Nestled in the mountains of an otherwise forgotten community, the village of Mauger proudly displays their new school! The finishing touches were completed this week and the new school awaits a shipment of desks in August and the grand opening in September! Unlike most schools in Haiti, this school will provide a free education. Our next task is to build a security wall around the perimeter. Thanks to a significant contribution, we will begin the security wall immediately!
Waiting to Return
While many people have had an excellent experience participating in a mission trip to Haiti, now is not the time to travel there. COVID-19, political issues, and gang activity have given Haiti a Level 4, do not travel advisory, from the U.S. Department of State. For those of us who have been doing mission work in Haiti for many years, we know that in time, conditions will improve and we will once again be able to work with the Haitian people we have come to know and love. Until that time when conditions are safe, we will continue to raise money for our school and other projects that Fritz, our Haitian Coordinator, is able to manage from our mission house in Haiti. Many of you want to make your first trip or are anxiously awaiting a return trip. From my very first trip to Haiti in 1989, I learned three words that are very helpful when dealing with Haiti: Patience, patience, patience! We can't go just yet, but we do know that sometime in the future we will be able to. Until then….patience, patience, patience!
New School Construction!
Thanks to some very generous donors, Helping Hands for Haiti has undergone construction on a brand new school! These pictures showcase the foundation outlined, then the foundation work, followed by the walls that were erected last Friday. Most schools in Haiti are "for profit" and the students are required to pay tuition, have to purchase their own books, uniforms, and they pay to take tests. Our school will be a "free school", so children in the area of the mission house will not be denied the opportunity to attend school because the family could not afford to send them.
Not only is the "free school" a welcome addition to the area, but also during the construction of the school, local labor is hired to do the work thus enabling many individuals job opportunities. Each week Fritz hires 40 workers to work on the school. The following week a different set of 40 workers are hired thus giving many families an income. Fritz is an equal opportunity employer and not only hires both men and women but also includes those with disabilities wherever possible.
When completed, the school will consist of six classrooms, plus a room for the director, a bathroom, two houses for teachers, and a house for the custodian. We look forward to the opening of the new school in the fall and expect over 300 students!
Christmas 2020
Dear Family and Friends,
We are all familiar with the saying, “A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words.” Fred R. Barnard is often given credit for the quote sometime in the early 1900’s. He modified it a little on December 8, 1921 when he said, “One Look is Worth a Thousand Words.” Hoping to improve on the impact of the popular saying, he upped the ante and on March 10, 1927 proclaimed, “One Picture is Worth Ten Thousand Words!”
Fred Barnard was not the sole innovator for the “picture-words” quote. In March of 1911, Tess Flanders was quoted as saying, “Use a Picture. It’s Worth a Thousand Words.”
Prior to Fred R. Barnard and Tess Flanders, a man by the name of Henrick Ibsen started all of the “picture and words” quotes when he made a statement that morphed into the quote that we all know so well today. Henrick Ibsen was quoted as saying, “A Thousand Words Leave Not the Same Deep Impression as Does a Single Deed.”
The thirteen pictures you have just viewed of the Helping Hands for Haiti Pillow Case Dress Fashion Show were taken in January of 2020. Way too often we fail to find the good and happiness in a land of poverty and heartache. But on this January day at the Helping Hands for Haiti mission house, over 20 excited young girls came to show off their new pillow case dresses at the “Fashion Show”. Most of the girls were late for the three o’clock start because their mothers wanted their daughter’s hair done just right as evident by the many styles. After the walk across the stage and individual pictures, the girls and moms enjoyed “solar oven” cake and fresh made juice.
When you look at these pictures, I know that they speak at least a thousand words, if not ten thousand words. I also know that Henrick Ibsen made a good point when he said, “A thousand words leave not the same deep impression as does a single deed.” The single deed of hosting a fashion show gave these girls an experience they will never forget.
