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. 

Pray for Haiti

By Guesly Dessieux

Today, I have gotten several texts concerning our safety in Haiti with the recent kidnapping of 17 Americans that were coming from an orphanage in Ganthier Haiti which is closer to Fond Parisian. Please keep those people and their families in your prayers.

We are far removed from any current gangs that are kidnapping people. I am not saying that cannot happen even in Camp Marie, but the mayor has remained very intolerant to such behavior in her community. Ganthier is about 3 hours from us toward the DR border.

Please continue to keep Haiti in your prayers. Pray that the multiple gang issues get resolved. While we hear about the Americans, hundreds of Haitians (600+ in one report) have gotten kidnapped so far this year. Some of these we hear about, others we do not. The current situation in Haiti is a humanitarian crisis I think.

However God still has a plan for Haiti.

The Dessieux family is back in Haiti. So are a number of Haitian immigrants.

By Sara Dessieux

After spending four and a half months in Oregon, our family arrived back in Haiti a week ago.  It is so nice to have a comfortable home here to come back to!  My sister, Laura, and her new husband, Wahi, lived here and took care of the place and our dogs while we were gone, but the day we arrived they started staying at their new rental house on the other side of Camp Marie.  

We jumped into our new schedule: schoolwork in the morning, then soccer practice and English class in the afternoon.  For the seven and a half weeks that we’re here this time, I am teaching a Biblical English class to our most advanced English students.  Sometimes, our classes start up gradually with few students and then grow over the following couple weeks, so I was pretty surprised to have seventeen students show up today.  They’re eager to purchase, at quite an inexpensive price, the hardback ESV Bibles we brought, and I’m looking forward to interacting with them about the Bible.  

Soccer practices started up two weeks ago, so Guesly and the kids jumped into that today.  Guesly also put together a pair of soccer goals, set them on the basketball court, and introduced some players to futsal, a soccer game played on a hard, smooth floor with five players on each team.  No offense, basketball players, but soccer will always be the game of choice for most people here.  We did bring in more basketballs and are eager to have a team come at some point to do more basketball training.  

Now to switch gears, if you’ve been following the news, you may know that around 4,600 people made unplanned one-way trips to Haiti in the last week and a half.  After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti up until now, Haitian people have been travelling to South America in pursuit of jobs and better lives.  Recently, due to several different factors, they started making their way up through Central America and Mexico to the U.S. border.  Can you imagine the desperation they must feel to undertake such a long and dangerous trip?  Within a matter of days, thousands of them crossed the border into the U.S. in hopes of being accepted as refugees.  As of now, 12,400 of them were temporarily released into the U.S. to stay with family members and are expected to have a chance to appear in immigration court and 8,000 of them crossed back into Mexico.  The others were put onto chartered planes and returned to Haiti, which has only gotten worse since they left.  Some came with their children who have never even been to Haiti.  

For many more than 4,600 Haitians, this is absolutely devastating.  Haitians working abroad send money back to their families in Haiti.  These remittances have accounted for at least one third of Haiti’s economy.  Those who stay truly count on those who go.  And so, those in Chile and other South American countries, when faced with unemployment due to the economic downturn as a result of Covid-19, left their lives there and sacrificed everything for a chance to get into the U.S.  We all know that immigration is a very complicated and controversial issue, but we can still all strive to understand the plight of those trying to enter our borders.  

As I battled anxious feelings about our own upcoming trip to Haiti, I could only imagine how many more feelings these Haitian people on the move have.  Desperation, fear, stress, hopelessness.  For all of them, no matter where they are on their journey.  For those being sent back to Haiti, they are returning to a country plagued with such violence, political instability and economic devastation that most people here would say they have never experienced a Haiti this bad in all their life.  

So as I packed our suitcases, I said many prayers for these people who were returning to nothing carrying nearly nothing.  We aren’t likely to cross paths with any of them in this country of millions, though Wahi, Laura’s husband, has already, but we know they are joining the masses already struggling here.  Their difference is they have seen a better life, but then things got bad again.  

We always covet your prayers for our family, our staff and the community we serve.  We ask that you pray also for the Haitian people - those who have never left this country, those who have travelled far and wide in search of a better life, and those among them who find themselves back in Haiti once again.

