Haiti

PLH Board Retreat

By Roger Pedersen
PLH Board Member

Many organizational boards gather for a retreat or focused conference to do yearly, or bi-yearly planning. Even churches and Christian non-profits do this, and for good reason. It provides an opportunity to get to know each other better and experience the collective brain power of the group to look forward to what is next and improve ministry. 

Project Living Hope has been doing board retreats for several years. We met for another January 3rd - 4th. The board members who were able to attend this year already had a sense of camaraderie and commitment to the mission. To keep Christ central to the organization’s work, the Bible and prayer were included in the agenda. This did a couple of things that transformed the retreat. It was an invitation for God to show up and take charge of the meeting. Yes, we had an agenda, but we discovered that through the inclusion of the Holy Spirit, we as a group went way beyond the agenda. 

A careful review was made of PLH’s successes and limitations in Haiti, a country in crisis, over 2024. PLH couldn’t send people or materials. We even had to bring US personnel out of Haiti for safety reasons. But we were amazed at how God has been at work in Haiti despite these limitations.  The impact of the ministry has more than doubled. The omnipresent God also lives in the community there. It is obvious. Other regions in Haiti are excitedly hoping that God will bring the same programming and opportunities to them. These things led to celebration and worship. Thank you, Jesus!

A second review was the yearly finances. (Yawn.) But wait. Here also, God impressed me in a big way. First, even when a ministry is highly restricted because of governmental crises where lawlessness prevails, God is going to bless whom God wants to bless. Everything that is needed to sustain the ministry and the people coming to the PLH campus is being provided for. God is doing that. Second, you would think that an organization that has been unable to send its leaders and visitors to location would have trouble raising money. But God is a blessing! The ministry is being provided for.  So, the board, led by the Holy Spirit, was able to readjust our priorities and become more focused on what God is doing. Plus, new resources and opportunities for personal support appeared that will lead to amazing new relationships with fans of PLH in America. This led to more celebration and praise. 

It would be easiest for me to spend the most time in this blog on the “dream” part of our retreat. Having learned what God is already doing with PLH in Haiti, it was interesting to see a subtle shift in priorities. Some of the “well, since we couldn’t do it this year, maybe we can do it next year” ideas moved over to allow room for what God is already doing and how we can be more involved in those activities. What was fascinating was watching priorities shift from what we might do to how we break through the barriers of present-day Haiti and become more active with what God is doing through PLH. We know that we cannot count on the Haitian government for help at this time. This will require inspired ideas from God (and we received several), trusting God for miracles, AND tons of prayer. 

I think a big takeaway for me from this retreat was the realization that God is leading PLH to a bigger impact despite the efforts of Satan to destroy Haiti and her people. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

We believe in the power of prayer because of how God has responded from heaven for Project Living Hope this past year. We are redoubling our efforts to invite God to become more active and pay more attention to what He is already doing there. A part of that effort is to invite every one of our PLH family of friends to join us in praying daily with us. 

I know that it is hard to discipline ourselves to pray daily or add one more thing to our already full prayer list. So, we came up with a prayer booklet of 21 prayers. They are simple, easy prayers that you can lift up to God from your heart. Our God is awesome, and it appears that He intends to continue doing big things in Haiti and through Project Living Hope. So as you pray these prayers, say them with boldness and high expectation that He will be knocking down dark walls separating the people of Haiti from His heart of love. 

Click below to access the prayer guide. Join us in prayer as we watch God do more miracles for the families participating in Project Living Hope.

At Project Living Hope, we depend on the prayers of our supporters. You can learn about urgent prayer request and join others in prayer by joining our prayer team!

As a member of our prayer team, you will receive:

  • Notification of prayer needs as they arise.

  • Stories and praise reports that share how God is answering our prayers!

Christmas in Haiti

YOUTH AND FAMILY CELEBRATION

On December 28th, PLH hosted a festive Christmas party for youth in our soccer, basketball, and artisan programs—and their parents. Over 950 attendees enjoyed basketball and soccer games, a hearty meal of rice, beans, and chicken, and the joy of coming together as a community. Our coaches loved the opportunity to connect with so many parents, who expressed their appreciation for providing a safe, nurturing space for their children.

To further spread holiday cheer, we distributed 540 gift bags filled with essential food supplies, including rice, beans, oil, and spaghetti, to support families during the holidays.

