Category Archives: Haiti

HAITI UPDATE — by Jeanette Felix and Sharon Cushing

2022 was an unsettling year for the world, and Haiti was no exception. The country continues to be mired in political and economic turmoil with lawlessness prevailing in the streets of her cities. Life for those living there has been completely upended. Emboldened by the assassination of Haiti’s president in 2021, violent gangs seized control of much of the country. Last fall, they shut down the major fuel terminal for approximately two months, blocking fuel distribution to the country. Many businesses, banks, schools, and hospitals were forced to close and public transportation was unavailable. In mid-November, the fuel terminal was released, and schools and some businesses began to reopen. Still, ongoing insecurity, inflation, and a new cholera outbreak are exacerbating an already faltering economy and disrupting day-to-day life.

Along with the national crisis, CINHP also experienced a catastrophic internal upheaval. After years of being uninvolved in the school, CINHP’s president unexpectedly took exclusive control of it, unilaterally reversing policies and undoing years of progress. Exhibiting erratic behavior, he threatened to fire the directors and staff and began spreading disinformation about us to the Lespinasse community. Months of negotiation with him failed to produce an acceptable outcome, and over our protests, he decided to close the school.

You may wonder how this could legally happen. In the United States, it probably couldn’t. However, this is Haiti and different standards apply. Knowing we could spend thousands of dollars in legal fees and still not reach a desired outcome eventually compelled us (Sharon and Jeanette) to resign from the organization, leaving the president as the sole manager of Children In Need Haitian Project. Sorrowfully, we informed the staff of the situation letting them know their options were to continue and work for the president, or seek other means of support for themselves and their families. They unanimously chose the latter.  At that time, the school had more than 200 students grades K – 7th.

At the close of the school year, before our official resignation, we were delighted to give generous appreciation bonuses to all of our departing staff. In addition, we gave partial scholarships to our older students to give them the chance to attend another school. The little ones, however, were without options. The preschool director, Mme. Julia, heartbroken for the children said, “I cannot just let this happen!” Despite having no assurance of ongoing support, she took a bold step of faith and re-opened the preschool for the 2022/2023 school year.

NOT AN END… BUT A NEW BEGINNING!

God has an amazing way of redeeming broken pieces to form something new from devastation. Isaiah 43:19 has become our new favorite verse:  See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert.”  What initially looked hopeless to us is being remade into something even more beautiful.

After much prayer and counsel, we (Sharon and Jeanette) formed a new organization, which, in its infancy, has already helped even more children go to school. God is clearly at work bringing to fruition the plans He began in Lespinasse and expanding our reach to other areas of Haiti and beyond. We are so excited to be a conduit through which He can work and we are looking forward to see all He will do as we enter this journey of faith.

INTRODUCING: NEXUS FOR GOOD – Connecting Generosity to Need.

Nexus for Good links with other grassroots missions that work in communities, like Lespinasse, where children are deprived of education for various reasons. Through Nexus we connect compassionate donors with ministries that promote Christian education as a means of disrupting the cycle of poverty. By partnering, rather than doing it all ourselves, we expand our reach to more children in more areas of the world. We have chosen and begun to extend financial assistance and consultation to several partner missions:

LESPINASSE, HAITI—After years of investing in leadership training for our teaching staff, the preschool director, Mme. Julia, (with the support of her husband, former school director, Jean Simon) took advantage of that training and opened a preschool in Lespinasse under her own banner and direction. One hundred students, preschool through 2nd grade currently attend, and they are growing. Nexus for Good is walking alongside them with financial support, counsel, encouragement, and prayer. As we release our previous hands-on approach, we feel a little like concerned parents praying for the success of maturing children as they take their next steps of independence.

PLATEAU-ANSE-ROUGE—Lemuel Ministries is a Haitian-founded organization working in an arid, desolate area of Northwest Haiti. Lemuel’s philosophy, school history, and community development vision uniquely parallel our Lespinasse program. We are proud to walk with them and to have funded the remainder of their class sponsorships for 2022/23. In a recent meeting, one of their directors told us, “This is the first year we have ever been fully funded!”

INDIA—Friends ministering in a Leper colony in Northern India told us recently that there is no school for the children living there. Although they do not have leprosy themselves, they are rejected and not allowed in schools. Ridiculed and deemed unworthy of an education they become beggars and scavengers who are often molested and prostituted. A few are receiving a modest education thanks to one lone Christian teacher who, through great personal sacrifice, has chosen to enter the colony to teach them. We are teaming up with them to create a safe space for these children to learn. A rent-free building, badly in need of reconstruction, has been secured for this and plans to renovate it are being developed. Initial funding has already been sent to start the construction project.

CURRENT UPDATE ON LESPINASSE, HAITI

Haiti has been under relentless attack from multiple lawless gangs for more than a year. The violence eventually reached Lespinasse, where our school is located. A couple of weeks ago, police along with several men in the community confronted some gang members. Several people were shot and killed, including Rene, the elderly husband of our former school cook, Lolo. Several days after the first attack, gang members returned, captured and beat a local Pastor, killed others, and burned homes. In fear, people abandoned everything they had to go into hiding. These gangs spread terror through violence, arson, and theft. Homes and gardens are ravaged, or burned, and animals stolen for food or to be sold. These gardens, goats, pigs, and cows are the only livelihood that many in this area have to survive.  As you can well imagine, lives were completely disrupted. Schools closed, and families fled to neighboring areas or went into hiding, even sleeping in the underbrush. Supply routes to and from Lespinasse were blocked by thugs causing shortages of basic necessities and making it impossible for people to work.

Our school directors, amid these dangerous conditions, stepped out in faith and courage to keep the school open and running. During the worst of the violence, they closed for two weeks as the students had left the area.  Last week when the majority of the danger had subsided the school reopened. We are extremely proud of Mme. Julia and Jean Simon, who through great personal sacrifice and in obedience to what God has called them to do continue to invest in the lives of the 100 students we now serve.

