Hope In Haiti: That ALL May Have LIFE!

New Website NOW AVAILABLE!!!

HTF has a new website.  The site will be transferred to hopeinhaiti.org within the next week.  Meanwhile, CLICK HERE to access it.

HTF Vision Trip

On August 26 Hurricane Gustav hit Jacmel, Haiti.  See a CNN video clip of the damage here.  Although, all of our partners are safe, our friends and partners were greatly affected by the storm.  Here are the numbers from our partner Verbo Jean Julien (the founder of TetKole) out of Jacmel:

25 People Dead
2,112 Homeless
443 Homes Destroyed
850 Homes Damaged

HTF is responding to this disaster with aid to rebuild homes, including Verbo's parents' home.  If you would like to donate to the HTF emergency fund please mail a donation to Haitian Timoun Foundation, 6337 S. Robb Way, Littleton, CO 80127 marked emergency fund.  Unfortunately we are temporarily unable to accept online donations, as we are rebuilding our website.

Verbo and his parents (pictured below).  On right, HTF Vision Trip participants in front of Verbo's parents home (Jan. 2008), now destroyed.

For two years Abdiding Hope in Littleton, CO, has had the pleasure of hosting the RDTH.  Now Lekol sen Trinite Dancers come to Abiding Hope for a "Gratitude Tour".  The dancers will perform at worship services on October 4 & 5. 

October 31- November 11 the RDTH will be touring our partners in Livermore , CA ; Lincoln , NE ; and Plano , TX.  Keep checking back for exact dates and times of performances.

Performance Times:

November 5 at 6:00 p.m. at Sheridan Lutheran Church

November 6 at TBA at University of Nebraska - Lincoln (check back for further details)

November 7 at Beyond Survival conference at Sheridan Lutheran Church  

November 8 at 6:30 p.m. at Preston Meadow Lutheran Church

November 9 performances during 8:30 & 11:00 worship and 9:45 Sunday School at Preston Meadow Lutheran Church

Click on the images to see the latest HTF newsletter.  We will be implementing a new system to send newsletters electronically this fall.  If you would like to receive your copy via e-mail please e-mail us at htfsponsorship@yahoo.com so that we can verify the e-mail address we have on file.

 

Please check out the experiences our Interns had while at Wings of Hope.  If you have a story from your trip to Haiti with HTF please e-mail it to htfsponsorship@yahoo.com.  We would like to post your story to our website.  Sponsors read these stories carefully, you never know when you will hear about a child you sponsor.

For one week in January, 17 people from across the U.S. – five different congregations from California to Texas to New York – traveled with Luckner Fond-Rose (known to all as “Maya”) on a week-long Trip to meet and be transformed by the people and the spirit of Haiti. Sponsored by the Haitian Timoun Foundation, the journey inspired laughter, tears, wonder, gratitude, and a renewed sense of hope and call for every traveler. Three of the strongest examples were Jacquelynn Vail, Meredith Davis, and Ashley Chylla – three teens, who share a few thoughts and feelings here, in their own words.

From Jacquelynn and Meredith:
The idea that we support Haiti financially, and that some of us receive a card from a child that we sponsor every holiday or so, is given an entirely new meaning when you step out of your comfort zone and enter their lives and country. Your 6 a.m. Starbucks and morning commute are either a thing of the past or given an entirely new meaning when you leave the place you were so blessed to be raised in and go to one that might as well be on a different planet.

You step off your plane and into a new country, culture, and a new way of living. It’s hard to believe that only ninety minutes ago, you were in Miami, Florida and your biggest worry was whether or not your butt looked good in those jeans. You are immediately slapped with humidity and burning trash. We had the luxury of an air conditioned bus, while our eager eyes tried to take in this brand new world, and how it functioned, and as we zoomed down the streets, noticing hundreds of cars but no road signs or stoplights. There were women selling simple, everyday items, like a toothbrush, to feed their family. The thing that overwhelmed us the most was the obvious lack of nutrition in stray animals and even small children.

