A Look Ahead at 2022

In 2022, PLH is focusing on sustainability and self-sufficiency, both for the organization and the community of Camp Marie. To do this, we have several small businesses in the works which will create jobs for individuals in the community, provide a local place to purchase some basic staples, and create income for the organization. Here are the businesses PLH is already working on. 

1. U-Pick Fruit Orchard: In 2021, PLH planted over 300 fruit trees throughout the property. Local vendors will be able to purchase and resell oranges, grapefruit, limes, cherries, and keneps.

2. Kitchen: The PLH kitchen will provide daily lunches for our staff and offer meals and snacks for sale to students, players, and other locals. Construction will be completed by the end of January. The next step is to purchase appliances, countertops and equipment to outfit the kitchen

3. Solar Fruit Dehydrator: In our area, thousands of mangos go to waste each year as there is very little drying or preserving of food in Haiti. The solar dehydrator will allow for mangoes to be dried and preserved and for breadfruit to be dried and ground into a nutritious flour. PLH plans to purchase fruit in bulk locally as well as provide drying services for vendors to have their fruit dried and then resell it in the markets. The dehydrator will be placed on the kitchen roof and a special room for the fruit preparation and packaging is in the kitchen building. We are purchasing the dehydrator from an organization that builds them here in Haiti. We hope to have it installed in the next couple months. 

Water Purification Center: Currently, PLH purchases all of its drinking water, traveling 10 to 15 minutes to refill 30 plus water jugs several times per week. This was nearly impossible to do with the fuel shortage last fall. The PLH Water Purification Center will provide drinking water for our own use, offer the community a local place to refill their gallons at a low price, and create jobs for locals. The building will be completed by the end of January, and we hope to have the filtration system installed and operational by March.  

Chicken coop: Chicken is the largest source of protein in Haiti, and yet the majority of chickens and eggs are imported. PLH plans to create a chicken coop for egg-laying hens and meat chickens to be sold to local families and vendors. This will create jobs and allow families to purchase meat and eggs without having to travel 15 minutes to the nearest public market. Construction is planned for this spring. 

Sustainability and small business creation is just one of our goals for 2022. In 2022, we plan to strengthen our pre-existing programs, continuing to develop the youth athletics program as well as the English Institute. Both of these have been running for four years, and have seen significant growth and development. This year, it is our goal to continue to invest in our teachers and coaches to develop their skills and to advance the institute and soccer academy with further development of curriculum, discipleship strategies, and added tournaments and workshops. Please pray for the teachers, coaches, students and players that God will continue to touch their lives and that they may carry out the plans He has for them. 

As the PLH programs continue to grow and as small businesses launch, the PLH staff will continue to grow. We are excited to add to our number and have the opportunity to invest in more individuals on a daily basis. Employment is hard to find in Haiti and is life changing. An employer that treats their employees fairly and seeks to help them grow and develop can set individuals and their families up for success. And a positive work environment, focused on Christ and discipling its members can have eternal implications. Please pray with us that PLH will find the right employees to add to its number and that these jobs will be not only a financial blessing but cultivate personal, professional, and spiritual growth. 

The final focus for PLH’s work in Haiti in 2022 is to continue to invest in the community through special events and activities. Currently, Haiti has little to offer in the way of entertainment and positive environments for people to enjoy a day or night out. We hope to see PLH become the hub of the community - where people can come to enjoy time with their family and friends, relax, learn, grow, and experience new things. Please pray for the community of Camp Marie - for the leaders, schools, churches, families, and youth. Families face daily challenges that many of us can’t imagine. Youth struggle to see a hope or future and face temptations to live a life of gangs, alcohol, greed, and pleasure. Pray that PLH and the schools and churches in Camp Marie can be lights to the community and help to foster unity, love, joy, opportunity, and hope. 

Thank you for your continued partnership with Project Living Hope! God has great plans for this community.

As our Haitian brothers and sisters would do, we would like to leave you with a little new year’s blessing: May God grant you good health and watch over you and protect you. May you and your loved ones be blessed, and may this year be better than the last.

Merry Christmas!

Date Nights to Build Stronger Families

With the success of the father/daughter date night, the PLH staff organized mother/son and husband/wife date nights. These days and in our area, Haiti has little to offer in the way of entertainment or places to spend a special night with someone you love. Very few restaurants are open and most people cannot afford to eat at them. The goal of these events is to provide a fun event for family members to attend together in a positive environment and to encourage families to take the time to continue to build their relationships with one another and continue to grow in their role as parents and spouses. All three nights were big successes. Unfortunately, the bus broke down the night of the husband/wife date night, so that hindered the attendance as people tend to see the bus waiting and then decide to come. Still, 20 couples came on motorcycles or walked the road down to the campus. Each event included music, dancing, games, encouraging words from members of the staff and community, and food. One of the highlights was watching the dancing. There were many laughs and smiles and special moments as the women danced with their sons and husbands. These events received a very positive response from the community, with many asking when the next one would be or regretting that they didn’t attend. PLH will continue to offer these events and looks forward to becoming a hub for social activities and community development. 

Kitchen Progress

Construction is moving along for the kitchen building. The walls are up and the bosses are now preparing to pour the roof. This building includes a kitchen where meals for staff, guests, and events will be prepared as well as a laundry room and fruit drying room. Each of these rooms will provide jobs for local women. The next step is to acquire all the appliances, countertops, and supplies as well as the solar fruit dryer which will be placed on the roof of the building. This dryer is made in Haiti, by Haitian technicians, and with locally sourced materials. We are eager to see where the fruit drying business will take us. 

U-Pick Fruit Orchard

This fall, we began planting fruit trees on the PLH campus to not only provide fruit for our own use but to be sold to community members and vendors in a U-pick format. We planted over 300 orange, grapefruit, lime, kenep, and guava trees. Soon after the excavation of the soccer fields, we planted mango, Caribbean cherry, and avocado trees, which are all continuing to make progress with the cherry trees giving a good harvest this year. 

Christmas Week Events

This past Sunday, we held a staff Christmas party to honor and celebrate our staff and their families and the sacrifices and hard work that they have given to PLH this year. On Christmas Eve PLH will host the 2nd Annual Candlelight Service. We had a good turn out last year and everyone enjoyed learning a new tradition of candlelight carols and hot chocolate and cookies. To wrap up the season, a volunteer from the community has been practicing with children from the community each Saturday at the PLH campus for a Christmas show on Christmas Day. We hope that many parents will come out to watch their children perform and celebrate this special day together. 

Christmas and New Year’s in Haiti

Christmas is not a big holiday in Haiti. While everyone knows the history of Christmas and the popular American traditions, it is not celebrated in the same way. Some people have a party with friends on the 24th and others treat it as any other day off. New Year’s, however, is a huge celebration in Haiti. On December 31, Christians attend church services, sometimes from 10pm until 6am the next morning. They thank God for the grace and health that he gave them this year and commit the coming year to Him. Those who don’t attend church, have parties and music and fireworks can be heard all around. Then the next morning, January 1, every Haitian will enjoy a bowl of pumpkin soup to celebrate Haiti’s Independence Day. Not a puree like you may imagine, Haitian pumpkin soup is more of a stew with beef, carrots, cabbage, plantains, macaroni, and slices of pumpkin. Haitians eat this soup as a symbol of their won freedom from France as, during slavery, slaves were not allowed to eat this French dish. While many Haitians today will tell you they are still slaves due to the difficult conditions in the country and the population’s powerlessness against the gangs and corruption, this does not stop them from celebrating their freedom, worshiping God as they welcome in the new year, and visiting relatives and loved ones.