“Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.”
— Psalm 33:18-19
Bobby and I have lived here in Haiti for 27 years now. We have seen Haiti reach a crisis state many times. Whether it be natural disasters, food scarcity or political upheaval, Haiti is a complicated country, and it has come to these crossroads many times.
Haiti is always recovering from the latest natural disaster, including the earthquake in 2010 and several hurricanes in the last couple of years. The people are struggling every day, just trying to feed their families. It doesn’t take much these days for the poor people of Haiti to be pushed to the breaking point. Recently, things came to a head when the government decided to no longer subsidize fuel costs. It was the government’s increase on fuel prices; gas went up by 38 percent, diesel by 47 percent and kerosene by 51 percent, which caused the outrage. These fuel increases sent people rioting into the streets, burning buildings and gas stations, and putting up fiery roadblocks making travel impossible.
The prime minister of Haiti resigned without the government having to vote him out during the crisis. He was the one who raised the fuel prices and caused all this trouble of rioting, burning tires across the road, looting and burning down buildings. I pray that Haiti can go forward now. Haiti lives day by day.
An Update from Haiti:
Life here in Haiti is getting back to “normal.” For now, it is quiet, but we have poor children and several villages in the mountains that are desperate for food and water.
After the rioting, the “poorest of the poor” struggle even more, and now there is a severe food shortage that has been intensified by a record drought. No crops have survived for harvest. The drought is increasing the starvation rate here as well. With little food finding its way to markets these days, most people can’t afford even the basics of rice, beans, or oil.
Some of our Haitian workers found these little children in the mountains of Mon Deral. The child with no shirt was trying to cook food for the two younger children, in a chodyé (pot), set in a deep hole. The children were dirty because of the drought, and they had very little water for anything. They had skin issues, and they were hungry. These conditions are growing worse every day, and looking into the eyes of these hungry children is more than we can stand. This human condition is what “hurts the heart of God.”
The Food Crisis
The food crisis here in Haiti is attributed to the drought that has been plaguing this country since 2014, and it has steadily gotten worse. Agriculture production has been dramatically affected with many lost crops, as there is no water. Even the little family vegetable plots dried up months ago. Many Haitians, young and old are starving.
Even though we are in a gas crisis too, food still has to get to the children in Haiti who need it the most. These are the children in the mountains, in schools, in garbage dumps, and in poor villages. They are the ones who suffer the most. We pray that we will get through this crisis somehow because hungry children are waiting for their food.
Each month we give them food, and most of this food comes from Feed My Starving Children (FMSC). This food is donated to us, but it costs us $10,000 to transport each container (272,000 meals) to Haiti. This food is such a blessing! These hungry children in Fond Cheval are all getting a hot, nutritious bowl of food.
We also share this food with families in the garbage dumps, prisons, mountain villages, orphanages, the elderly, and many more groups. We are so thankful for partners like Joyce Meyer Ministries – Hand of Hope, Pastor Jentezen Franklin and his Kingdom Connection Partners, and the many others who help sponsor an entire container of food each month. “Love Is Something You Do.”
We have also been bringing emergency food supplies to the villages of Peyi Pouri, Savaan Pit, and Old Letant, as the people have nothing to eat, and their children are going for days without food. Because of the urgent need to reach out to more villages that are suffering, we are also working with Children’s Care Outreach, who receives food from Feeding Children Everywhere and then sends it to us, along with the donation of macaroni, which came in a huge container, so we packed portions of macaroni into Ziploc bags.
When we hear and see the cry of the poor, we cannot put off helping them. That neighbor of yours might be dead before you decide to help him. “Now” is the time to help the poor and obey the voice of the Lord.
The Water Crisis
Haiti has been in a drought for several years, with only occasional relief from seasonal rains that dropped too little water to keep the crops from failing, and everyone’s animals are dying. They are having to travel farther to find enough water to fill a five-gallon bucket.
The drought has not only caused the crops to wither and die, but now many of the remote areas are in desperate need of drinking water. We have started delivering water in our water truck to several villages. All the children are following the water truck and hope to fill up all their water containers to carry back home.
We brought a full water truck to a village that we heard was desperate for water. The water truck could not make it down the extremely bad road to the village, so we had to park about a mile away from the village. They then asked us if we could send more water. The next truckload, our Haitian son Georges took out there, and the whole village came for water! They really couldn’t believe we loved them enough to bring them clean water!
We wish to thank David and Angie George and their partners for the wonderful donation of this water truck! It has been used in so many ways, and now during our drought here in Haiti, it is being used in a greater way. As we look around to so many of the villages we visit, the land is white, dry and parched. It is so sad…
No rainfall means no crops… or food. It means that animals and gardens are dying. What would you do if you were a parent of these children and lived in the mountains of Haiti? What would you do if you saw that your only small garden had died? What would you do if your only goat died, or your only cow? How would you feed your family? This severe drought is what is happening now in Haiti—no rain means no food. We have been sending emergency food to the poorest areas and taking water in our water truck, but “we need rain!” We ask everyone to pray for rain for Haiti! It is a crisis!
We are so grateful that so many of you have the love and compassion to help us bring not only food and water to the poorest of the poor, but also some hope and dignity to these precious people in Haiti. Please consider making a donation that could make a difference in the lives of poor Haitians. You can email us any questions at info@lachaiti.org. You may also give securely online, or call our office at 239-210-6107 and let a staff member know you want to help. Whatever small thing you do unto the poor today, you do it unto Jesus!
Let your heart be touched with the “cry of the poor.” Please consider donating any amount you can to help save thousands of children this year.
God bless you,
Sherry