STAFF AND FAMILY CELEBRATION

In addition to the youth event, PLH continued an annual tradition dating back to 2018 by hosting a Christmas party for our staff and their families. This event allows us to show appreciation for their hard work and dedication while offering encouragement for the year ahead. Each staff family received a gift of food supplies to enjoy during the holidays.

Thank you for supporting PLH and making events like these possible!

Farewell, Coach Toutou

Toutou was one of Project Living Hope's passionate coaches who volunteered his time on the property. If there was a soccer game or activity on the property he was there. Unfortunately, Toutou passed away too soon, only 44 years old. Over the last few years, Toutou struggled with his health, often spending a lot of time going to see different doctors hoping they could figure out what was going on with him. Haiti's medical infrastructure has been in disarray for many years and most clinics and hospitals have very little resources to truly evaluate and treat patients. The limited number of medical providers makes it hard as most clinics are often overrun with patients. The insecurity and instability have only added to this problem as the gangs make it hard for people to travel to the few hospitals in the country that have any resources and could have helped a patient like Toutou. Toutou left behind two young kids.

The PLH staff, players, and community honor Toutou for who he was and the lives he impacted.

We will miss you Toutou.  Rest in peace in the loving arms of the Father, knowing your suffering in this world is over. 

2024 Keizer Dinner

The PLH Unshakable Hope dinner in Keizer, Oregon took place on September 20th. While Haiti is facing an extremely difficult time, our hope for the country remains unshakable. We have a vision for the 600 youth that come to our campus each week. It is not a dream of a better future that we are clinging to, it is the result of real hope that we are seeing in Haiti every day! Thank you for partnering with us to empower Haitians to build a stronger Haiti. 

We are grateful for the generous support of our sponsors, volunteers, and attendees! Thank you to the Corban University Basketball team for serving dinner!

Christmas Bags

This past December, PLH ran a Fill-a-Bag campaign where donors filled 227 drawstring bags for participants in our soccer, basketball, English, and artisan craft programs. Each bag contained toiletries, crayons and a coloring book, a PLH water bottle, and items specific to the child’s sport or class. After getting stuck in Port-au-Prince for months, the bags were finally delivered to the PLH campus and distributed to youth in our programs. Thank you for blessing these children and teens! We look forward to running this campaign annually! If your church, business, or community is interested in participating, contact us!

Happy Haitian Flag Day

Haitian Flag Day is celebrated on the 18th of May each year. The Haitian flag was adopted in 1803 during the Haitian Revolution and has undergone many design changes over the years. The original flag was derived from the French flag with the white stripe removed to symbolize the end of white colonization. In good times, Haitian Flag Day is a big holiday, with parades and celebrations across the nation. This year, however, the crisis leaves people with little to celebrate. Join us in wishing our Haitian brothers and sisters happy Flag Day and reminding them that we are standing with them, working and praying for a stronger Haiti. 

Join us at the 2024 Portland Dinner and Auction

The Portland auction is one of our biggest fundraisers of the year. Come enjoy live music, premium auction items, a delicious dinner, and an update on PLH's work in Haiti. The proceeds from this event will support Project Living Hope and help further the mission of PLH to empower Haitians by providing education and encouragement to the community through youth sports programs, English classes, finance classes, employment opportunities, sustainability projects, and community events.

6:00-7:00 Doors Open and Silent Auction
7:00-8:00 Dinner and Live Auction
8:00-9:00 Presentation and Spin to Win
Tickets Required

Abernethy Center, Grand Ballroom · 606 15th St · Oregon City, Oregon

Buy your ticket today!
We look forward to having you join us!

Golfathon

Thanks to the work of 18 fundraisers and the generous support of donors like you, this year's Golfathon was a success!

Are you interested in being a fundraiser next year and joining us for the TopGolf celebration in Hillsboro, Oregon? We're hoping for a team of 30 participants to raise $50,000 in support of Project Living Hope. It's super fun and easier than you think. Contact us for more information!

Haiti Declares State of Emergency

By Laura Polynice

It’s difficult to write an update on Haiti. Whenever you think it can’t get any worse, it does. 

This past weekend, gangs seemingly joined forces and carried out coordinated attacks throughout Port-au-Prince and the country. 

This Weekend’s Events:

  1. Gangs attacked the airport in Port-au-Prince on Thursday in an effort to prevent the acting Prime Minister from returning from Kenya. All flights through the airport have been canceled since the event. 

