Haiti Needs Prayers
The crisis in Haiti continues…and our partners in Haiti need us.
The following is a message from
Haitian Timoun Foundation Executive Director, Erin Murphy from October 23.
Dear HTF family,
Our friends in Haiti are living amid very difficult circumstances right now. Fuel is scarce, leadership is silent, and citizens are rightfully demanding answers. Schools and businesses are closed, and public transportation is running at skeleton levels. Prices of food and other staples have been increasing at unbelievable rates, because of both the limited ability to get goods to market and the collapsing economy. We also know that part of this movement to force the President to resign has been financed by people with wealth and greed. Our hearts break knowing of the suffering among millions of people as the country is held hostage.
Does this mean that the work of our partners in Haiti is paralyzed as well? Absolutely not. The funds we invest in their work are being deployed right now…
- Although some HTF-supported schools have not been able to remain open steadily since mid-September, they continue to pay teachers during the crisis. If we did not, our teachers would have no income or ability to feed themselves or their families. This would also jeopardize the ability to reopen these schools when it’s safe for students to return. Lekòl sen Trinite (Trinity School) is also using current funds to stock up on non-perishable food items for their school feeding program as a hedge against future inflation and currency devaluation. Our support to the Centre d’Education Integree school (CEI) is providing goats to the families of their students.
- Despite roadblocks that have spread from major roads to rural areas, Chemen Lavi Miyò (CLM) case managers are doing everything they can to continue to visit and support the families participating in their ultra-poverty eradication initiative.
- While much of the capital city of Port-au-Prince is locked down because of protests, Haitian Education and Leadership Program (HELP) staff are gathering their student body together as often as possible to continue the leadership development, community service, and English language classes that are part of HELP’s program.
Many of you have reached out to me to ask how you can help and if HTF has a call to action during this deepening time of need.
My answer is “YES!” HTF IS THE CALL TO ACTION!
HTF is not just a foundation that funnels financial support to Haitian organizations. We are a MOVEMENT of people raising people to make an immediate impact in Haiti: fostering hope, creating social change, saving lives and disrupting poverty.
When you support the work of HTF, you support teachers who are desperately trying to feed their families during this crisis. When you support the work of HTF, you ensure that CLM can overcome fuel shortages and roadblocks and continue to reach rural families living in extreme poverty. When you support the work of HTF, you help bright Haitian university students who are the future leaders of a new Haiti defy the odds and become the first in their family to graduate from college.
Our partners in Haiti rise up every day and work diligently to dismantle injustice and oppression. We need you to rise up too! Your investment in HTF ensures that our partners in Haiti are equipped RIGHT NOW for the work they passionately pursue. When Haiti was devastated by natural disasters like the 2010 earthquake and Hurricane Matthew in 2016, HTF responded quickly and generously to our partners’ needs because of your faithful support. Today, as our brothers and sisters in Haiti suffer in the shadows of conflict and an uncertain future, we can send a clear message of love and solidarity by walking with them through this struggle. Every step of support from you allows our partners to take a step forward.
Make a life-changing gift to the work of HTF
Please join us in amplifying their voices and advocating for Haiti: for peace, for justice, for a resolution to this unrest.
Mesi anpil! Thank you very much!
