Category: News (Page 42 of 100)

Things sure go from quiet to not so quiet in Haiti. Its been “simmering” for some time. The government removed price controls of several different things — gas, beans, and rice, to name a few — things the everyday person depends on, and to say the least it was not a popular decision.

Fuel subsidies have been a part of Haiti since before we started working there. When they announced double-digit increases in gas, diesel, and kerosene, the general public very quickly let them know their displeasure by forming protests. Some protests have turned violent.

Gas is up to $6 a gallon. Since any public transportation is small pickups and buses running different routes, it’s difficult for the driver to buy. It’s even more difficult for those riding, because the driver must raise his prices to offset the price of gas.

Rice is up more than $18 a bag, a small can of dry beans is $7, and the oil we use to cook it all is almost $11 a gallon. Not only does this hurt the everyday person, its also hurting the ministries that operate nutrition programs. After almost 25 years, I don’t think anyone knows the answers to the problems in Haiti — NO human.

Steve had planned a March 8th trip, but the American Embassy sent an email to those on its list, advising a delay for the time being. They do this a lot, but when the Embassy sends its own families back to the U.S., we don’t go. If we were unable to get out to the villages, it would become a waste of money.

The picture is a new one of a class of preschoolers at Beaubrun’s school. Although a smaller group, this picture reminds me of the one sent last month when Alix was this size. You never know what one of these children will grow up to be. Investing in their health (spiritual and physical), providing an education, and giving them tools to face their future, will quite possibly result in one of them changing the things around them.

We hope you all have a great Easter. We appreciate the cards, prayers, and help for our friends in Haiti.

Hi everyone,

Almost everyone who has been to Haiti with us has met Alix but there are a lot who have not been, too. Even if you have met him, it’s been a while since you’ve seen him.

In the group picture, Alix is the little boy standing by himself on the left. Alix was born with a growth on his right eye, although he could see a little with it, with his other eye being good. When we first met him, another person was helping with his and his mom’s needs. Although we wanted to bring Alix to the U.S. to have surgery, others decided to have it done there. The surgery left him totally blind in that eye.

Over time the other people stopped working in Haiti. By then, Alix and Steve were buddies. With his mom’s blessing, Alix came into Port Au Prince to live, so we could take better care of his needs. The village he was from was one of the stops on the clinic circuit, so he would go on those days to visit with Mom, and he’d spend the summers with her too.

Alix has grown into a young man now. Since he has been around doing clinics and feeding programs, as well as being in church all his life, these are things he has decided to do to help people in Haiti, especially in the village he is from. I think most of you remember Duclair, the voodoo priest; Alix is from the same village.

The third picture is of a group who completed a six-week course in Bible studies; although he is kind of hard to pick out, Alix is standing second on the right side. He takes pride in completing this course and taking care of his mom. With the Ministries’ help, they live in a four-room concrete house, nice for that area, not far from where the first picture was taken.

Alix is one of those individuals in Haiti that say, “I am not going to sit and wait, but I am going to do!” He is doing what he grew up watching: people helping other people. Alix is a very special person to Terry and me. It doesn’t seem that long ago, he would go to sleep sitting on my lap at night.

Alix is just one of those who you have helped raise over the years and we are thankful for each of you and your involvement in their lives.