Responding to the Haiti Earthquake and Looking Forward at Disaster Preparedness

In the wake of the August 14th earthquake in Haiti, many people have asked how they can help. When considering how to help, it’s important to understand the bigger picture. This post looks at three stages of disaster response and gives some ways you can help with each stage. 

After a disaster, the immediate need is RELIEF, defined as “urgent and temporary provision of emergency aid to reduce immediate suffering.”  Relief may include emergency medical care, food and shelter for those displaced. In regards to the recent earthquake in Haiti, there are several organizations that are providing immediate relief. If you would like to give to this effort, here are a few to check out:

• HERO

• HaitiOne

• Haiti Air Ambulance

These organizations and others are currently providing medical care for those injured, advocacy and family support for those transferred to hospitals in Port-au-Prince, tarps, tents, food and supplies to those displaced, and trauma therapists for those suffering unbearable losses. Follow @HEROClientRescue to see what they have been doing. 

After a few weeks to a month, relief is no longer the appropriate response and the need becomes to REBUILD. When a disaster such as an earthquake or a hurricane hits, there are often thousands of people displaced. Rather than packs of rice and a tarp to sleep under, the needs become rebuilding homes and restoring social structures. Extollo International is a Christian organization that provides training in high-standard construction and is working to bring better building practices to the country.  In addition to buildings, social reconstruction is also needed. Local NGOs, churches and other social organizations are key to helping the communities rebuild, and rebuild stronger. 

Once a community has rebuilt, the need becomes DEVELOPMENT. This stage is focused on improving the “normal” and looks well into the future. Development may include job creation, economic development, and strengthening social systems. Also a part of development is PREPAREDNESS. This includes creating strategic plans for future disaster response and educating and equipping response teams. 

Project Living Hope has continued to emphasize DEVELOPMENT through our mission to Empower Haitians to Build a Stronger Haiti. PLH programs in athletics, job skills training, and community development all work towards this goal of development by working to create stronger communities, jobs, servant leaders, and a united effort. The fourth key area of PLH is disaster preparedness. This program has responded to urgent and widespread needs in our community through food assistance, job creation and partnerships with local churches. This program is ready to grow to provide disaster relief, rebuilding and development to help families and communities affected by natural and man-made disasters. The program will focus on community preparedness before disaster hits and partner with organizations already working in relief and rebuilding efforts.

PLH is starting to put together a small committee to head up the development of the PLH disaster preparedness program. This committee will help develop a formal written plan which will outline the process of training locals, stocking emergency supplies, carrying out disaster response plans, and using our campus and facilities to best support these efforts. If you have knowledge and experience in the area of disaster preparedness, we would love to speak with you about an opportunity to serve on the committee. Email us at info@plhope.org.

How you can pray: 

• Pray for the displaced. Thousands of people are still unable to return to their homes as aftershocks continue daily and engineers have not yet cleared buildings for reentry. 

• Pray for those who have lost loved ones. The earthquake occurred around 8:30am local time, so thankfully most people were up and out of their homes. Many people, however, had loved ones back at home or in other locations who were killed by collapsed structures. 

• Pray for the relief workers as they work long days and nights to provide care.

• Pray for the local organizations, churches, and communities in the affected areas that they can work together to bring fast and effective rebuilding and development. 

• Pray that in the wake of this tragedy, God can be seen at work and His love, grace and provision are felt by all.

Update: 2021 Haiti Earthquake and Tropical Storm Grace

Map Tracking Grace’s Path

Thank you for your prayers. While the south-western part of Haiti is still working on rescue and relief efforts from Saturday’s earthquake, tropical storm Grace approaches. The storm was expected to hit the northern coast; however, its path shifted south and it is now beginning to rain down on the southern coast and other parts of the country. Pray for shelter and protection for those displaced during this storm. Updates on the earthquake report 1,297 deaths and 5,700 injured. Please pray for the affected communities and families.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

While PLH is not near enough to the area to effectively assist in the rescue and relief efforts, there are many organizations that have been providing first response care and are organizing support for those injured and displaced, here are a few organizations that could use your financial support at this time: HERO Foundation, HaitiONE and Haitian Air Ambulance.

Thank you for your partnership and prayers. PLH will continue to provide you with updates as we can.