These events weigh heavily on our hearts as we consider what is happening to many we know in this community. We are angry and feel helpless to defend our students and their families from this evil. Yet, we are not powerless! We pray with confidence because we have a God who hears, who cares, who is all powerful, and who intervenes for his children. No matter how discouraging and upsetting things appear, we know that God is working for good and that justice will prevail!  Please consider supporting this worthwhile work financially and take some time to pray with us for Haiti as you read this update and :

Please pray for our students, their families, our school directors and staff; for unity and courage as Christian churches reach out to defend, comfort, and help their neighbors, Thank God that He protected the church building.

FROM R.K.’S CORNER

Last time published a Bridge Report on Haiti was in the wake of the August 2021 earthquake, focusing on our partners’ disaster relief and restoration.

This month, our report comes from the midst of another disaster in Haiti—the turmoil of violence and lawlessness in the country which is breaking down every level of society.  The headquarters of many humanitarian and Christian organizations have been destroyed by gangs and have had to pack up and leave.  Children In Need Haitian Project’s school community in Lespinasse was attacked by gangs, but is still operating.

 In 2023, Jeanette and Sharon restructured CINHP.  They continue working in Lespinasse, but  also expanded to include forgotten children in a new area of Haiti and added a new project in India focusing on children living in a leper colony.  The new organization has been renamed NEXUS FOR GOOD. You will find their background history on the link:

https://www.bridgeinternational.org/category/carribean/haiti

Haiti — Earthquake and Disaster Relief by Our Partners

On  August 14, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake rocked Haiti’s southern peninsula, releasing almost twice as much energy as the 7.0 magnitude quake in 2010.

The quake struck 78 miles west of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, and affected two cities, Les Cayes and Jeremie, resulting in major devastation with people caught under rubble and collapsed buildings.  Phone lines were down near the epicenter of the quake. It took some time for the news to emerge from those cities. The only road linking Port-au-Prince to the affected area is dangerous and at times impassable due to gang violence, so the transport of relief aid is slow and laborsome.

This same region was battered by Hurricane Matthew in 2016, which killed nearly 900 people and reportedly destroyed 90% of some areas, including the main road connecting the peninsula to the capital. The region was still recovering from that disaster when the quake happened.  It also coincided with immense national political turmoil following the July 7 assassination of its leader, President Jovenel Moïse.

Haiti remains one of the poorest in the world, with 60% of the population earning less than $2.00 a day.   A power vacuum, severe poverty and rampant gang violence has left the country ill-prepared to handle a disaster of this scale.

UNICEF’s August 29 publication reported the following statistics:  As of Saturday, 21 August the country counted 2,207 deaths and 12,268 wounded. Approximately 52,953 houses were completely destroyed and 77,006 severely damaged, while 650,000 people are in need of humanitarian assistance, including 260,000 children. Severe damage to infrastructures such as hospitals, schools, water systems and roads have left basic social services in a dire situation. Tropical storm Grace reached the country on Monday, 16 August, triggering mudslides, hampering relief efforts and weakening the already fragile telecommunication system.

Disaster Relief Provided by BCDC in Partnership with CINHP
by Sharon Cushing

Those who survived the August 14th earthquake and subsequent Tropical Storm are still in grave danger. The earthquake demolished buildings, killing thousands. Landslides buried homes, businesses, farms, gardens, and livestock. Water is in short supply as many cisterns were destroyed by the earthquake and natural water sources have been contaminated. Roads and bridges were damaged or destroyed, making it difficult for aid to reach the affected towns.
Many are homeless or injured and hunger is rampant in the hardest-hit areas. Gangs continue impeding delivery of humanitarian assistance – attacking convoys and stealing food and supplies. In a place where food insecurity was already a problem this has made the predicament increasingly dire.
Homeless women and children are especially vulnerable to hunger, violence, and exploitation. COVID-19-related health risks present additional insecurity. Hospitals are overcrowded and the staff overwhelmed. Some areas are remote and nearly unreachable.

Though our CINHP school is not in the affected area (located in the village of Lesnipasse, 10 km southeast of Port-au-Prince), we received a great outpouring of concern from our donors who wanted to help.  To date, $10,000 has been donated through our ministry  and sent to our partners at Beraca Community Development Corporation (www.bcdc.org) whose people tirelessly work on the ground in the disaster area.  This is a great testament to the goodness of God through his people. 

Thankfully, our partners at BCDC  have offices near the hardest-hit areas: Port Salut (Les Cayes) and Jeremie. This gives them proximity to those most affected by these twin catastrophes. Beraca’s network of 1700 churches in that region are being used as distribution hubs to expedite assistance to the victims in the ravaged areas and facilitate the ongoing rescue and relief efforts. They administer emergency first aid and supply families with safe drinking water, food, hygiene kits, medicine, tents, blankets, and clothing, which relieves immediate needs. Our donated funds to the Disaster Relief are going to supporting their efforts.
Following Phase 1—Rescue, BCDC will begin Phase 2—Rebuild: helping reconstruct homes, churches, schools, and clinics, restore businesses, replant gardens, and meet other needs. We will work with them as we can.

Teams have been on the ground helping to console those affected and to reassure them that hope is not lost and that they are not alone. They know that God and people like you feel their pain and care. Perhaps this comfort is even more important than the material aid. Please pray for those who do not yet know Jesus – that they’ll be encouraged to seek and follow Him AND that God continues to lead and provide for these vulnerable families.

Please pray for the safety and efficacy of the teams on the ground and that the recipients of their service will know they are loved and cared for. Continue to pray and spread the word to others who might be interested in helping.

