Reflections on Haiti Trip!
Posted: 10/25/2011
Categories: Missions
Haiti has long been considered the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Today, most Haitians live at the lowest economic level and many suffer from a lack of food and medical care. It’s estimated that the unemployment rate is near 90% with the average Haitian making $1.50 a day!
An estimated 80 percent of Haitians live in abject poverty. More than half of the population, including two-thirds of the children, suffers from malnutrition. About 117 of every 1,000 children die before reaching their fifth birthday.
Lack of usable water has become a major problem. An outbreak of cholera has been confirmed and as of August 2011, cholera has sickened over 300,000 and taken the life of over 5,000 people since the start of the outbreak.
After having some time to think and pray about my recent trip to Haiti, I’m thankful for the many organizations providing relief to this country following the earthquake of January 2010. Because of Convoy of Hope’s generosity, I traveled with some other pastors to see the water, agricultural, orphanage and school initiatives they are bringing to Port Au Prince.
One of the most exciting developments is to see the implementation of a sustainable rice initiative where leaders of the local agricultural community in Haiti are being given greater expertise in growing rice. The potential of Haitian farmers to supply much needed food for schools and orphanages is amazing.
I was able to visit the construction of a new 35,000 sq ft warehouse just outside of Port Au Prince that will have the capacity to hold up to 6 million meals. This warehouse will allow the feeding initiatives in Haiti schools & orphanages to provide over 40,000 nutritious daily meals to children.
My prayer as I went on this trip was to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the children we would see in schools and orphanages. I was forever changed by what I saw and experienced. Not a day goes by that I’m reminded to be thankful for what I have and to pray for every missionary serving where God has called them.
If you’re interested, I’ve uploaded some photos of my trip and you can visit them by clicking this link