Haiti remains a country of needs. Poverty, hunger, lack of education and little economic opportunity are some of the challenges that we face as we begin our 31st year in Haiti. We have made progress! The “single deeds” made possible by monetary donations that many of you have made have enabled Helping Hands for Haiti to build 25 new homes and remodel 2 other houses in the last couple of years. Your contributions feed hundreds, provide medical care, provide countless start up grants and loans, provide days for girls kits, layettes, Children’s Bibles, rent land for farmers and buy seeds. All of these “single deeds” leave “deep impressions” on those who receive them.
Above is an example of an older and unsafe home that we replaced with a safe and secure home.
Our project for 2021 is to build a new “Free” school in the mission house area. Helping Hands for Haiti currently works with an existing school to make it free to all of the students, but the owner of the school is constantly asking parents for money for trivial things and threatening not to pass the students if they don’t provide the money. We can eliminate this situation by providing our own school.
This is the school we built at Savane a Roches. Our “Free School” would be modeled after this school.
While severe deflation of the American dollar in October has escalated the cost of building materials for the school, Helping Hands has received a contribution of $45,000.00 from an anonymous donor along with the challenge to all of us to collectively match that amount. $90,000.00 will not only build the school but will also pay for the operating costs for the first year.
We already have over $2,300.00 raised by Hannah Wahls, a Ponca, Nebraska, high school student to purchase new uniforms for the students. In addition the Luverne, Minnesota schools have donated their surplus desks and school equipment to Orphan Grain Train of Norfolk, Nebraska which through a like exchange program with Helping Hands for Haiti will provide desks for our new school in Haiti.
You are the missing link! Can we count on you to make a donation from a mandatory distribution from an IRA, give a memorial in a loved one’s name, honor a family member or just give from your heart? “A Thousand Words Leave not the Same Deep Impression as does a Single Deed.” Henrick Ibsen
Dave & Jerilyn Hansen
Please feel free to donate here on our website:
OR
Checks may be made out to: Helping Hands for Haiti
Send to:
45406 295th St.
Irene, SD57037
Charitable Donations through Amazon Smile
If you find yourself doing some online Christmas shopping, you now have the opportunity to donate to Helping Hands for Haiti through Amazon Smile. Amazon Smile can make it easy to buy gifts for your loved ones AND help those in Haiti who are less fortunate.
School Equipment Donated
Through a collaboration between Luverne schools (MN), Orphan Grain Train (NE), and Helping Hands for Haiti, various desks and school equipment will be donated to Helping Hands for Haiti's new school to be constructed in 2021. These surplus desks, chairs, and additional equipment were loaded into 2 semi trailers from Lurverne, Minnesota, and sent to Orphan Grain Train in Norfolk, NE. These desks will be used domestically, but will enable Orphan Grain Train to provide similar equipment in Haiti for the new school.
Thank You from a Grateful Haitian
Recently, I received a video clip from a grateful Haitian for receiving a new home made possible through the generosity of some of our donors. At about $3,000 per home, we have now raised over $83,000 for housing in Mauger! What a blessing!
It is the little things like this that make everything that more special, as we get to see the message and our goals being realized. We are grateful for the opportunity to make a direct impact in people's lives, just like this.
Rice Meals Received
Fritz was able to pick up 487 boxes of rice meals as well as 200 cans of sweet corn from Pastor John in Port au Prince. The meals came from our partner, Orphan Grain Train in Norfolk, Nebraska. The sweet corn came in 1# cans. Corn is a favorite in Haiti and for those fortunate enough to have something to eat for breakfast, sweet corn is a treat. Most families eat one meal each day and that is in the evening.
The Dawinson family
Helping Hands for Haiti is so thankful that Orphan Grain Train was able to ship several containers to Haiti in February and March. We are hoping to ship 2,000 solar lamps and 400 pairs of shoes for the school children through Orphan Grain Train for the September school year. Thank you Hanna Freudenburg and Orphan Grain Train!
While Haiti has less than 100 cases of Coronavirus, the situation affects many of the Haitians causing a disruption of markets and an increase in food prices for a population that consistently struggles with hunger and malnutrition. With your help, and the help of our many partners, Helping Hands for Haiti is able to provide food for immediate relief as we work in communities to implement long term economic relief.