and cannot be ignored, but our primary focus will be on creating economic opportunities anywhere we see potential. Our many years of working in Haiti have given us contacts that make this vision viable. The plan is to use Haitian nationals whenever possible, acting as advisers and suppliers of seed money.

The board of SFH believes that these changes will move us in a direction in keeping with God’s vision for our organization. No doubt, however, they will raise questions and concerns from our support base.  Please watch our web site for further information and developments or feel free to contact us at info@servantsforhaiti.org.

Laurae Richards

President, Servants for Haiti