Educating the brightest and poorest youth of Haiti

Most people know a few things about Haiti. One, it is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and two, it has been hit by far too many natural disasters.

When I first arrived in Haiti with my wife and four of our children we were greeted by four consecutive hurricanes, Fay, Gustav, Hanna, and Ike in the span of three weeks. Welcome to the island. Then shortly after I returned home the island was hit by a 7.0 earthquake that took over 300,000 lives. A week later it had another 6.1 and then a cholera outbreak and hurricane Tomas.

That is a lot, but they have since that time been hit by Sandy, Matthew, Laura, Iota, Eta, Delta, Elsa, Grace, Franklin, Fiona, Isaias, Humberto, Dorian, Sara, Rafael, Oscar, Beryl, Erin, Imelda, and Melissa. To name a few of the storms that have continued to devastate the island.

In 2021 they had another 7.2 earthquake that barely made it into the news.

One of the reasons that Haiti misses out on the need relief is that as soon as a storm like Melissa, Sandy, Matthew, etc. hit the coast of the US the focus chances. We are not interested in the damage there anymore, because now we can report the dollar amount of the damage done. We attach a dollar sign to the storms and tend to forget about the human suffering that these storms have already cost in poorer nations throughout the Caribbean.

This week we are thankful that the flood waters have dropped and the airport in Les Cayes has reopened and our farm manager was able to return to Central Plateau. This means that our team will be able to get paid for their efforts over the past month to keep our crops safe in the storm. Flooding is always a danger to the soil as many of you saw in our last post. It destroys road and infrastructure, and that destruction can take years to repair if it is ever repaired.

The people overcome these setbacks by creating new pathways and they work together to rebuild homes, businesses, and families.

They seem to understand what Paul tells us in Romans.12, “Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality.”

For over 15 years we have been helping students continue and complete their education, first in the US and now in communities around Haiti. It costs approximately $350 for elementary and high school and $1,500 for university. We also have over 1,000 pounds of donations waiting to ship and need to raise at least $2,000 to make that happen. We can do all this with your help.

We want to thank all of you who have been supporting our mission over all the years and praying for our safety and for those whom we serve. As you may know, December 2^nd is Giving Tuesday. “Giving Tuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of radical generosity. Giving Tuesday was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Join the movement and give, whether it is some of your time, a donation, or the power of your voice in your local community.”

We hope you will join us in making a difference in the lives of those we serve by donating to BonZeb. You can donate by sending a check to address on the left of this page, or you can use the website, PayPal, Venmo or Zelle. You can also us Candid.org, or Every.org.

Every dollar raised goes directly to serve the people of Haiti.

Your prayers are extremely helpful for keeping us on task, even when we are in the eye of a storm. “Our help is in the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 124:8.

Thank you and may God bless you and your families.

Benjamin Franklin had it right when he wrote the above statement. Investing in knowledge does pay the best interest. We see over and over again the success of educating the poor and how that education help raise them out of poverty and into meaningful employment and livelyhoods. We also see the effects of not educating people and how that keeps them down. Lack of education can steal a person self worth, self esteem and can devalue their very being.

We have been working for over 15 years now to bring educational opportunities to the poor in Haiti. With your support we can continue to do more. It doesn't take much to sponosor a child through school. $150 per year. $12.50 per month. That is about the cost of a cup of coffee and a danish. But what an impact that gift can have on the lives of those who find themselves in schools each day. The opportunities that being able to read, write and do math creates for someone are great.

You can be a part of this effort with your generous donation.

We continue at BonZeb to try and assist local schools and students, but that assistance is limited by the donations we receive to do this work. Please consider making a donation today or a pledge for month support for a child in need.

Thank you.