Ice cold water and a very warm welcome awaited us at St. Joseph’s Home for Boys, where we were spoiled with our own beds, even though we chose to sleep on the roof under the stars. We also took “bucket baths,” got two great meals a day, and had electricity. But we soon understood that all these things are very hard to come by in Haiti. At our hotel in Jacmel we had to order dinner after breakfast, because it took all day to go through the town and find the food.

But in all its need and all its misery, Haiti contains the most amazing, hopeful, and inspirational people you will ever meet or hear of. From a man who was both physically and mentally abused by his parents, whom he now supports financially. To a women and her husband struggling to care for their own children but still taking in a child who lost everything, including his family, as the result of a natural disaster. After feeling your heart break for those known as "less fortunate" than you, the sunset on a local beach with Haitian kids was all that we needed to be reminded that God truly is everywhere, even a place considered one of the poorest in the world.

We met children at Wings of Hope [HTF partner, and the premier home for severely disabled in all the Caribbean] who literally reached out for your hand, but ultimately took hold of your heart. As you look into their eyes you see a story of a child left behind, simply because they are disabled, left for nothing, and left for dead, but somehow all that pain and anger that you feel for them, because they don't know better to feel it for themselves, melts away when they look into your eyes, and give you a huge smile. [Photo above is Jacquelynn with her family's sponsored child, Delome, at Wings of Hope.] It is pure, innocent children like this that help you realize your true purpose, and why it is that God called you to this beautiful place.

Just because some of you have not yet experienced something like this doesn't mean this isn't what you are called to do, we are here to share this with you because we know that it will affect you the way that it is meant to and you will take it as you must. Thank you for helping us take this amazing opportunity to extend our hearts, to expand our minds, and to come so close to God and all that he is doing. Now let us help him on his mission to save others. We love you, thank you, and Gods peace.

From Ashley:
In all honesty I never thought I would be going to Haiti. I mean I had heard about it in church. The whole “Haiti needs us and we need Haiti,” but who really knows what that means. If you haven’t been you’re just sitting there thinking “uh huh, sure they need us.” I had always wanted to go on the trip. To see what it was like first hand, but I didn’t have the courage to ask to go. I received a letter in the mail. Its return address was Abiding Hope, all I could think was “oh great, more senior high stuff.” As I start reading I realize that they’re asking me to go to Haiti. After the shock had kicked in and gone I thought about it. I was really worried at first, missing a whole week of school, and going to a country with a high crime rate, uh not for me. I just couldn’t let those be my reasons though. I couldn’t miss this opportunity. I called the church up and said yes. I had no idea what I had just gotten myself into.

Walking off the plane in Haiti was the first of many firsts for the trip. I had never had to walk down a flight or stairs to get off a plane. While I was complaining about the stairs it hit me, I was in Haiti. Everything was different; the smell, the look, the feel, the whole bit. As your leaving the crowded airport you see the poverty. There are tons of people selling goods on the side of the street, people bathing in rivers, animals everywhere, and street children roaming around. That’s when you only start to get it, though. Almost everywhere we went we were greeted wholeheartedly. We were lucky enough to have great accommodations. We couldn’t help but notice that most of Haiti didn’t live like this. The electricity is only on for about five hours a day and it varies when it’s on. This made driving a pain: first, there really are no traffic laws; and second, when the power isn’t on neither are the stop lights.

Seeing the kids and Haitians that help the kids showed me real love. These children loved you no matter who you were. It didn’t matter that you couldn’t speak their language, or that fact that our skin color was so different. In their eyes we’re all just children of God. They would trust you, play with you, and cherish their time with you. Even though these people are physically poor they are rich in spirit. They were some of the happiest people I have ever met. To think that there are spoiled kids in the States with tons of toys that will never be happy but there are Haitian children with nothing that are happier than ever.

