The People of Haiti

Back in January my little sister called to tell me she had decided to go on a mission trip to Haiti in May. She immediately said "Come with me!" I said I couldn't because of work but could not stop thinking about it. I have been to Mexico three times on mission trips but have always said I wanted to go again outside of Mexico. I realized I could probably be off work and asked God to show me what I was suppose to do. I let a few things pan out in my life and then I KNEW I was suppose to go. I got the time off work approved, talked to my husband and then called my sis to tell her "I was going to Haiti!"

 

Fast forward six months and there is now no way I can write just one post to sum up the experience I had in Haiti as well as my journey getting there.

 

I'll start by sharing about the children and people of Haiti. 78% of Haitians are poor (less than US$2 a day), and more than half (54%) live in extreme poverty (less than US$1 a day). Over two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs.

 Half of children under 5 are malnourished. For every 100,000 births, 523 women die in Haiti. 80 out of 1,000 Haitian children never see their first birthday. 50% of primary school age children are not enrolled in school and one-third of girls over the age of six never go to school. The average Haitian only gets two meals a week.

15% of all children in Haiti are orphaned or abandoned (“practically orphaned”).  Most estimates put the number of orphans in Haiti prior to the January 2010 earthquake at about 380,000.  Experts now estimate that the number of orphans has doubled to about 750,000 since the earthquake. Haiti is a country where child slavery and trafficking are legal.

Source of info

These statistics alone tell a lot about the children and people of Haiti. Once I heard these numbers, facts and statistics I knew that God was going to use me to show his love to the people of that country and I was completely broken. I was striving to do as much as I could in the week I was there to show them hope, love and God's promise.

These kids are abandoned, hungry and have nothing but what they need most is love. They immediately opened up and loved us as if we were their very own family.

 

They have nothing but these children work as hard as they can for what they cang. They live with huge untamed hearts that are so ready to love.

 

 

"Visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world."
James 1:27

For more information on sponsoring an orphan in Haiti visit Chasing Eden.