2021 Haiti Earthquake

Earlier this morning, a 7.2 earthquake hit the southern peninsula of Haiti and was felt throughout the country. Our community in Camp Marie felt a shake for about 30 seconds, but there was no damage in the area. The southern part of the country, around Jeremie and Aux Cayes, were hit the hardest, reporting a collapsed church building and university apartment as well as damage to other buildings and a major bridge. We do not yet know about fatalities or injuries. Reports say the hospital in Jeremie is crowded but that there is a well-organized effort there providing medical care. Organizations and communities in the area have sent out first responders and are beginning to arrange relief efforts. 

How can you help?

Pray. Please pray for the people affected. Pray for those responding that they may be able to rescue those trapped and provide service to those displaced or otherwise affected. Please pray for Haiti as a nation. The whole country was deeply affected by the 2010 earthquake, so each earthquake brings back a lot of memories and emotions for everyone here.

Thank you for your continued prayers, support, and partnership.

PLH Summer Kick Off

By Sarah Comstock

Project Living Hope’s mission is to empower Haitians to build a stronger Haiti, so why run a sports camp in Stayton and a fun run in Sublimity? Really, it is all about engaging with our community. Not everyone is able to travel with us to Haiti, but we hope all our Champions can engage with the mission of PLH.  One of PLH’s focus areas is athletics. Through athletics we offer children and youth a safe environment where they can play, grow, and be trained holistically in their faith, sport, and future. In the United States we often take for granted the opportunity for our children to participate in athletic programs. But, in Haiti, children typically do not have those same opportunities. Extracurricular activities are a luxury that few can afford, which means many children and adolescents fall prey to gangs or other harmful choices.

This past year has taught us all in the US to stop taking these opportunities for granted as well. So, when PLH started to see that there may be an opening in our hometown to engage the community, we decided to offer a sports camp for local kids, like we do in Haiti. For three days, June 23rd to the 25th we had over 120 kids out to the Foothills Church camp for 3 and a half hours of sports and fun! Kids were just getting out of school for the summer and we took this as an opportunity to show our home base how we work in Haiti.

Fortunately, we had a team of volunteers to help us bring this opportunity to our community. Thank you so much to Bill Pilgeram and Taylor Kelly head women’s and men’s basketball coaches from Corban, Tyler Butenscheon from Foothills and our very own Bethany Ferrigno who served as head basketball coaches for the camp! Thanks also to Jess Caze FSF Instructor from Oregon State and Jason Clark PE Teacher from Santiam Elementary School who served our local youth in our soccer program.

It was such a fun week.  We had about 80 kids in our basketball program and 40 in our soccer program.  Plus, another 30 volunteers gave of their time to help with this effort!  Each kid got to develop their skills at various stations led by leaders in the sport. They had snacks, free time and some fun doing Haitian inspired crafts. Amy Bentz our creative Communications Coordinator led the kids in crafts that helped them understand more of life in Haiti.  The soccer kids made cardboard cutout shin guards and were informed about how kids in Haiti are unable to afford nice things like store bought shin guards and soccer cleats, but they make do. The basketball kids got to make a ping-pong basketball craft that allowed them to see that kids with limited means can still do things to have fun. At the end of the week we even had special visitors from the Timbers U23 team!

We ended the Summer Kick Off camp with a fun run on Saturday, June 26th in Sublimity. About 100 community members participated in the first PLH 3K and 5K Fun Run and Walk. We took off at 9 am and it was already a record setting 80 degrees! By the time the run was done we were nearing 90 degrees in one of the hottest weekends on record in Oregon. Not surprisingly, our first-place finisher in the 5K was our very own Guesly Dessieux. Maybe the “Haitian” weather helped propel him along?

We had many sponsors and volunteers that helped make both events possible. Overall, we were able to raise about $2,000 to put on the same events in Haiti. We plan to run a sports camp like the one we ran in Stayton and will do a fun run on the road to our property. This will be our second fun run in Haiti. Ultimately our goal was connection: connecting our Oregon community with our Haitian community.  We believe this goal was accomplished. Our Stayton and Sublimity partners know more about the work in Haiti and their generosity has helped empower Haitians to build a stronger Haiti.  Thank you to all who helped make this possible!

Right now, we are running the annual Join the Community campaign. This campaign invites you to join the PLH community by becoming a monthly donor. Monthly giving fuels the programs and projects that provide hope to the community in challenging times. Just $15 a month helps to:

• Educate current and future professionals by providing English classes and other job skills programs.

• Empower youth by providing soccer and basketball programs that holistically train athletes in faith, sport, and future.

