Special Events in Haiti and in Oregon

By Laura Polynice

In the midst of the ever-increasing challenges in Haiti, men and women gathered at PLH for two special events in the past few weeks. There are very few places beyond church and soccer matches to go and enjoy time with family or friends. These events are a way for PLH to encourage and minister to the community during a time when hope is hard to hold on to. It is our goal to continue to host events like these each quarter. 

VALENTINE’S DAY

On February 14th, PLH hosted a special Valentine’s Day dinner for couples from the community. The evening included music, dancing, a lecture, games, and more. Couples enjoyed a performance from a soloist and a dancing trio. Rosemond, PLH Soccer Academy Director, and his wife shared their testimony of 28 years together. A guest lecturer spoke on the importance of family in building up society. 

Three couples competed in a round of the Newlywed game and couples worked together on a trivia quiz. Couples danced and laughed together and enjoyed a delicious meal and cake. Couples had a chance to share with the group some words about their spouse and present them with a gift. There were 45 couples in attendance. Everyone enjoyed getting dressed up and doing something special with their valentine. 

WOMEN'S DAY

March 8th was International Women’s Day. In Haiti, women are considered the “pillar of society.” They work hard keeping the house and raising their children. Most don’t have the modern conveniences that we are accustomed to in the US. This means washing dishes by hand, cooking over charcoal, and going to the street market multiple times per week to purchase perishable ingredients. Raising their children is also made more difficult by frequent school closures and the spiritual battle that exists in Haiti that is drawing youth into gangs and other trouble. On top of this, many women provide for their families by selling in the public market places or working. 

PLH hosted a women’s event on March 8th to celebrate these hard-working women and provide some fun during these hard time. Over 130 women attended. We opened with a mingle activity while the ladies enjoyed popcorn and coffee. Next, ladies colored greeting cards to take home and give to a special woman in their life. After that, we invited the ladies to join us in a little Zumba. Our secretary, my sister-in-law and I had fun preparing a routine to a Haitian song that celebrates women, and it was a blast to lead so many ladies in something they had never done. After Zumba, we had various games, and several ladies shared poems, songs, and words during an open mic time. We closed out the service with a message of encouragement from a missionary here in Haiti and worship led by some young ladies in the next town over from us. The ladies enjoyed and were encouraged by this time away from their normal stresses and routine and chance to relax and laugh together.

GOLFATHON

On Saturday, March 11th, the Golfathon team in Oregon, took Top Golf by storm as they hit golf balls in honor of their sponsors.

Thank you to our team of dedicated champions who generated sponsorships from donors to raise an incredible $40,000 in just 8 weeks to support the mission of empowering Haitians to build a stronger Haiti. 

THANK YOU CHAMPIONS

By Sarah Comstock

Thank you to everyone who attended our Haitian dinner fundraiser last weekend! We welcomed 217 guests, used 44 volunteers and raised nearly $35,000 in one-time gifts and 3-year pledges. We call you our champions because you champion our cause to Empower Haitians to Build a Stronger Haiti through your hard work, prayers and giving. I’ve already made new connections at the dinner that are developing into programs to benefit the Haitian people. It is so exciting to see how God works through people who are willing. 

We gave some updates about our latest trip at the dinner, but I wanted to fill you in on a few more details. If you look back at Sara’s blog post from last week and Jerry’s the week before, you can see that many things are happening. We are finalizing the purchase of land in Camp Marie, while also looking at new programs that will benefit that community. Once the land is finalized, people from the town will start the road. At the dinner, when we shared about the need to build a road, it made some of our champions worry that the property might be too remote or too out of the way. If you look back at the map Jerry posted, you can see that the property is only about 1⁄4 mile off of a major highway. Route 1 is one of the biggest and nicest road in Haiti, connecting the largest cities in Haiti. So, even though a road needs to be put in, we are centrally located and, in fact, very easily accessible.

As we look to develop relationships with the community and start working toward opening our jobs skills training program, we are focusing on English training and automotive skills. When we asked the local community leaders what skills they believed their students needed to be trained in to secure employment, they said they wanted to be trained in English, computers and auto-mechanics. The local hotels need employees that can speak English and be familiar with basic computer skills, such as how to email or use basic computer programs. Our hope is to start by working in the evening in the local school in Camp Marie educating young adults on the English communication skills necessary to work in the hospitality industry. Although Haiti is a poor country, the resorts attract many foreigners who mostly speak English and French. Most Haitians speak French, but they need some help with English. By providing this training, we can empower them to secure the employment they need to provide for themselves and their families. We are developing relationships with the local resort managers to work toward securing internships and job opportunities for our students once they are fully trained. We also want to focus on training students in auto-mechanics and will work toward developing this area after we have secured the land. In the meantime, if you believe you can help us toward our goal of developing this English program, we would love to hear from you. You can email me directly at sarah@plhope.org.

Thank you so much to our champions! We would love to have you join us for next year’s event, so
please save the date for our next fundraiser at the Keizer Civic Center on September 29th, 2018. Your investment in Project Living Hope will make a lasting difference in the lives of the Haitian people.

Sarah

Project Living Hope Board & Staff