Truthfully, the hardest part of the trip was leaving. We get so attached to those kids that we could barely speak to that we didn’t want to leave them. Even worse than that was after the trip. It was impossible for me to go to the mall without getting upset at people buying things they don’t need. I can’t sympathize for my friends’ simple problems anymore, and two dollars will never mean the same thing to me.

I can only hope that we keep putting our time, love, and money into Haiti. I have a new passion to help this country that needs us but most of all we need it. I can’t make changes by myself, I need more people. We need people to see Haiti’s needs, only then can you truly understand Haiti. I plan to go on many more of these trips and do as much as I can to get money and help for Haiti. If we get enough people, we can make a difference for all people.

Two new HTF Vision Trips!
May 14-22, 2008
October 9-18, 2008
Meet all of our HTF Partners across Haiti. The best way to experience the full breadth and power of God's mission through HTF.

Visit & See:
* St. Joseph's Home and Guest House
* Resurrection Dance Theatre of Haiti
* Wings of Hope
* House of Blessings
* Grace Children's Hospital
* Trinity House School and Coffee Project in Jacmel
* Tetkole
* PAZAPA
* Fonkoze
* Louverture Clearly High School
* H.E.L.P. for College Students
* Homes, villages, schools, and lives of Haitians!

PLUS

Our Summer Senior High with Adults Immersion
July 19-27, 2008
Focused time spent in a few places, mostly in Jacmel, to live and work and learn alongside Haitians.

Contact Chris deForest for more information: 303.972.1283, or email Chris.

The AP headline reads: “Poor Haitians resort to eating dirt.” With shock and sorrow, friends of Haiti around the world read recent reports of Haitians forced to live solely on cakes made from mountain dirt. As shortages, crop and infrastructure damage from hurricane Noel drive up prices, even the most basic staples become out of reach for poor people. About 80% of Haitians already live on less than $2 a day. And those at greatest risk are pregnant and nursing women and their children, who have the greatest need for adequate nutrition – and who bear the greatest burdens in the present society, along with the best hopes for the future of Haiti.

What can be done? A lot more than you think. And the Haitian Timoun Foundation (HTF) is at the forefront of that effort.

With its mission “That ALL May Have LIFE,” HTF has always made the eradication of poverty one of its top priorities, by empowering women and children through access to better homes, livelihoods, health care and education. The power of HTF comes through partnering North Americans with small, innovative, entrepreneurial, Haitian-run organizations – Haitian people with the knowledge, vision, incentive and passion to make a real difference for Haiti. HTF has no overhead costs; 100% goes to work on poverty and lifting up the children of Haiti (timoun means “little child” in Haitian Creole). Partnerships take the form of grants, child sponsorships, and educational scholarships – given directly to some of the top Haitian schools, residential and health care facilities, and visionary non-profits that can prove they are making a difference in Haitian lives.

Now, in the face of this latest news, HTF is preparing for a bold new initiative with one of its innovative and successful Haitian partners, called Fonkoze.

“Fonkoze” is a Haitian Creole acronym for Fondasyon Kole Zepol, which means, “The Shoulder-to-Shoulder Foundation.” Hailed as “Haiti’s Alternative for the Organized Poor,” it is the largest micro-finance organization (MFO) offering a full range of financial services to the rural-based poor in Haiti. Its mission is to build the economic foundations for democracy in Haiti.

Established in 1994, Fonkoze today is living up to its mission. It currently has over 115,000 depositors, over 50,000 active borrowers and 32 branch offices spread throughout every department of Haiti. As of December 31, 2006, Fonkoze had over $9.5 million in savings deposits, and over $9 million in loans outstanding.

What is the secret of its success in Haiti? 99% of its clientele are women, mostly mothers of young children, living in rural villages and small towns. Alex Counts, President of the Grameen Foundation and member of the Fonkoze Board, summed up their secret well: Fonkoze is tapping what I think is arguably the most power force in the world: a mother’s love of her children.