• Employ staff and construction workers with jobs to provide for their families.

• Expand the campus to better serve the community.

Thank you for your continued prayers, support, and partnership. 

Through All Of This, There Is One Thing That Gives Us Hope

By Laura Polynice (Nott)

“Nou bouke,” (We’re tired) has long been the cry of the people of Haiti – since the 2010 earthquake, through the 2019 unrest which shut down the country for three months and into this current season of gang violence and insecurity. This past month has been a particularly tiring one for the nation. Then this morning, Haiti awoke to the news of the death of the president. 

Earlier this morning, President Jovenel Moise was assassinated at his home. The First Lady was taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds. The death of the president throws Haiti into a new chapter of the unknown. The constitution states that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is to be the successor; however, he passed away of covid two weeks ago and his funeral was scheduled for today. It is hard to predict what will happen in the coming days and months. All we can say is Haiti needs our prayers. The country is suffering.

An anonymous woman who heard the shots summarized much of the population’s feelings well when she said, “The president had problems with many people, but this is not how we expected him to die. This is something I wouldn’t wish on any Haitian.” (CNBC)

June was a tough month for Haiti. We are in the middle of the rainy season, but while the rain falls and the gardens grow, the country of Haiti is struggling to hold on. Gang activity is on the rise throughout the greater metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince. Some communities have had to leave their areas due to gang violence. Some hospitals and organizations have been forced to vacate their facilities for the time being, out of concern for the safety of their employees and those they serve. The Haitian police have insufficient resources, training, and support. Meanwhile, covid, though relatively mild in Haiti during 2020, has seen an increase in cases. We are beginning to hear of more sickness around the country and in our area. Prices are continuing to rise. Fuel shortages are becoming more common and lasting longer. There have been two fatal boat accidents in our area impacting our coastal community. Then last weekend, a chartered plane crashed and claimed the lives of the six people on board, who had decided to fly in order to avoid travelling through an area made nearly impassible due to gang activity. Thankfully, hurricane Elsa did not hit Haiti hard, though the south did have some flooding and loss of crops. The population is discouraged and frustrated over the economic, political and gang situations in Haiti and the loss of innocent lives. The cry of the people has been, “Nou bouke.” “We’re tired.”

Through all of this, there is one thing that gives us hope: God, our heavenly father who we know loves Haiti. He may not bring peace and prosperity to this country today or tomorrow, but through it all, we know He is with us. Deuteronomy 31:8 says, “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” He calls us to continue to serve those in front of us and to do the work entrusted to us. He asks us to encourage and lift up one another. He commands us to pray for our neighbors and our enemies alike.

PLH continues to do the work God has put in front of us. While most of our English classes are on summer vacation, two that started mid-year continue to meet. The soccer fields and basketball court host casual play and organized scrimmages in the evenings when the weather is cooler. It is encouraging to see soccer players arriving by truck and by foot for scrimmages or to hear the bounce of basketballs until well after dark. Sports truly are an outlet. Amongst all the stresses of the world, PLH is a place where youth can come to play, relax, grow, learn, and challenge one another. The PLH staff are working to make repairs to the road and finish the bathrooms so the campus can be better accessible and equipped to host events and activities. We hope to have everything ready to host special activities in August.

It may be difficult to see in the middle of so much suffering, but we know that God has big plans for this community and this country.

How can you help?

Pray. Please pray for the population of Haiti that has faced decades of hardships. Pray for families that dream of a better life for their children. Pray for workers, national and foreign, that continue to do the work God has placed before them. Pray for those behind the violence and corruption. God has the power to change hearts. Pray that this next chapter in Haiti brings good leaders and positive change.

Give. It feels strange to ask for money on a day like today, but the truth is, now more than ever, Haiti needs the training, employment and hope that organizations like PLH bring. Right now, we are running the annual Join the Community campaign. This campaign invites you to join the PLH community by becoming a monthly donor. Monthly giving fuels the programs and projects that provide hope to the community in challenging times. Just $15 a month helps to:

• Educate current and future professionals by providing English classes and other job skills programs.

• Empower youth by providing soccer and basketball programs that holistically train athletes in faith, sport, and future.

• Employ staff and construction workers with jobs to provide for their families.

• Expand the campus to better serve the community.

Thank you for your continued prayers, support, and partnership. 