HISTORIC BACKGROUND ON THE SERVICES BERACA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATON HAS RENDERED TO THE PEOPLE IN HAITI

I (R.K.) met Pastor Jean-Pierre Mullery (Center) and two of his Co-Pastors during my visit to their church four years ago.

After the January 12, 2010 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti, Pastor Mullery and his team extended BCDC from NY to Haiti, where they currently serve the cities of Leogane, Cabaret, Jeremie and Cape Haitian with a number of community programs and mercy ministries in addition to planting churches and rebuilding schools and businesses.  This has caused scored of impoverished and destitute people in the region to be lifted out of poverty and become productive and fulfilled, as they learn to bloom where they are planted.  Following are some of the programs:

  • Training and mentoring Pastors and leaders. They are currently training 1700 leaders.
  • Creating and sustaining approximately 400 jobs through their motorcycle taxis, micro-lending and mini bus services.
  • Conducting mobile medical clinics, bringing healthcare to thousands of underserved Haitians through the local churches in their communities.
  • Training and equipping teachers and principals, providing a good education to their students by the use of certified U.S. Haitian-American teachers.
  • Planting churches that are the hubs for spiritual and socio-economic health and development in the Haitian communities.

The event of Hurricane Matthew not only devastated the region, but also caused food shortages throughout the nation. BCDC began networking with some of the local churches to re-plant what the hurricane destroyed, which now includes hundreds of churches.
The Reforestation Project
focuses on replanting trees in the denuded countryside to help avoid the continued massive erosion of cultivated land in the region. It is known as the breadbasket of the country, as a good portion of the crops that feed Haiti are grown there. For every tree gone, they plant three new seedlings. Teams from Beraca keep traveling to Haiti with needy material, tools, and supplies, and work in partnership with Haitian believers in rebuilding church buildings, community centers, and homes that have been destroyed by the hurricane.

FROM R.K.’S CORNER

The Bridge partners with two excellent Christian organizations who have been on the ground in Haiti for years, doing outstanding work in serving the local population by helping them improve their and their family’s lives, both spiritually and physically.  Children in Need Haitian Project (CINHP) established in NYC in 2005, has been doing an outstanding job in helping educate the children in the town of Lesnipasse, 10 km southeast of Port-au-Prince.  Four years ago, Sharon Cushing, CINHP’s Administrator, introduced me to Mullery Jean-PierreSenior Pastor of Beraca Baptist Church in Brooklyn, NY, who with his dedicated team has served his Haitian people since 2010 in the region of the recent earthquake. I  strongly encourage you to take time to read prior updates on the effective service these two groups of Americans are doing in helping the Haitian people help themselves and bloom where they are planted.  You will find those stories on our website, just click on: 

https://www.bridgeinternational.org/category/haiti/

If you want to give toward specific emergency items for the hardest hit victims, Sharon has complied a suggested list below

EMERGENCY RESPONSE NEEDS WITH APPX. COSTS:

Personal Needs:

  • Meals for a family for a week – $10
  • Hygiene kits – $25
  • Family emergency shelters – $40
  • Water filtration kits – $50
  • Solar panel lights with USB charger – $70

Medical Needs:

  • Cots for patients at hospitals – $60
  • Generators for hospitals – $2,500
  • Large canopy tent shelter for hospitals – $15,000

Please mark your donation 8162 RELIEF AID—HAITI.  It will be sent in full to meet the intended emergency needs!

CHILDREN IN NEED HAITI (CINHP) — GRIEVING FEDNOR by Jeanette Felix, Founder & RN Medical Mission Coordinator

I will never, ever forget the look in the eyes of this tiny skeleton of a 3-year old child. Staring intently, his eyes never wavered from the hardboiled egg I’d started peeling for him ‘Could this be for me?’ ‘Could this entire egg really be for me, only?’ he questioned with his eyes.
At my slight gesture to hand him the peeled egg, he quickly grabbed it from me, held it tightly in his tiny hands, took one big bite, held the rest in his two fists for a moment and then squished the remaining portion into his dirty pockets, not knowing if or when he would get a next meal.

Our first Children In Need  (CNIHP) medical outreach took place on October 24, 2008. Our school was transformed into a temporary health clinic.  We examined 126 patients over a two-day period, many of whom had not seen a doctor in years. Most of the adults we examined were severely anemic.  Many had critical hypertension with BP 200/100 and up. Yet, I believe the real reason we were there that day was to save the life of a three year old boy named Fednor.  He was in the end stages of starvation.

Fednor’s step-grandmother arrived to the clinic with two healthy-looking, seemingly well-cared-for children to be examined by the doctor. Anoise, the Community Leader, advised us that there was a third child at home. We pressed the woman as to why she had not brought the other child along, too. Uncomfortable with her response, we strongly urged her to bring him which she initially refused to do. Troubled by her reluctance, we declined to examine her two children until she brought Fednor.

We soon  learned why she was so reluctant to bring him.  Fednor was covered from head to toe with scabies, had sunken eyes, a  bloated belly, and ribs prominently protruding from his tiny, malnourished frame. He could only stand for a couple of minutes before needing to squat. According to Dr. Sanchez, who examined him, he would have died of severe malnutrition within days, had we not intervened.

From the beginning, Fednor had an extra special place in my heart. I could sense an intense spiritual struggle raging over the life of this little boy. Throughout Fednor’s life, his social situation was unstable and filled with horrific traumas. His father and mother were separated, each trying to survive by working in Port-Au-Prince. With both parents gone most of the time, Fednor had been left to the care of his paternal grandfather and step-grandmother who lived close to our school. Tragically, as often happens, Fednor was seriously neglected, almost to death.

We arranged for him to come to the school each day to eat lunch with our students until he was recovered enough to attend preschool. Once he began his education, the neurological damage caused by being malnourished for years became evident. He had difficulty concentrating and learning. Our Pre-school Director, Julia Jules, took him under her wing, as a surrogate mother, brought him breakfast and snacks plus vitamins and supplements each day and tailored the curriculum to optimize his learning potential.

