Thank you for your support of Project Living Hope and the Haitian people. We wanted to give you a brief update about the PLH construction work in Haiti and some of the events that have been happening in the country over the last few weeks.
We started the first phase of construction on our property at the beginning of February. Even though there were some setbacks, we had an incredibly successful first week. We will be posting a second blog post with updates about the construction in a few days. We will have some great stories to share with you! Unfortunately, we were not able to proceed with the second week of work due to the continued national fuel shortage and protests that broke out throughout the country. This cut off our supply of fuel to power our equipment and made it difficult for the organization housing our team to power their generators or replenish food and water supplies. We made the difficult call to halt the construction project until things return to normal and brought our excavation team members home to the US. We are so thankful for the work that was completed, the commitment of the volunteers, and the safe journeys home.
Haiti has been experiencing inflated prices, fuel shortages, a drop in the value of the Haitian currency, and a lack of confidence in the government. This, along with opposing political parties trying to get back into power, led to 10 days of nationwide protests and roadblocks, beginning February 7th. The people are tired -- tired of living with a bad economy, government corruption, and roadblocks and protests. But it is not the general population that protests in the streets and causes roadblocks. These are mainly young, unemployed men who have been hired to shut down Haitian life to push an agenda. Workers sit at home losing their much needed pay, students miss days of school, hospitals run out of oxygen and other supplies, businesses and stores remain closed, and families run out of fuel, food, and drinking water.
Though protests are a common occurrence in Haiti, this last round was more widespread and lasted longer than normal. Things have been a lot calmer this week (though many roads are still blocked), but we are waiting to see if it is just a respite or if this round of protests has died down. We will be assessing the situation over the next week and establishing a plan for the construction project and our upcoming visiting team trips. If widespread protests continue, we will not send visiting teams to Haiti as the roadblocks prohibit travel between Port-au-Prince and our community of Camp Marie. The safety of our visitors and Haitian staff is always our number one concern, and we also do not wish for those giving of their time to come down and not be able to experience Haiti fully. We are optimistic that the situation will continue to quiet down and we can resume with the project and planned trips.
Our community of Camp Marie and the surrounding areas remained fairly calm. Our staff helped care for our visitors, stepped up as the leaders they are within their community, and continued to move to advance the mission of Project Living Hope. The Haitian people are hopeful and resilient. This is not the first time that they have had to deal with protests, nor will it be the last. In times like these, we see them come alongside and help support one another in amazing ways.
We ask you to continue to pray for Haiti. Even when these protests die down and life returns to normal, the issues will remain. There is much to be done in Haiti. When facing these situations, we are reminded that Haiti needs jobs. If these young men had employment, they would not be protesting. Haiti is facing many challenges, but we have faith that God can overcome these and we must faithfully continue the work that He is calling us to do -- to empower the Haitian people to build a stronger Haiti. Thank you for praying with us for positive change and forward movement.
Would you like to hear more about Guesly and Sara’s recent trip to Haiti, the construction project, the situation in Haiti, and how you can be praying? We have two opportunities for you to hear from Guesly and Sara firsthand and join us in prayer for the Haitian people:
Monday, February 25th at Foothills Church in Stayton at 6pm. Dessert will be served.
Monday, March 11th at Garden Way Church in Eugene at 7pm. Pie will be served