Joyous Times

By Sara Dessieux

Our family returned to Oregon for the summer about two weeks ago, but before we left Haiti we were able to take part in some very joyous events.  Laura Nott, my youngest sister, has been working for Project Living Hope as administrative assistant for over three years now and she has lived in Haiti for most of that time.  She’s become a key player in almost all of PLH’s activities and a beloved member of the community there in Haiti.  Last winter, she got engaged to a wonderful man she’s been dating for longer than she’s been with PLH.  During our last week in Haiti, their wedding day arrived.  

One week before the wedding, Laura and I excitedly picked up nine family members and one friend who flew in for the wedding.  It was so fun to have our parents and all five of us kids in one van again.

We packed a lot into our week together--swimming in a pool, snorkeling in the sea, playing games, a hike, making a wedding cake, hanging gutters on the PLH buildings, visiting Laura’s English classes, lots of meals with new acquaintances, and various wedding preparations.  

One highlight early in the week was an evening worship service we held at PLH.  In the weeks prior, Laura and I and eight other musicians had selected and rehearsed songs in both Creole and English.  Around 100 people attended the event, and we had a lovely mix of English speakers and Creole speakers, Haitians and Americans.  Our dad, Nick, gave a brief message on how we are all called to be holy and how we can go about doing that in our daily lives.  

We certainly hope to hold more services like this in the future and also want to acquire more sound equipment and instruments.  While PLH never intends to start a church in Camp Marie, seeing as the village already has several, we still want to always be directing people toward Christ and demonstrating that worshiping and serving God is fundamental for our organization.

Photos from Laura and Wahi’s wedding show an idyllic Caribbean wedding by sea.  And while those of us organizing things knew of all the hiccups along the way, those in attendance thought it was all lovely.  And it was.  Around 150 people were in attendance and a Haitian feast was prepared for them all.  Everyone made it safely back home and the bride and groom enjoyed a honeymoon at a local resort before moving into our house in Camp Marie for the summer.  

The state of affairs in Haiti currently is still not good.  Lawless, and at times violent, gangs have everyone concerned as do the political and economic situations.  We praise God for bringing us through our time there safely and we continue to pray daily for those still there.  

Please Forgive our Mess

By Sara Dessieux

Four years ago, after the Project Living Hope land in Camp Marie had been purchased, our team started creating plans for how the fields, buildings and such would be laid out on the land.  The 3-D renderings looked so snazzy, and I could just envision people walking to and fro on the land participating in all the different learning options available.  I knew it would take years to raise all the funds needed and to complete all the construction, but there is one aspect that I never consider and that is the mess.  Currently, we are very much in the mess phase.

When the very first soccer camp was held on the PLH land, players and coaches were constantly chasing down soccer balls because the land was sloped.  The following year, the land was cut into several different flat areas so now games can be played without the ball rolling downhill.  We are still battling the fact that our piece of land is on a slope and when heavy rains fall the water flows down through every lowest area.  So in addition to putting in the first basketball court last month and building the restroom this month, our concrete workers are also building canals, concrete pads and retaining walls as needed.  It’s not very glamorous work, yet time and money has to be devoted to it.  

There are constantly piles of sand, gravel, blocks and rebar scattered around.  There is always a water barrel, a screen set up to sift the sand, fragments of blocks and empty concrete sacks revealing where the most current work is taking place, and all around it, as we enter the rainy season, mud in various stages of drying out.  Then there is the noise -- our precious backhoe  with an endless to-do list to go with it, dump trucks coming and going, and sometimes a grader or steamroller or both working within a few feet of my English class in session.  There are also our two cement mixers, so loud hour after hour, but at the same time so invaluable.  Over the din, the crew yell back and forth to each other as needed, and I stand there dreaming of the day when the tools can be put away and everyone can have their good clothes on rather than their work clothes.  

Of course, there is much good in the current situation as well.  Our staff is learning to problem-solve together.  Men with no steady jobs are being employed for weeks on end.  Step by step, we are getting closer to having a developed campus.  

We are so grateful for the support you give us.  Without it, we would be so many steps behind where we are now.  At times, the progress seems slow, but when we reflect on how much work has been done in just a few short years, even despite much turmoil in the country and COVID-19, we are humbled and thankful.  I feel confident that within the next two years, much more will have changed.  In the meantime, please forgive our mess.