Hunger facts in Haiti:

• Two and a half million Haitians live in extreme poverty.
• Almost 60 percent of the population live below the poverty line of US$1 a day.
• Rural households spend 60 percent of their income on food; the poorest groups spend more
  than 70 percent.
• Anemia affects 60 percent of children between the ages of six months and 5 years.
• Although agriculture is an important sector of Haiti’s economy, the country fails to produce enough food.
• Haiti imports more than 50 percent of its populations needs. It imports 80 percent of its main staple: rice.

Recently, a picture of a crying child caused an up roar among American people. Whether or not the picture was a true portrayal of actual conditions is up for debate. A picture of a child crying
from hunger in Haiti is just that — hunger.

Several years ago, I talked about visiting one of the churches and being in the kids Sunday school class. All they could talk about was how hungry they were. Of course, this was before the feeding programs, but that hunger is still in Haiti and kids still go without.

Thankfully, we have met much of that need in “our” villages because many of you give yearly for these programs, or your church does. Just saying “thank you” really doesn’t cover what it means to those who benefit from it.

Why a picture of an empty rice bag? I saw this on the ground after the rice had been poured into a big pot and I thought, some one at home paid for that to feed these kids. Why I picked it up is your guess, but this is what they buy with the money you give. You can see where it came from. 12.5 Kg is about 27.5 pounds (why they chose that rather than 25 pounds is your guess too).

Thank you for supporting programs like this. Terry and I hope all of you are blessed for helping.

Hi everyone,

Last year in May we sent a picture of a little history of our nutrition programs. Recently we were talking about these programs, how much good they do and how they benefit the kids. We thought of something we had not though of before: we are now in the second generation of kids attending them.

As with the schools, once a child finishes the 6th grade, they either drop out of further schooling or attend a school that has higher grades than we can provide. Its pretty much the same with the nutrition programs; once they are that old they move on. Something many may not think of is the fact some kids in the 6th grade, may be 16 or 17 years old. This isn’t because they can’t pass but because they have not been able to start school when most kids do. In “our” villages, we try to get kids in school when they are 5. Then they are ready for the first grade and we can also get them in the feeding program, started on vitamins and keeping track of their health, much as we do with out own kids in the U.S.

Something else you may not know is all childhood diseases are reported to the Ministry of Health, as are other diseases, such as cholera. It isn’t a perfect system by any means, but it helps them keep track of where and when these diseases are making kids or adults sick.

We know you have seen a picture of beans and rice … maybe too many times. But each year, at the the start of summer, we think back to the beginnings of this. We feel it is something we need to keep fresh in our minds and how important this is in the life of a child in Haiti.

Who knows how many have passed through programs like this? We sure have no idea, especially when you count in those who come to eat after tropical storms, hurricanes and certainly after the earthquake.

Thank you for all you do to help with programs like this, prayers for Terry, and helping our friends in Haiti.