  2. Gangs attacked the police academy in Port-au-Prince.

  3. Gangs breached the country’s largest prison in Port-au-Prince, releasing thousands of prisoners. It’s reported that, of the nearly 4,000 prisoners, only 99 remain in the prison – those who chose to remain in their cells. A second prison was also attacked. 

  4. Gangs attacked police stations in several places throughout the country, gaining control of the station in Cabaret. It’s reported that the gang now controls most of that town, moving their control further north up National Route 1 (the highway which leads to PLH’s community).

  5. Gang leaders announced that several of the gangs have joined forces and will not stop their attacks until acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry is removed from power. 

  6. After the weekend’s events, the country declared a state of emergency and instated a curfew Monday through Wednesday. 

  7. The citizens of Port-au-Prince are trapped in the city as violence escalates and shooting increases throughout the city. All routes out of the city are controlled by gangs. Schools are closed and streets are empty as everyone hides in their homes. Leaving even to find water or food is a life-threatening mission.

  8. Food insecurity continues. 1.4 million people face emergency levels of food insecurity with 4.35 million people suffering from acute hunger. 

  9. All of this comes after January 2024 was labeled the “most violent month” in the past 2 years in Haiti with more than 1,100 people killed, injured, or kidnapped.

  10. On Friday, Ariel Henry and the Kenyan President signed a deal to move forward with the proposal to send 1,000 Kenyan police to Haiti, a plan devised by the UN Security Council, paid for largely by the US, and initially halted by the Kenyan parliament. Other Caribbean nations also discussed an effort to organize a multinational force to send to Haiti. 

Video: Haiti declares state of emergency amid escalating violence and prison break (CBS) 

The Political Situation

After the assassination of President Jovenel Moise with no prime minister installed, several candidates stepped forward to run the country. Ariel Henry won the power grab and has been acting as Prime Minister since. Most of the population does not view him as a legitimate leader of the country as he was not elected. Henry signed an agreement that he would organize elections in 2023 and hand over power on Feb 7, 2024.

In November of 2023, Guy Phillipe, a revolutionary and accused drug smuggler who led the 2004 coup against President Aristide, returned to Haiti after serving several years in US prison. He began to call for protests throughout the country to start a “revolution”. With no elections in sight, protests broke out around the country in February to call for Ariel Henry to step down. Henry has since stated that he will organize elections in 2025 and hand over power in 2026.

Haiti is Hurting

Hopelessness is spreading throughout the country. Every month brings new levels of suffering. Gangs are armed with military grade weapons, drones, and vehicles. The police are overwhelmingly outnumbered and outgunned. The people have no way to defend themselves and are running out of places to hide. People fear that they will all die before help comes. 

PLH is Standing Steadfast

We share all of this to bring awareness to the suffering that our Haitian brothers and sisters are facing, to bring light to the injustices happening in this corner of the world that we serve. While things are dark and it is hard to say when and how Haiti will rise from this, we continue to hold on to hope for Haiti. PLH believes that God has a brighter future ahead for Haiti. We remain steadfast in our mission of empowering Haitians to build a stronger Haiti. The PLH programs continue to offer hope and purpose through athletic programs for youth, valuable training courses for adults, and a commitment to stand with those we serve and partner with them to bring about a stronger future for their community and nation. 

Christmas in Haiti

YOUTH CHRISTMAS PARTY

This GivingTuesday, PLH raised funds to make Christmas special for our youth and staff. On December 22nd, PLH held a Christmas party for the youth that participate in our soccer, basketball and artisan programs as well as their parents. Everyone enjoyed a special time with song and dance performances, speeches from the PLH staff and coaches speaking on the vision and values of PLH, and a meal of rice, beans and chicken. Our staff estimate that there were over 600 people in attendance. The coaches enjoyed being able to meet and speak with so many parents. Because of your support on GivingTuesday, all the families received a gift of basic food supplies to help feed their family during the holidays. 310 bags were distributed to the families, each including rice, beans, oil and spaghetti. Parents shared their appreciation for the program and how glad they are to have a safe place for their kids to play and grow.

Thank you for supporting PLH on GivingTuesday and making this event possible!

STAFF CHRISTMAS PARTY

In addition to the player party, PLH hosted a Christmas party for our staff and their families. This has been an annual event since 2018. PLH values family and encourages our staff to put their families first, be present parents to their children, and lead their families in following Christ. These parties are a chance for PLH to show our appreciation to our staff and their families and encourage them. Like the players’ families, each family received a gift of food supplies.