Sadly, a year later, Fednor suffered another disruption in his young life. His father, a healthy 28 year-old, contracted a fever of unknown origin and died within a few days. This time Fednor’s paternal uncle took over caring for him and, thankfully, agreed to let him continue to attend our school and  learn of the love of Jesus.  But as soon as his mother thought she could care for him again, she would take him out of these loving and stable homes to live with her. As he got older he was a help to her at the market and, as a result, did not attend school. Fednor became street smart and as a young, vulnerable teenager got involved with the wrong people. Tragically, last summer, at the age of 16, Fednor was shot and killed on the streets of Port-au-Prince in an area known to be controlled by gangs. CINHP helped his family to bury him in the beautiful mountains of Lespinasse where he was born.

I tell you these details so you can better understand why we continue to fight for justice for the children of Haiti. Fednor was deeply loved by CINHP. Saving his life and providing a good future for him became an ardent pursuit for us throughout his short life. In so many ways Fednor embodies our work in Haiti.
Children In Need Haitian project exists to give the children in the community of Lespinasse a “
future and a hope” as our guiding verse (Jer 29:11) states. To me, Fednor’s own death reflect the overall helplessness of precious children who grow up in toxic environments and tragic circumstances – where structural, social, and spiritual oppression run uninhibited with very few available interventions.

Sharon Cushing, Executive Coordinator for CINHP writes:

We believe that the best way to a better future for Haiti is to prepare today’s children to be the leaders of tomorrow to identify and seize opportunities for themselves and become creators of opportunities for others.

Though Jeanette and I haven’t been to Haiti for nearly two years due to the civil unrest that continues to plague the country and now Covid-19, the work continues and is prospering! God is doing amazing work through our staff in Haiti, who, though a bit weary, are doggedly determined to serve the children of  Lespinasse. They even found a way to do a “school at home” program during the Covid-19 closure so that our students didn’t fall behind.
This year all 13 of our 9
th-grade students passed the state exams and nine of them began attending high school. This is monumental. There was a time when this would have been unthinkable. It shows growth in the mindset of the community. It shows a developing though fragile hope for the future. The parents are beginning to move beyond surviving to planning, and that is encouraging.
A few items we’ve yet to accomplish include: build a new kitchen, install a pre-school playground and additional restrooms to accommodate our growing student population, provide health insurance for our staff, construct a public cistern for the community, and begin a literacy program for adults and others who are unable to attend school.          

Our gratitude goes out to our staff for their dedication and perseverance,  and to our faithful friends whose finances and prayer have enabled Children In Need to do: 

  • Serve 200+ children and employ 26 full and part-time Haitian staff.
  • Provide daily nutritious meals, mentoring, and basic healthcare for each of our student.student.
  • Build a beautiful new school building with a play area.
  • Deliver quality education that has earned us First Place in the region and enabled our older students to pass the state exams and qualify for high school, year after year.
  • Provide emergency assistance to families, including a house for an elderly couple whose home was destroyed in a hurricane.
  • This year we’ll enter into an agreement with Child Evangelism Fellowship to begin Youth clubs and summer camp for our students and other children in the area (implementation by summer 2021).
  • We are also in early discussions with a partnering organization that may be able to help our graduating students with high school scholarships and vocational programs.

From R.K.’s Corner

In the July, 2013 issue of The Bridge Report, we featured for the first time Children in Need Haiti Project (CINHP) under the headline From New York City to the Mountains of Haiti (see https://www.bridgeinternational.org/the-bridge-report-july-2013-from-new-york-city-to-the-mountains-of-haiti/ on our website).  There, we introduced you to Jeanette Felix, the founder and visionary of the mission.  She and her Executive Coordinator, Sharon Cushing, are helping the children in a small mountain town Lespinasse, by removing them from a destiny of poverty and deprivation to a fulfilled and productive life, by the love of Jesus, education, and good health care.  In our October 2016 issue, we followed up with a story how CINHP assisted the town in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.

UNICEF reports that in the world today, 1 billion children live in poverty and neglect.  It is a dizzying statistic no one can relate to, but we all can relate to one person.  That’s why, in this update report from Haiti, we have chosen to report on the short life of one little boy, Fednor, who was rescued from that statistic by CINHP, then loved and cared for by the staff.  Here is also an uplifting progress report on their school, and their efforts to educate in the midst of Covid-19.

CINHP is a worthy ministry, please mark donations
8155 Children in Need Haiti!

 

Beraca Baptist Church being a Blessing to their Local Community and to Disaster Victims in Haiti

FROM R. K.’S CORNER

In June last year, I traveled to New York City for a week to sit by the bed of a dear, longstanding friend, Goldie Rotenberg, who was struggling through the last stages of cancer. Sadly, she died a few days after I left.

While in the City, I spent a day with Jeanette Felix, Founder of Children in Need Haitian Project (CNHP) and her co-Director, Sharon Cushing. They are doing a vital work in the mountain region South-East of Port-au-Prince, providing a Bible-based excellent education for the local community’s children grades K through 8. They serve in many other practical ways to help the people rise out of poverty and become healthy, productive families, utilizing the local resources available. The Bridge has at times helped sponsor the school.

