Haitian Mission

The purpose of The Haiti Mission is to enhance the future of Haiti ’s children through healthcare and education.

DONATIONS MAY BE MADE TO “MISSION FOR BIBLICAL LITERACY” OR “MBL”, 285 TALLASSEE RD, ATHENS GA, 30606.  PLEASE REFERENCE "HAITI" IF YOU WISH THE FUNDS TO GO TO THIS MISSION. 

Following are observations and reports by Sally, our Haiti Missionary: 

 


Click to view a presentation on our Haiti Projects (please be patient... this is a large document and may take a few minutes to open)

Mark 9:23 - Everything is possible for him who believes.

What We Do

25% of the children in Haiti die of malnutrition before age 5! Through mobile clinics we provide Plumpy'nut, a fortified peanut butter paste that cures malnutrition is 6 weeks! Preventative measures such as vaccinations, vitamins, and worm medicine are also given. Families receive a ceramic water filter that will provide clean water for 5 years and mitigate the risk of cholera. At age 3, we fund school tuition which covers a uniform, shoes, backpack, and the teacher's salary. A kitchen has been built that serves a hot lunch to 200 children each day so learning is not impaired and hope for a better life is achieved.

Read Finding Your Purpose in Haiti

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere .  The people of Haiti may not have clean water, electricity, sewer systems, or paved roads, but they have their faith.  Here is one mother’s story and how her belief rubbed off on this humbled American.

A PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM SALLY HAAS

In 2002 my mother, Ruth Haas and I took care of Linose, a 1 ½ year old Haitian child who was in Atlanta for eye surgery.  We both fell in love with her and much to my surprise; I believe I have become a missionary as a result of having met her.

Six months after she left, “something” told me I had to go see where she lived.  I was scared to death to even go to Haiti and then they told me I had to fly in a single prop plane too.  Oh joy!

When I entered Linose's one room mud house, ten of us were jammed in shoulder to shoulder.  Linose's mother Junette asked her husband, Claudie, to translate for her.  Junette proceeded to tell us that while she appreciated us taking such good care of her daughter, she knew it was God who had brought us to her.  With tears streaming down my face, I heard the woman behind me whisper in my ear, “Sally you are witnessing.”  I must say that was a first for me and as I mentioned, my life has not been the same since.

This same woman likes to remind me often that God has been talking to me for quite a while, I just haven't been listening.  Guess it’s time to become a better listener.

What I think I’m hearing now is “The greatest of all mistakes is to do nothing because you can only do a little.  Do what you can.  The gifts that one receives for giving are so immeasurable that it is almost an injustice to accept them.”

A Nutrition Program has been started in Haiti to prevent the children under the age of five from dying of malnutrition.  With your help we can actually do a lot.  Now would be a wonderful time to make a contribution and help put a smile on many women’s faces by saving their children.

Thank you for supporting our Haitian Mission.

Sally Haas

Director

Haiti Fact Sheet

  • Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere
  • It is a 2 hour flight from Miami
  • More than 8.5 Million people live in Haiti
  • There is one doctor for every 10,000 people and they only serve the patients who can afford to pay.
  • 50% of the children are malnourished
  • 50% of children’s deaths are caused by malnourishment
  • The average lifespan for a woman is 47 years
  • Most Haitians live with no running water, no sewer systems, no paved roads and no electricity
  • The island is being deforested in order to make charcoal; Haitians’ only source of fuel
  • Very few jobs exits; working Haitians are lucky to make $2.00 a day
  • One bag of rice costs the equivalent of $6.00

In Haiti , a country only two hours away from the U. S., the wealthiest nation in the world, over fifty percent of children suffer from severe malnutrition and a large majority of them die before the age of 5.  Lack of essential proteins and vitamins causes their hair to turn orange and their bellies to swell with water.  Haitian parents cannot afford food for their children and are forced to make “discs of desperation”, cakes made from dirt and cooking oil, preventing starvation, but not malnutrition.  Not only do these children lack nutrition, they also have no prospects of attending school, learning the basic skills to achieve a successful career and in turn help those around them.  The vicious cycle of poverty has affected their country for the last 200 years and has created the current dire circumstances.

The Haiti Mission strives to provide nutrition and education for the children, giving them their only hope for a better future. 

Nutrition Program

Partnering with Carmel Valdema, a Haitian nurse and her team of health workers, The Haiti Mission has been providing protein enriched meals to hundreds of children in the Crochu area. Children who could not walk are now running with joy and excitement.  The program also provides pediatric examinations, vaccinations, vitamins as well as health information sessions for the parents through mobile clinics. In Haiti there is one doctor for every 10,000 people.  Our monthly clinics are often the only healthcare these children ever receive and are dramatically improving their health.

To significantly increase the number of children treated and provide in patient care for the acutely malnourished, we have broken ground on a non-profit clinic called "Hope for Children".   It will serve as the headquarters for the Nutrition Program and offer AIDS education, family planning and hygiene classes for teenagers and adults, and train incremental health workers.

 

Ricardo before Plumpy Nut nutrition

Ricardo after Plumpy Nut nutrition

 

Education Program

Once a child’s health is stabilized they are enrolled in a local school at age three.  Education is considered a privilege and most can not afford it. Attending school is the only hope a Haitian child has to make a better life.  The Haiti Mission partners with Father Fritz Valdema, an Episcopalian Minister and Carmel ’s husband, to place children in school.  The academic curriculum has been expanded to include Bible study using beautiful hard backed, color children’s Bible story books written in Haiti ’s native language, Creole.  Tuition covers the teacher’s salary, a uniform, a pair of shoes, a backpack and books.  St. Alban School in Crochu consists of a tin roof, wooden benches, one large blackboard and no walls, but the children eagerly attend each day to learn all they can.

 Please join The Haiti Mission in making a difference in a child’s life by providing a year’s supply of food or sending them to school.  Not only will you help them grow and learn but it will result in a brighter future for Haiti.

Again, you may make your donations to "Mission for Biblical Literacy, 975 Gaines School Road, Athens, GA 30605.

If you have further questions reach out to the Reverend Bob Harris, President, at (770) 815-9078 or DrRobertLHarris@gmail.com