Haiti Hub Headlines

This month's Haiti Hub Headlines come to you from Michael, our Haiti Country Director, who has just returned from an encouraging trip...

After a difficult start to the year and a series of challenging visits to Haiti, I'm delighted to share that I've just got back from a trip that filled me with joy and hope for the future. I have been reflecting on a verse from Isaiah 43 that talks about the emergence of hope where before there seemed to be none:

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.’"

As our new chapter in Haiti begins to take shape, I truly feel we are beginning to 'make a way in the wilderness', and I wanted to share some exciting developments with you...

After many months of searching and praying, we’re happy to share that we have found a new home for our respite center for children with disabilities! We've been looking hard to find a space that will meet all the needs of the children and staff, and we're so pleased to have finally found it. This is a huge step forward for us, and we hope this new center will be ready to open and receive children in August.

We’re also excited to share that refurbishment of our new rehabilitation center for people with disabilities has officially begun! By the start of August, we hope that the center will be ready to accept its first patients, with a men’s ward, women’s ward, physiotherapy room and vocational training room. We've also had some really promising interviews with doctors and nurses looking to join the HHA Team as we embark on this new chapter!

With all of these ambitious plans in the pipeline, I'd like to pause to express Team Haiti’s deep thanks for all those who supported Matched May. Starting these activities in new locations is a big task, but thanks to your prayers and faithful support, we feel encouraged, bolstered and filled with hope. The funds and momentum you helped us raise have put us in a strong position to ensure we can continue providing life-saving health and disability care to Haiti’s most vulnerable.

Whilst this trip filled us with hope for the future, we were also shocked by the devastation that the instability in Haiti is causing across the country. Whilst things remain fairly stable security-wise where we work, it is evident that the instability is manifesting in other ways. Even in the streets, the build-up of large piles of rotting trash under the intense heat highlight the struggling state of Haiti's public services.

On a visit to the largest public hospital in northern Haiti, it was shocking to see the number of infants and babies admitted for severe and acute malnutrition – more than we'd ever witnessed before. Haiti has one of the highest levels of food insecurity in the world, with almost half of the population struggling with acute hunger, and it was humbling to see the reality of this first-hand. We were introduced to one mother in the ward who’d tragically arrived too late to save one of her twins, who sadly died before she could reach care.

Yet, amidst the injustice of this devastating reality, a young, passionate doctor passed through the ward with a warmth and love that was inspiring and moving to witness; and we’re now exploring ways we can potentially collaborate to help this desperate situation. This is why we’re in Haiti. Not only to stand against the injustice of such extreme poverty, but also stand with Haitians like this amazing doctor, who are bringing hope to the most vulnerable every day. That’s our call, and I’m excited that we’re going to see that really ramp up in the coming months!

Thank you so much for your continued support – amidst uncertainty, instability and difficult decisions, the support of our incredible HHA Family has truly meant the world. Stay tuned for more Haiti and East Africa updates very soon!