View from the CNHP school in the mountains of Haiti

In October, 2016, Hurricane Matthew devastated Haiti. It destroyed the mountain farmers’ harvest, and ruined many of their homes. Our donors gave generously both then and in 2017 toward relief aid for the island, which we have divided between several partnering ministries serving in Haiti. Of the $2500 given through CNHP, $1000 helped rebuild the home of one of the school’s workers, and another $1000 toward helping the farmers restocking their seed bank for the planting of crops for the upcoming season’s harvest.  See former Bridge posts on this:

https://www.bridgeinternational.org/2016/10/

Shortly thereafter, Jeanette called me. The mountain farmers had pulled together and were in the process of solving their problems without help from the outside. Would I mind that the Bridge funds given to the mountain farmers through CNHP be directed to another ministry, Beraca Baptist Church, an American-Haitian church in Brooklyn, NY? They have for a number of years successfully been engaged in serving the people of Haiti (Beraca means “Blessing”). With the Bible in one hand, and hammer and plow in the other, they are empowering local people in several communities, like the city of Jeremie, located on the tip of the peninsula to the West of Port-au-Prince. Hurricane Matthew had done landfall there and literally obliterated the city and large swaths of the surrounding countryside. Without clean water, food, and shelter, the people were desperate. Beraca received the funds, due to Jeanette and Sharon’s unselfish generosity in helping those in worse condition than their mountain people. It was used toward the Reforestation Program in Haiti—see report below.

With Pastor Jean-Pierre

The day I visited CNHP, Sharon had set up a meeting with the leaders at Beraca Church. We drove to Brooklyn where we met the Senior Pastor, Mullery Jean-Pierre and two of his co-pastors. There was an immediate rapport between us, as we found we shared like vision and practical approach to serving the Gospel in the nations— it was like meeting family members we had just discovered existed! I gave them another $3000 from one of our generous donors to be used toward their ministry toward single mothers and their children left destitute after the hurricane—see report. In this issue, I present Beraca Baptist Church and their extraordinary outreaches of love to their local community and to Haiti.

VISITING BERACA BAPTIST CHURCH IN BROOKLYN, NY

Le Marron Inconnu—The Unknown Slave, is a bronze statue of a runaway slave, located in front of the Parliament in the capital of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Commemorating the abolishment of slavery, the statue was completed in 1967, and serves as a reminder of the call to rebellion in the colony of Saint-Domingue against the slave-holding France in 1791. It has become the iconic symbol of freedom in Haiti, as well as black people worldwide.

Mini-Replica of Le Marron Innconnu

“What a stunning sculpture!” I exclaimed, “what a vivid symbol of a thirsty man lifting his face toward God and drinking from the Living Water!” Pastor Jean-Pierre smiled, “ That is not exactly the symbolism of this carving”, he explained. During a meeting with him, two of his co-pastors, and Sharon from CNHP who had introduced us, I had been captivated by this expressive wooden carving sitting on the cabinet in his office, not knowing it was a replica of the original statue located in Port-au-Prince in Haiti, which represents the call to rebellion against slavery— see above. “I have never heard this interpretation before. You actually see the Haitian people through the eyes of God’s heart—I believe this  belongs to you, R.K. “ – and with those words, he gave the mini-replica to me. I am honored to have it displayed in our living room as a reminder of the physical and spiritual thirst of those we serve among the peoples of color in the nations.

I believe this gesture of generosity characterizes Pastor Jean-Pierre’s heart which is permeated by Jesus’ love and care for people. He is a Haitian in America who has not forgotten the cry of his own people in Haiti, nor in his city in New York, as he and his team are successfully accomplishing extraordinary things for God in both places!

PASTOR MULLERY JEAN-PIERRE AND HIS TEAM REACHING OUT WITH FAITH, LOVE, AND  HOPE TO THEIR COMMUNITY AND TO HAITI 

Pastor Mullery Jean-Pierre (center) and two of his co-pastors

Mullery Jean-Pierre, Senior Pastor of Beraca Baptist Church in Brooklyn, NY was born in Haiti to a Haitian father and a Dominican mother. He and his Jamaican wife, Cacheta have six children and seven grandchildren.

Having a Puerto Rican daughter-in-law, an African American son-in-law and a Trinidadian sister-in-law, Mullery feels right at home in leading a multicultural congregation. Under his leadership the church has grown from 80 members to 1200 worshippers; although a predominantly Haitian/Haitian-American church, Beraca is home to 17 other different nationalities.

When Mullery was called out of corporate America, he left his management position at a Wall Street firm and never looked back. Those years prepared him for the many administrative leadership positions to which God has called him to serve.

As Mullery’s desire to reach the community grew, He founded the Beraca Community Development Corporation (BCDC). With his church family, the services to the local community include:

  • Youth development programs.
  • A food pantry.
  • Serving seniors at a local Seniors Adult day care center.
  • Partnering with their local high school to provide employment and mentoring for the students.
  • Partnering with the Districts Attorney’s office’s Alternative Sentencing Program, providing alternative forms of rehabilitation to those who’ve committed misdemeanor or petty crimes.

After the January 12, 2010 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti, Mullery and his team extended BCDC from NY to Haiti, where they currently serve the cities of Leogane, Cabaret, Jeremie and Cape Haitian with the outreaches:

  • Training and mentoring Pastors and leaders. They are currently training 1700 leaders.
  • Creating and sustaining approximately 400 jobs through their motorcycle taxis, micro-lending and mini bus services.
  • Conducting mobile medical clinics, bringing healthcare to thousands of underserved Haitians through the local churches in their communities.
  • Training and equipping teachers and principals, providing a good education to their students by the use of certified U.S. Haitian-American teachers.
  • Planting churches that are the hubs for spiritual and socio-economic health and development in the Haitian communities.

The event of Hurricane Matthew not only devastated the region, but also caused food shortages throughout the nation. BCDC began networking with some churches in the area to re-plant what the hurricane destroyed, which now includes hundreds of churches. The Reforestation Project focuses on replanting trees in the denuded countryside to help avoid the continued massive erosion of cultivated land in the region. It is known as the breadbasket of the country, as a good portion of the crops that feed Haiti are grown there.

Teams from Beraca keep traveling to Haiti with needy material, tools, and supplies, and work in partnership with Haitian believers in rebuilding church buildings, community centers, and homes that have been destroyed by the hurricane.

