It’s been way too long…

I’m sure no one checks this blog anymore, since Gerson hasn’t updated it since last July…but I (Heather) thought it was about time for a new post– just a little update. We took a 2-week trip to Haiti over Gerson’s Christmas break, and are now planning our next trip for this summer. We have a lot of ideas and plans, and though we’re not sure how everything is going to play out, we are excited about the possibilities.

On our last trip, we were able to purchase about 3 acres of land in a small community called Magranbwa. This will be the site for our first project, an elementary school.

We had a couple of meetings with the people in the community while we were there. On our next trip, we hope to spend some time talking with individuals and families, to get to know the people and the needs of the community better.

I was just reading through an email update I sent out last year. Here is an excerpt, which summarizes our focus in this ministry…

We want to bring hope to the Haitian people, and we want to share God’s love with them in a real and tangible way. Daily life is such a struggle for most who live in Haiti, and we want to help them meet the many challenges they face. The focus for our work is going to be in two main areas– education and sustainable agriculture.

*Education is a valuable resource that is sorely lacking in Haiti, especially in the area we plan to work in. We want to provide educational opportunities at every level—from elementary school to a college to continuing education for adults. Our main emphasis will be on building Christian character in our students, and our goal is to raise not only church leaders, but leaders of various kinds that will positively impact the future of the country as a whole. We want to offer degrees in areas like theology, business, agriculture, health care, and social work….to give people the resources they need to turn around and make a difference in their own community.

*Hunger is the most obvious physical problem plaguing the country of Haiti. It is absolutely heart-breaking to see the effects, both physical and emotional, of poverty-induced hunger. I am sure any of you who have been to a third-world country have had the same reaction as me– “We have to do something about this!” We believe this issue can be better addressed by working to enable people to provide for themselves than by merely handing out food. The majority of the country’s food is imported, which leaves them vulnerable to rising food costs and creates a dependence on the rest of the world. We want to help the people of Haiti to become more independent and self-sufficient, able to provide for their own families and communities. We plan to do this by developing an agricultural program that focuses on educating farmers, rehabilitating farm land, building refineries, and providing mechanical farm equipment. We also hope to buy a commercial fishing boat at some point, to take advantage of this largely untapped resource for food, as most parts of Haiti are on or near the coast. (So if any of you happen to be selling a commercial fishing boat, please let us know!)

We know that we can only do so much ourselves– which is why we want to empower the Haitians themselves to change their own communities and country. There are many who want to make a difference in their country, who would love to help bring about change– and we want to give them the opportunities to do that. This is the vision for our work in Haiti.

Advocacy

Through my journey with God, there is one thing that has become very clear in my mind. I know he has called me to be his voice among the rest of the Haitians, and I would consider myself lax in that responsibility and duty towards my Haitian brothers and sisters if I ever let anything stop me.

And beyond faith reasons, after all, I am Haitian. I was always taught, especially at church and school, to love my country and to work for its best interest. Although I condemn corruption, social and economic injustices, and the lack of governance in Haiti, I still love my country and have dedicated my ministry as an instrument of change in both spiritual and social aspects. Every Haitian has the duty to play a role in the survival of Haiti, regardless their background, faith, or world view. We have the duty to love, respect, and protect our nation. And my responsibility towards every Haitian is to love them, respect them and protect them. Having said this, I am to act, speak, and write upon what I judge as loving, respectful, and protective to the rest of the Haitians.

Because missions is the platform which God has given me to perform my Christian ministry and responsibility towards Haiti, my ideology is centered around that particular ministry. In the future, I will be writing about what, in my perspective, missions have done right and what they have done wrong, and how I think missions can maximize their efficiency in Haiti. I hope if any missionary in Haiti happens to read about my perspective of missions that they would not take it personally, but understand it is my duty to love, respect, and protect the people that I call my own.

I do have mixed feeling about missions in Haiti. On one hand, I have a lot of consideration for every missionary in Haiti, especially those who are there because they really love the people and want to make a difference in their lives. On the other hand, it would be naive on my part to claim all missions and missionaries are all that great. From what I have experienced in Haiti, I believe the whole mission system needs to be reformed.

I would not deny the fact that most missionaries are- or at least once were- well intentioned to help Haiti, but many of them have missed the mark due to a lack of readiness for intercultural ministry. Intercultural ministries take spiritual preparation as well as socio-economical and historical understanding. Unfortunately, many who went to Haiti were driven simply by the poverty of the Haitian people. When poverty becomes the focus, ministries are based on handing out food, which is for one detrimental to the Haitian economy, and for two it hinders respectful relationships.

Talking about the effect of handing out food, I will take the opportunity to mention that some Haitian economists have traced down direct relationships between cheap imported food and the destruction of the Haitian agricultural system, which results in the hunger problem that 80 % of the Haitian population is facing today. CARE, which is an international NGO in Haiti, in its effort to help the Haitian economy has made the resolution to stop importing food to Haiti, and use their food budget to help the national production. The Haitian government has launched a campaign to encourage Haitians to buy local food even though it is more expensive than imported food. There are a series of ads playing on the Haitian Television and public displays that promote the local productions. Yet I wonder how many missions organizations are aware of that, or can understand these economical issues. (This was just a side note.)

One phrase I really hate hearing from missionaries is, “It is Haiti” whenever they have a bad experience. Even if it is due to their lack of understanding of the laws and regulations, they are apt to use that as the explanation. This term reminds me of Adam and Eve…”It was the woman!” This is what I believe that mentality does; it creates a lack of responsibility and an excuse for poor decisions. For example, because “It is Haiti,” some mission organizations think it is fine to have schools in which 6th graders have 1st grade reading ability and can’t perform basic addition. Because “It is Haiti” they build orphanages, and when the kids misbehave or turn 18, they throw them back on the street without any professional training. Because “It is Haiti” they can have churches where the preacher can not read or write; because “It is Haiti” they can pressure and manipulate the Haitians; because “It is Haiti” they can pay their employees $3 for 12 hrs of work. The list can go on and on. It seems like this “It is Haiti” mentality works more for missionaries’ selfish interests than anything else.

These are some of the issues that I will be addressing from my own perspective. I will be speaking and acting upon them until I see a reformation in the mission system in Haiti. Christians- both native Haitians and international missionaries- are the only tool that God has to change Haiti, but the system needs to be reformed. My purpose in writing about these things is not to be critical and negative, but to address issues that I feel need to be addressed in missions across Haiti.

In Just a Few Days

I am sorry I have been away from the blog for so long. School and other family obligations have been keeping me extremely busy this semester. I am only a few steps away from completing everything for this semester, and I feel very relieved that I am finally going to have the time to sit and write about the many more plans that have been added to what we already intended to do in Haiti. In past few months, we have met different people who have embraced our vision, and who will possibly work with us in the future. It is very exciting to know God is at work and he is already providing for this ministry.

Check out my Slide Show!

Gerson + Heather

haiti pap mouri

haiti pap mouri