September 2024

Bonjou, zanmi’m!

Haiti feels far away. I get it. It’s been years since New Life for Haiti has been able to send teams from the States and interact with our friends there.

And yet the work the organization is doing has continued at a steady pace—beyond a steady pace really, as we’ve added new aspects to and grown the programs New Life for Haiti’s in-country staff carries out faithfully day to day.

Since the last U.S. team trip in August 2019:

• The School of Hope has nearly doubled in size, from serving about 150 students in six classrooms to a projected enrollment of 279 students getting ready to start school next week. In addition to seeing students excel in the classroom, New Life for Haiti is employing a group of more than 30 dedicated teachers committed to providing a quality, God-centered education.
• Four mountain communities have access to clean water because New Life for Haiti’s construction crews built cisterns and distributed water filters to hundreds of families. Through conversations led by a local pastor, these communities have also received the same life-giving hope and encouragement Jesus offered the woman at the well in John 4.
• About 120 women have completed a series of monthly community health seminars, equipping them with the knowledge and awareness of health concerns ranging from basic hygiene and first aid to recognizing the symptoms of cholera and malaria. The next cohort of women is set to begin the first of their health seminars this month as well.

By the grace of God and thanks to your generous support over the years, the list of all the activities New Life for Haiti is doing could go on. From the beginning, our mission has been to plant roots in one place, build relationships, and make a difference. We are accomplishing that . . . but we need your help to continue pushing the mission forward.

As we have expanded our programs and found new ways to reach out to the community, we have needed more resources. And unless we can continue to grow our support base, we’re facing the prospect of scaling back what we do in order to remain fiscally responsible.

So what can you do to help?

First, pray. Pray for our staff’s safety and security, for a supernatural peace. As a country, Haiti is facing its own challenges, and New Life for Haiti’s staff sometimes has to take risks to fulfill their responsibilities.

Pray for the students and families being served by our staff, for their safety and health. Pray that each encounter they have with New Life for Haiti offers them hope and encouragement and points them closer to Jesus.

Pray for the leaders and decision makers on the U.S. side as we try to steward well what has been entrusted to us. We serve a big God, one who sees all that is going on and who “owns the cattle on a thousand hills.” I’m trusting him as we move forward.

Second, share. Share New Life for Haiti’s story with friends. Tell them how you got involved, why Haiti is important. Share your time or talents or resources or all of the above. And ask your friends if they’d be willing to support the work too.

Finally, give. New Life for Haiti is operating with a significant revenue deficit across all programs, but let me highlight one. As we’ve added students to the School of Hope each year, we have fallen behind in securing sponsors for all of them. Each of these students is deserving of an education and New Life for Haiti is absorbing those costs, but it’s a significant expense. You can become a sponsor for just $38 a month! Or a one-time gift of $500 would provide a scholarship for a student for the school year.

Good things are happening in Haiti. But we need your support to keep going.

Bondye beni w!

Erin

New Life for Haiti board chair