Here’s how it works: a group of five women, usually close friends in a single community, apply for a small business loan. These five form a “solidarity group,” each holding themselves accountable for the business. The first loan is for $75 U.S. over three months, and can grow to as large as $1,300 over six months as the business and the partnership thrives. In the meantime, these same five women join with other groups of five for support and education that focuses on literacy, family and business management, health and nutrition – all supported by Fonkoze branch offices and “Credit Centers,” which are run by already trained and empowered local women, each success stories in their own right and by their own efforts.

Like these inspiring women, Fonkoze and HTF make a great partnership, with shared values and ethics, and a mutual mission to improve the lives of God’s children. Now, both organizations are poised to take a new and even high road, for the sake of the poorest of the poor – the ones at the very bottom, without enough hope or the community connection to form a solidarity group.

Their new vision started in Bangladesh, where another microfinance institution developed a revolutionary way to empower the most impoverished – usually a widowed or abandoned mother with children. First, these bottom-rung families must be found – not an easy task, since they have usually fallen out of community and are barely clinging to life. Over a two-year period, the female head of this family is given one-on-one supervision and encouragement, along with training and support for health care, home repair, and a simple way to begin to earn her own living or build small assets for the family. As her confidence and self-worth are built up, she is able to rejoin her community and move out of abject poverty.

Fonkoze has already begun to bring this vision to Haiti. Calling it Chemen Lavi Miyo (CLM), which means “Road to a Better Life,” they have piloted the project with over 150 families in the last nine months. Gauthier Dieudonne, the Haitian Director of CLM (second from right in above photo), estimates that at least 75% of the families currently in the project are doing well enough to stay on that road. “Of course, we are working to make that number more like 90 or 95 percent,” declares Dieudonne. The Director should know – he spends many days out in the countryside, visiting the families and the case workers walking alongside these courageous people.

The spirit Gauthier exudes is powerful and contagious. In fact, it is that Spirit that empowers HTF and Fonkoze to ramp up CLM to 1,000 families by the end of 2008. The cost for each family over two years is $1,000 – less than 1% of the median household income for the zip code 80127, the community in Littleton, Colorado where HTF was founded.

Is it possible to find 1,000 families across the U.S., willing to step up and walk with 1,000 Haitian families, as they take a proven and powerful new “Road to a Better Life?” HTF and Fonkoze take their directions from Jesus Christ: “With God all things are possible!” (Matthew 19:26)

Haiti came to Colorado in late September, as two Littleton-area schools welcomed talents young visitors from the island nation. Together they collected over $3,200 to immunize poor Haitian children. And they got a new and surprisingly hopeful view of real kids from Haiti and their lives there.

The week of Sept 17, West and Falcon Bluffs Middle Schools have been participating in "Give A Kid A Shot," a campaign seeking to inoculate the nearly 1 million children in Haiti who have little or no access to vaccines. Only two dollars is enough to provide basic immunity for one child.

"These middle schoolers really got the picture," says Nicole Hoffman, one of the local sponsors and a medical advisor for the campaign. "They know the money they collected this week will mean life to 1,800 kids in Haiti."

Those 1,800 Haitian children became real through the appearance and the art of the RESURRECTION DANCE THEATER OF HAITI - the celebrated troupe of young dancers, drummers and story-tellers who were once orphans living on the streets of Port-Au-Prince, the Haitian capital. These nine boys and young men, ages 12-27, gave four performances over two days at the two schools.

"These boys gave us the best assembly I have ever seen in my career as an educator," says Wendy Rubin, principal of Falcon Bluffs. "It was moving, inspiring, so much fun. Our kids can't stop talking about it - that's always a good sign! Best of all, it helped them to think more globally, and really connect with people from another country and culture. This is the kind of learning and awareness that we really want to foster in our schools and with our kids."

Falcon Bluffs science teacher Carolyn Brewer, who also helped organize the event, was thrilled to see and hear the reaction for students, teachers and parents. "You should have seen everyone's faces. They were mesmerized. And a really appreciate the fact that the performers stayed and spent the day with them." The older members of the Dance Theater troupe accompanied students to social studies, art, and music classes, where they shared their perspectives and expertise.

