Helping the Haitians Battle COVID-19

The COVID-19 crisis has put all of us in a situation of uncertainty.  Here in the United States we are faced with social distancing that creates inconvenient situations for work, shopping, church or staying in contact with family and friends.  Fortunately we will soon be receiving Stimulus Checks of up to $1,200 per adult to try and boost the economy in these turbulent times.  This money needs to go into the US economy to bolster the economic situation.  However, many of us also like to tithe, and feel an obligation to give 10% to charity.

This photo captured Summer 2018.

Haiti is also experiencing the start of the Coronavirus.  They have no CARES Act, no Paycheck Protection Program, and no stimulus payments.  By tithing from our Stimulus Checks, we could offer business opportunities to help families in the mission house area with money for seeds or other startup costs so they can make it on their own during this time of crisis.  A tithe of our handout can become their handup!

If your heart is calling you to help our brothers in Haiti, Helping Hands for Haiti would welcome your donation.

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Rice Meals in Haiti During Coronavirus

While the devastation of the Coronavirus rightfully occupies most of our headlines these days, we sometimes wonder if there is any good news.  This is not the first time in our history that a little good news would be appreciated.  If those lines, “a little good news” seem like they should be in a song, you are correct.  In fact, they are already in a song released by Anne Murray in 1983 titled, “A Little Good News.”  It is worth the time to google it!

Here is a little good news from Helping Hands for Haiti.  After almost a year of limited shipments of Kids Against Hunger/Mercy Meals being shipped to Haiti, our partner, Orphan Grain Train from Norfolk, Nebraska, was finally able to ship two containers to Haiti.  Fritz was able to pick up rice meals from both shipments (100 boxes = 21,600 meals).  While school is not in session in Haiti due to the Coronavirus, we have plenty of opportunity to get rice meals into the hands of needy families.  Helping Hands for Haiti is once again on a more regular schedule to receive meals with a third container currently in port and more rice meals expected…another 478 boxes equaling 100,000 meals!

Unfortunately, social distancing has kept another Helping Hands for Haiti partner, Steve & Carmen Mach with Mercy Meals in Yankton, South Dakota, from conducting meal packs.  Steve & Carmen have volunteered for many years to organize and lead meal packs at the Calvary Baptist Church location in Yankton.  Many of the meals packed in Yankton end up in Haiti for distribution by Helping Hands for Haiti. You can find Mercy Meals at: mercymealsyankton.org . Please check out the work that Steve and Carmen are involved with and when conditions get back to normal, have your group look into doing a pack. 

That’s all for now…but stay tuned….we expect to have “a little good news” in the near future!

Medical Mission Trip to Haiti

February 8-15, 2020

Medical Mission Team and Haitian Support Staff

Dr. Megard Hiking up the Mountain

Dr. Dan Megard:  “Haiti is an amazing country filled with mountains that at times are covered with long grass that blows in the wind.  The beautiful people have so little but are mostly happy.  We had the opportunity to treat more than 700 patients in just over 3 days with a combination of an American and Haitian medical team.  We treated acute illnesses and chronic diseases alike.  I saw more cases of scabies in a day than I had seen in my 28 year career in medicine in South Dakota.  The bond between team members was outstanding.  Our language barriers were overcome with the interest in treating our fellow man.  I felt like we were really appreciated by the patients who have so little access to medical care.  It was an amazingly satisfying to be part of a great team.  I can’t wait to go back next year!”

Medical mission teams to Haiti serve an obvious need to the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.  But, there is much more to a medical mission trip than just treating medical conditions as the Yankton, South Dakota volunteers found out as they spent a week in early February at the Helping Hands for Haiti mission house in Mauger.  Follow the picture trail, accompanied by words of the team members that depict the work, the camaraderie, and the emotions of a memorable “life changing experience.”

The first order of business at the clinic was to register the patients.  (top left)  Justin Siemonsma and Kevin O’brien took down patient information with the help of interpreters PeeWee and Ronald.  Justin commented, “The interpreters were awesome!  We could not have done any of our work without their wonderful assistance.”  (top right)  Haitian Dr. Dominique consults with a patient as Liz Wortmann listens in on the conversation.  Dr. Dan Megard is in the background interviewing another patient.  When asked why she came on this mission trip Liz replied, “Wanting to help others  led me into healthcare and healthcare has highlighted the inequality in the world.  I want to make a difference.  I want to mirror Christ’s love for mankind in my own small way.”

“Planes, trains and automobiles” was a movie about getting home for Thanksgiving. Our medical team experienced pickups, boats, and motorcylcles to get to the clinic at Savane a Roches.