During our meeting, Mullery told us about a ministry which began during one of his trips to Haiti with two of his co-pastors overseeing and participating in various restoration projects. While walking in the streets, women approached and propositioned them. They were told by the local people that literally thousands of women with children have been left destitute after the disaster, either because they are single mothers, or their husbands have left them to go elsewhere to seek for jobs, but then never to return home.

With the community in shambles, no available jobs, food supply or clean water, the women have been forced into the streets to sell the only commodity they have left—their own bodies—to provide just morsels for their family to fend off starvation.

The pastors accepted their offer and paid for two hours of service. However, instead of taking advantage of these desperate women, without condemning them, they gave them food and shared the Gospel—the good news, with emphasis on how much God loves them. They were then offered a basic course in reading and writing. The women willing and committed to change, were then offered training in an income-producing cottage industry. This takes them off the street, regains their dignity and makes them able to provide for themselves and their children. This unique street ministry continues as an outreach by local believers, whereby hundreds of women have experienced the transforming power of the Gospel which has given them a new hope and a future and brought them into a caring community of believers!

The leaders and members of the church family at Beraca live up to its name — BLESSING! They are indeed a blessing to those who encounter God’s love in action through them!

“The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to Him.” D. l. Moody

Haiti – Devastation by Hurricane Matthew … Please Join Us in Helping the Victims!

BACKGROUND ON HURRICANE MATTHEW

haiti-map-webStill trying to recover from the 2010 earthquake which caused more than 200,000 deaths in and around the capital of Port-au-Prince, and an ongoing cholera epidemic and outbreak of typhoid during which 10,000 people have died and 700,000 have become ill, Haiti is again victim of a major disaster!  On October 4, Hurricane Matthew made landfall on south-western Haiti as a category 4 storm with winds up to 145 miles per hour.  It devastated the region with a population of 2.5 million people; a community leader describes the situation on the ground as “complete destruction”. Matthew has severely damaged 200,000 homes.  90% of the houses on the southern coast are destroyed.          

haiti-matthew-devastation-webIn the city of Jérémie, the hurricane blew off the roofs and collapsed 80% of the buildings, including every structure not made of concrete. Nearly all the crops and livestock in the larger region were wiped out by the wind or destroyed by the subsequent flooding, leaving the majority of the population, who are subsistence farmers, destitute. With bridges and roads washed away, many communities are now inaccessible to receiving relief aid, except by boat or air.  It is feared that massive death by starvation and a renewed cholera epidemic, due to lack of food and clean drinking water, may result in a catastrophic human disaster.  Major relief organizations and WHO (World Health Organization) are mobilizing efforts to help, but they may, regretfully, be running against time.

haiti-urra-kitchen-webOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe Bible commands us as believers to be generous towards the poor.  Practical expressions of compassion and mercy are intrinsically interwoven into the faith of the believers as an extensions from The Source: God’s love through Jesus Christ!  Although The Bridge does not directly work in Haiti since there is already a large Christian presence, and our focus is more on unreached nations, we make ourselves available to resource partners who serve the poor in Haiti on a grassroots level.  In the aftermath of the 2010 hurricane, thanks to our generous donors, we were able to send a sizable amount of money through them to help groups of victims restore their lives.

In Haiti, we have been working through two of our trusted partners, Jorge Urra, and Jeanette Felix who via their own individual ministries have helped establish a network of indigenous leaders in Haiti who serve people in their local communities. You will find more information about them and their ministries below.

There are many good, efficient large Relief Aid agencies in the States who, in disaster situations like this, are needed to do the heavy lifting, like mass emergency assistance and rebuilding of damaged infrastructure, however, often their overhead and administrative costs are sizable.  The Bridge is more the fish-and-loaves ministry. Through our partners we deliver from hand to mouth without middlemen or deducting overhead and admin. cost — trusting that God will multiply! Your donation will be applied in full, directly toward the spiritual and physical needs of Hurricane Matthew’s victims in Haiti! Please mark your donation 8010 Haiti Relief.

OUR PARTNERS WORKING IN HAITI

Jorge Urra — from Cuba to Haiti with the Gospel

You will find Jorge Urra’s background information, his testimony and ministry, posted at: https://www.bridgeinternational.org/pdf/july2011.pdfHaiti - Urra Distr Food

A few days after hurricane Matthew had passed through Haiti, I called Jorge to inquire if he had heard from his Haitian leaders of the churches and orphanages he has served on the island for over 12 years.  The answer came back, “The winds did some damage to buildings in those areas, but the floods have ruined the harvest and killed the farm animals.  Every place is up to three feet under water. There is little or nothing to eat, and the  drinking water is contaminated.” 

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Jorge will personally be going to Haiti with a team in a couple of weeks to bring as much relief aid and other assistance as possible to his Haitian network of pastors who will distribute them to the most needy among orphans, elderly and destitute. OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Jorge Urra was born near Havana, Cuba some fifty years ago. He grew up  surrounded by Fidel Castro’s atheist communist  ideology, yet at 14, he came to faith in Jesus Christ, and was filled with the transforming love of his Heavenly Father. God’s compassion and love translated later into a ministry toward the rejected and fatherless—the unsaved, the orphans, and the welfare of God’s people in poor countries.  He is presently involved in bringing leadership training to local pastors and relief aid to orphans in Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru.

Haiti - Urra Tent City.jpg

Before Hurricane Matthew struck, some 55,000 Haitians left homeless by the 2010 earthquake were still living in shelters, largely because billions of U.S. dollars of relief aid donations to Haiti disappeared  into corrupt hands, thus never benefited the people.  Above is one of those tent cities which Pastor Urra visited and delivered much needed food and medical supplies.