Mindy tends to the pharmacy as Dr. Megard awaits a prescription.

Shayna doing a blood test.

Justin examines the ankle of a child.

While the medical team attended to health care, Dave was able to fit glasses for many of the students.

Whether we went up the mountain or down the mountain, we soon learned that our mission of caring for the people quickly turned into caring about the people.  While our primary goal was to provide medical care, we sure didn’t mind our time with the children and felt closer to God on both venues!

January 2020 Haiti Mission Trip

We just returned from an amazing trip to Haiti with an enthusiastic group from Mt. Marty College in Yankton, South Dakota. On this January 2020 trip, we were joined by students Emily Vande Kop, Elizabeth Bauer, and Kiley Burggraff as well as Assistant Director of Campus Ministry, Sister Rosemarie Maly. These ladies gave a lot, and received even more in return. Most importantly, we went up and down the mountain, holding hands with the children and feeling God’s presence as we traded smiles with our newfound friends. The smiles penetrated the language barrier and became the one thing that they had as much to share with us as we did with them.

The Mt. Marty group served in many ways. They visited a 4th generation, 125- year-old sugar cane mill near LePina. We delivered friendship bags to the owners of the mill, and watched the process of pressing out the syrup from the sugar cane.

By far the most popular event for the team was the pillow case dress fashion show held at the mission house. Girls of different ages picked out dresses made from pillow cases, and a few of the girls got to model for us complete with a photo shoot! The pillow case dresses were designed by Phyllis Knutson, a friend of ours from Sioux Falls. How can you not fall in love with these precious girls?

The team was able to visit many families in their homes. The house on the left is what you would typically find in Haiti (and oftentimes even smaller in size compared to this one). It has a leaky roof, no ventilation, a dirt floor and no security. The houses below, built by Helping Hands for Haiti for just $3,000.00 per house, are a part of the Mauger Housing Project. When finished it will provide 100 new or remodeled homes to the mission house area in the next year. These homes have cement floors, proper ventilation, roofs that don’t leak and are modest but safe and secure. 

A few of the other ways we contributed were:

- Packed over 80 friendship bags with beans, rice, oil, toothbrushes, toothpaste, lotion, combs, deodorant and a towel and distributed them at LePina and the mission house area.

- Distributed Children’s Bibles and Days for Girls at LePina, Jumelle, and Savane a Roche.

- Delivered over 100 children’s books (in Creole) for a new library in the Verrettes school.

- Purchased formula for a three-month-old baby whose mother had no milk. We also bought formula to leave at the mission house for future similar situations.

- Provided transportation and funds for a C-section at HAS.

- Repaired an all terrain wheelchair for a young girl.

- Provided grant money for an agronomist in Jumelle for a fruit tree project as well as business start-ups for 10 women in the Mauger area.

We struggled in our evening devotions to find answers to why we were blessed with so much and why they had so little.  We left a piece of our broken hearts in Haiti. But we hope to return soon, and we will forever be changed by our experience.

It's a New Decade-Time to Get Busy

We’re headed back to Haiti tomorrow. Looking forward to taking in some of the amazing beauty of the island and reconnecting with its people. Our group is from Mt Marty College. More on this trip as the week progresses.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays

Dave & Jerilyn’s first mission trip in 1989

Dear Family & Friends,

Thirty years ago when Jerilyn and I made our first mission trip to Haiti, we discovered a land of contrast. Thirty years later, that contrast still remains.

Thirty years later with Fritz, Pastor John & Sandra

On one hand we witnessed extreme poverty. On the other hand we experienced the richness of Haitian culture. On one hand we dealt with debilitating corruption. On the other hand we basked in partnering with honest, hard-working citizens. On one hand we lamented at the streams of plastic and garbage flowing into the ocean after a hard rain in the land described as, “the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.” On the other hand we rejoiced at the morning sun peeking over the rolling mountains welcoming a fresh new day on the island that Christopher Columbus so aptly named, “the Pearl of the Antilles.”

I remember returning from Haiti after our first trip that bridged late December 1989 with the first few days of January 1990. In relating the frustrating experiences of the trip to my mother, I blurted out, “I can’t do nothing!”

For those of you who knew my grammatically correct mother, you would not be surprised when she responded with the correction, “I can’t do anything.” But this time I was right! I went on to explain to mom that after my Haiti experience, with what I had seen and what I had felt, meant that doing nothing was not an option. “I can’t do nothing.” “I must do something.”