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Steve and I have known Jorge and partnered with him for 21 years.  He is a man of faith and passion with an apostolic gift and an impeccable integrity!  He presently lives with his wife, Magdalena in Miami where he has planted and pastors a multi-cultural church.

From New York City to the Mountains of Haiti

Likewise,  you will find Jeanette Felix’ background information, her testimony and ministry, posted on this website at: https://www.bridgeinternational.org/2013/07/haiti-felix-j-with-child-web

haiti-felix-old-school-webhaiti-felix-new-school-blg-webThe school Jeanette and her team founded in 2006 and continue sponsoring via their ministry Children in Need Haitian Project (CINHP), is located in Lespinasse in mountains up to 4000 feet about two hours drive south-east of Port-au-Prince.  The school  provides a full time Christian education including school supplies, and  a warm nutritious meal daily for 120 students grades 1-6, and 3 levels of Preschool. Recently, they finished building a new school building.  In the two pictures above, you see the old school building they initially renovated for educational use, and then new building adjacent to the old.  CINHP is largely self-financed by the Felix family and a few friends.haiti-felix-students-webhaiti-felix-classroom-web

 

 

 

 

haiti-felix-kindergarten-webMost of the people in the region are subsistence farmers, eking out a living in the valleys between the mountains. Jeanette writes, “ Apart from the south-west of the country which has total devastation, there are many other areas of Haiti that received heavy winds and torrential rains on steep mountains with few trees to prevent erosion and mudslides. These areas are never reported in the news and international aid does not reach them. The only access to most of these areas is by foot, like Nouvelle Touraine, located in the highest mountain range in Haiti in the south.haiti-felix-view-from-school-web

Friends and contacts in the region report on  unbelievable destruction to homes, livestock, gardens, crops, and food bearing trees (i.e. bananas, avocados, plantains, coffee beans), their sole source of food and income sold in neighboring towns, all carried by foot on the heads of these strong and resilient people.

There is an urgent, immediate need for basic construction materials— tin, 2x4s, nails, hammers as well as tarps, basic first aid supplies, basic medicines, and food.  We have people on the ground ready to buy, organize and mobilize all supplies into the steep mountains to reach these areas. Let us be the ones who show them that God has not forgotten them!haiti-felix-ny-partner-web

FROM R.K.’S CORNER

My first encounter with Haitian people was in 1985 when I first met Steve.  He owned and operated a 20 acre commercial nursery where he employed 23 Haitian field workers. Sitting in Steve’s car surrounded by his workers in the midst of myriads of potted plants, at his bidding, I shared my faith and told them about the mission work I was doing (my French was doable then). In the years after Steve and I were married, we employed over a hundred legal Haitian workers. They were all reliable, hard-working, and self-motivated to making a good life in America for themselves and their families.  God gave me a love for this beautiful people. Since then I have come to count many Haitians among my personal friends.

The Haitian people have continually suffered throughout their 500 year history under slave masters, wicked foreign rulers, corrupt local governments, and natural disasters.  Yet, the problem in Haiti is not socioeconomic … it is SPIRITUAL!   Self-proclaimed Voodoo doctor, elect President François Duvalier, declared in 1971 voodoo—religious witchcraft— the official national religion. This was affirmed in 1990 by President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Therefore, I believe Satan has a legitimate claim on Haiti, albeit there are many sincere Christian believers among them. Please pray that the Lord will send His Spirit of comfort and revelation of truth to set the captives free, and strength to the Haitian believers that they may boldly share their faith with others!

 

 

 

 

From New York City to the Mountains of Haiti – July 2013

From R.K.’s Corner

RK Ulrich 2012For many, the thought Missionary evokes images of either a person who is a bit weird, unusual, or perhaps somewhat super-human.  That is not quite right!  The simple truth is that God calls and equips very normal, ordinary people to do extraordinary things in this world for Him and His Kingdom!

Jeanette Felix is such a person. Steve and I just spent a couple of days with her as she stopped over on her flight from New York City to Haiti.  A farm girl from Pennsylvania, later nurse in New York City, Jeanette was led to identify with and serve the families in the remote mountains of Haiti, one of the most impoverished rural areas of the world.

Forty years ago, shortly after I first arrived in the States, I was introduced to Jeanette and her family through a girlfriend in NYC. We visited the farm of her parents and received warm hospitality, and I was received into their circle of friends.  Since then, I have had the privilege of watching Jeanette’s  journey of faith as she passionately embraced the mission she was called to fulfill – and continues to find ways to serve the people in her care.  While with us, I asked Jeanette to write her story which I have included in this month’s Bridge Report.  I trust it will be an inspiration and encouragement for you to reach higher up and further in faith – expecting the extraordinary from God in your life!

Please pray for the Felix family, their mission and the families, students and staff of the school. If you want to help sponsor the students and staff at Children in Need Haitian Project  via this website, click on the DONATE button above, follow instructions and mark your contribution Haiti Outreach.  Thank you!

A Missionary’s Journey – My Story

by Jeanette FelixFelix - Chris and Jeanette

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of Praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” Is. 61:1-3Haiti Felix - Palace

 The above quote from the Bible is one of my favorite, as it expresses the mission God has given me for the nation of Haiti and the Haitian people!  My background, however, is very different from that of the people I serve!  I was born and grew up in the beautiful rural part of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  My father was a dairy farmer. I was the proverbial tomboy who loved to work alongside of him in the field and with the cows in the barn.  My parents were God–fearing people for whom the Bible was central in their lives, so we learned from an early age to embrace faith and trust in the Lord.  We regularly attended the local Mennonite church.  After finishing high school, I went to nursing school, hoping that skill would be useful in helping people in need.

Haiti Felix - Catholic ChurchAt 25, I was invited to go to Haiti as a volunteer with a team from the States to help build a medical program for an orphanage there.  The goal of the team was to help co-ordinate a Haitian team who would establish a clinic in the rural part of the mountains, a couple of hours drive south-east of the capital Port-au-Prince. I had decided to give three months to the program — I actually ended up staying for three and a half years!  I had fallen in love with Haiti, and especially enjoyed the children.  I was impressed by the people’s carefree, laid back way of life.  I found them open, warm, and hospitable. They took time to enjoy life and had time for each other!  There was something beautiful with the way they confronted life’s difficulties using their well-known expression, “Pas de Problem” – (“no problem”).

In 1982, I became ill in Haiti and had to return to the States.  I spent the next two decades working in a pediatric intensive care unit in New York City.  My love for Haiti and its people never left my heart and mind, so I was happy when a group of Haitians I had befriended in the mountains moved to the States and settled in New York.  I integrated into the Haitian community, again – this time in my own country!Haiti Felix - Children Payingl  While in Haiti, I had also met my future husband, Chris, but at the time we were only casual friends.  After I returned home, we had not stayed in touch with each other, so when we years later reconnected in New York, Chris had already immigrated to the States and was working there.  We began spending time together and fell in love. Knowing that a bi-racial marriage would bring many unique challenges, we prayed about our future, and came to the same conclusion — we knew that God had brought us together and destined us to be husband and wife.  In 1994, we married.  We bought a home and settled in New York City.  God gave us a son who is a great source of joy and pride.  He finished high school this year and has just left home to go to college.

Haiti Felix - Poor childrenIn 2004, after being away from Haiti for so many years, Chris and I decided to visit the island, again, this time as a family.  When we arrived in the picturesque mountains where I had lived and worked, I cried. I was heartbroken to realize that the beautiful Haiti I once knew had disappeared. The political instability and corruption among government officials and leaders affecting the population at large had caused devastation, even at the most fundamental level. The basic infrastructure — physical, social, and emotional, was gone from the Haitian society. The streets were no longer safe; education was only for the few well-to do who could afford to pay, and jobs were practically non-existent.Haiti Felix - Post earthquake  Everything was dirty and filthy, impoverished and deprived.  Instead of the joyous, open, carefree life I had experienced among people, there was now distrust, oppression, and heaviness of spirit.  When I looked into people’s eyes, I saw hopelessness and despair.  They were not able to think beyond the survival of each day, so they had no vision for the future. I thought of the profound truth of Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, people perish, but happy is he (she) who keeps the law”.  I felt it accurately applied to the Haitian people. The lack of vision breeds criminal behavior; being forced to only look for the immediate needs for today, negates the consequences of tomorrow.  It is said that in some of the more remote communities in the mountains that parents do not name their newborn children for several years, as they do not expect them to live.

Haiti Felix - School DirectorDuring this visit, we spent time with the people in the same mountain region where I had earlier helped establish the medical clinic.  Talking with some of my old acquaintances, I asked them what their community needed the most.  They unequivocally answered, “Education for our children” followed by health care and job training.  The leader of the community looked at me and said, “Let me show you something”.  He took me to an old dilapidated school, beautifully perched on a mountain ledge, which had been abandoned when the political instability in the country forced them out.  He said, “If you can raise a little money to pay for a couple of teachers, we will run the school”. Considering the teacher’s average salary is app. $200.00 per month, we could not refuse the offer to help.Haiti Felix - Roof Repir

Returning home to New York, we established a non-profit charitable organization Children in Need Haitian Project, through which we began raising funds toward the restoration and expansion of the school buildings and the support of students and teachers. The call toward this island and its people kept increasing and I sensed God’s nudging toward us moving there. With the love for my husband, and the Haitian people in my heart, yet with some reservation and trepidation considering the huge cultural and social changes I would encounter in my new land, I responded to the Lord’s calling.  In 2006, I gave up my senior position as a nurse, sold our house, uprooted myself from family and friends, and with my husband and eleven year old son, set a course toward the mountains of Haiti, twenty miles South East of Port-au-Prince.Haiti Felix - Kindergartenl

We built our new home on my husband’s family land, and directly oversaw the school and its functions with the local Director.  The grade levels are pre-Kindergarten through fifth grade.  Next year, we will be adding 6th grade.  The area is very remote and quite poor, so we feed the 120 students and staff a nutritious meal every day.Haiti Felix - Old KitchenHaiti Felix - New Kitchen  The school’s operating budget is approximately $20,000 per year, but we also raise funds to remodel the existing building which is now extremely crowded.  We have already laid the foundation for a new building which will give room for more students and staff.  The curriculum is Christ centered.  We wanted to see that all the students, not only receive a Biblically based education in the school, but also as adults find and embrace their calling and place in the Body of Christ at large.  We have therefore established a local church for parents and students who are not attending other churches in the area, to also give those students a chance to experience practical church life in a community setting. 

The major earthquake in 2010 did not directly affect our school or our home, as we were far enough away in the mountains to escape the main destruction of that disaster and the following two hurricanes that have ravaged Haiti since then. However, after the quake, our son’s American school in Haiti temporarily closed, forcing us to relocate him back to the States, where he just finished high school.Haiti Felix - School Visit

Other extenuating circumstances have made it necessary for us to spend more time in New York, with visits to Haiti, all the while working with the nationals at the school by sponsoring the staff and financing the students’ education.  We are currently working diligently on finishing the new school building.  Due to a generous donation from a group of French speaking Canadian friends, we have now 1000 children’s books in French (Haiti’s official language) to open the very first school library in the entire region in which there is not s single library!

It is challenging to be a self-supported missionary by working full time,  while keeping up two households, one in New York, the other in the mountains of Haiti,   carrying the burden for the needs of the school and its staff and children, erecting new buildings for expansion, as well caring for the overall needs of the people in the community. Haiti Felix - New school site

Yet — it is in the midst of all the daily struggles and pressures that I experience the reality of God’s mercy and faithfulness.  His grace is indeed sufficient!