Over the last thirty years, with help from many of you, much has been done to improve lives and give opportunity to hundreds of our Haitian brothers and sisters. Helping Hands for Haiti continues to build churches and schools, provides loans and grants for business opportunities, provides food and medical care for individuals, and shares the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our “free school” near the mission house now has 469 students that do not have to pay to receive an education.

Our two-year housing project in the mission house area is completing construction of house number 10 as a part of a program that will build or remodel 100 homes. There are so many homes in this area that have a leaky roof, dirt floors, and no ventilation. Many homes are unsafe and unhealthy for the occupants. A new home can be built for $3,000.00 and a remodel project has a cost of $1,500.00.

I hope that after reading this letter that your response is the same as mine was thirty years ago: “I can’t do nothing!” I hope that now that you know about the inadequate housing conditions and how many families are destined to live, that you will do something!

The families of Clautilde Lisma, Sylvani Casine, Esperanta, Ermelise Vermilus, Titiork, Robert Milus, Paul Aline, and Satile Pierre are grateful that they now have safe and secure housing. Let’s not stop our giving until all 100 families in the mission house area can express their gratitude because they too have safe and secure housing! We can all do something!

If you would like to make a donation please make checks to “Helping Hands for Haiti” and mail to: Helping Hands for Haiti 45406 29th St. Irene, SD 57037. If you prefer to donate by credit card, click on the ‘Donate’ button at the bottom of this page or go to the ‘Giving’ page of our website.

NEW LOOK & WEBSITE - SAME MISSION

Even though it is not January 1, I think that a new website deserves to have a resolution to keep up a blog post!  I will begin with how Jerilyn and I got started in Haiti, and in the weeks and months ahead I will keep in touch with you about what is currently happening. We plan to be more active with Facebook and Instagram posts too!

Our current program is to build/remodel 100 homes in the mission house area.  Nine homes are completed, one is under construction, and we have the funding for five additional homes. Click here to learn more about our ‘Homes for Mauger’ project.

IMAGINE GOING FROM THIS HOME……….

…..TO THIS HOME!

In 1989 Jerilyn and I made our first trip to Haiti to do mission work.  Little did we imagine that thirty years later we would have our own organization directly involved in seven schools, five churches, two rice mills, a free school, a hot lunch program for 1200 students, a mission house to receive volunteer teams from the United States, and programs ranging from individual business startups to a housing project to build or remodel 100 homes in the mission house area.

Thirty years ago our dream was not so big!  Thirty years ago we hoped to help just one person to be able to succeed in a country where there was limited opportunity to do anything more than just survive.  God led us to a young man named Pierre Fritzner.  Fritz was a thirty year old single parent, who was also the sole support for his mother and two nephews.  The needs were obvious:  Food, housing and education for the children.  The solution:  PRAYERS and yes, MONEY!

Jerilyn and I have been blessed.  We were able to help Fritz and his family.  But for every one person that we helped, twenty more came forward needing help.  Then our family, our church, and our friends all stepped to the plate asking if there was anything they could do.  Helping Hands for Haiti was formed as a 501(c)(3) and over the next several years three new schools and two new churches were built.  Two rice mills were built to support the teacher’s salaries at Jumelle and LePina.  A hot lunch program was started at all seven schools.

Helping Hands for Haiti is driven by these three Bible verses:

Luke 12:48  “To those whom much is given, much is expected.”

James 1:22  “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.”

Proverbs 3:6  “In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.”

Interested in a “life changing experience?”  Consider a mission trip to Haiti!

Contact Dave Hansen: 605-760-3222

dave@helpinghandsforhaiti.com

Education is Key

The Haitians realize that the best way for their children to have a chance is to give them an education. That’s why the Helping Hands for Haiti team is committed to the education of the Haitian children. In 2006 the construction of the new 6 room school in Jumelle was completed. In 2011 we were able to complete our next school/church building in LePina. These new structures will help keep hope alive for these small communities and its children. Helping Hands for Haiti is also starting to work in other communities. Our progress is dependent on funding

Community development is another area the team focuses on. We believe in the community becoming self sufficient in supporting their school and families. We work with community leaders to develop programs best suited for them. We purchased a rice mill to generate income for the school in Jumelle. The mill is now generating enough income to support the school. Since then we have added a composting latrine and a clean water well. The school/church council in Lepina is currently working on a business plan for a business to help fund their school operations. We are excited for what the future holds for them.

We will also conduct Bible School for children, share in Bible Study with adults, develop incoming generating skills and many other projects while in the villages. But most important is spending time with and loving them!!

Please consider becoming partners with us as we have hopes to expand our reach in the Artibonite Valley. 

Helping Hands for Haiti is a non-profit organization.  Please consider contributing to our cause by  donating now.