Lead Drummer Bill Nathan (left) is a world-class percussionist who has studied with the best on three continents. "He gave an entire music class a Haitian drumming lesson," recalls Ms. Brewer. "Everyone was getting into it. It was one period they're never forget."

The 768 students at Falcon Bluffs raised over $1,536 in just a few days. A giant tote board in the shape of a syringe registered the contributions. West Middle School sixth graders had been at work since the previous week to "give a kid a shot." They had a similar "syringe" to measure their success: over 400 West students collected $1,636. The totals are still rising, as final amounts trickle in. One parent at Falcon Bluffs felt so inpsired by these boys and their cause that she wrote a check on the spot for $100.

The campaign "Give A Kid A Shot" is sponsored by the Haitian Timoun Foundation (HTF), a Colorado-based non-profit that focuses on improving the lives of Haitian children ("timoun" in Haitian Creole). HTF works directly with other Haitian organizations that can prove they are making a measurable difference in their country. For this campaign, HTF is partnering with Grace Children's Hospital in Port-Au-Prince. This initial effort in the campaign is starting small - again, with a few thousand kids - but the vision of HTF is to vaccinate one million Haitian children.

Just as importantly, none of these Colorado kids will ever think of Haiti as some downtrodden nation, or as a hopeless cause. Instead, they will remember the hope-filled smiles, stories and art of these boys - and the special time when they got to help "give a kid a shot."

Partners in Jacmel Affected by Hurricane Gustav - HELP NEEDED

On August 26 Hurricane Gustav hit Jacmel, Haiti.  See a CNN video clip of the damage here.  Although, all of our partners are safe, our friends and partners were greatly affected by the storm.  Here are the numbers from our partner Verbo Jean Julien (the founder of TetKole) out of Jacmel:

25 People Dead
2,112 Homeless
443 Homes Destroyed
850 Homes Damaged

HTF is responding to this disaster with aid to rebuild homes, including Verbo's parents' home.  If you would like to donate to the HTF emergency fund please mail a donation to Haitian Timoun Foundation, 6337 S. Robb Way, Littleton, CO 80127 marked emergency fund.  Unfortunately we are temporarily unable to accept online donations, as we are rebuilding our website.

Verbo and his parents (pictured below).  On right, HTF Vision Trip participants in front of Verbo's parents home (Jan. 2008), now destroyed.

The Resurrection Dance Theater of Haiti Comes to HTF

For two years Abdiding Hope in Littleton, CO, has had the pleasure of hosting the RDTH.  Now Lekol sen Trinite Dancers come to Abiding Hope for a "Gratitude Tour".  The dancers will perform at worship services on October 4 & 5. 

October 31- November 11 the RDTH will be touring our partners in Livermore , CA ; Lincoln , NE ; and Plano , TX.  Keep checking back for exact dates and times of performances.

Performance Times:

November 5 at 6:00 p.m. at Sheridan Lutheran Church

November 6 at TBA at University of Nebraska - Lincoln (check back for further details)

November 7 at Beyond Survival conference at Sheridan Lutheran Church  

November 8 at 6:30 p.m. at Preston Meadow Lutheran Church

November 9 performances during 8:30 & 11:00 worship and 9:45 Sunday School at Preston Meadow Lutheran Church

July Newsletter

Click on the images to see the latest HTF newsletter.  We will be implementing a new system to send newsletters electronically this fall.  If you would like to receive your copy via e-mail please e-mail us at htfsponsorship@yahoo.com so that we can verify the e-mail address we have on file.

 

Interns' Blog & Stories of Haiti

Please check out the experiences our Interns had while at Wings of Hope.  If you have a story from your trip to Haiti with HTF please e-mail it to htfsponsorship@yahoo.com.  We would like to post your story to our website.  Sponsors read these stories carefully, you never know when you will hear about a child you sponsor.

Teens Share Hearts for Haiti

For one week in January, 17 people from across the U.S. – five different congregations from California to Texas to New York – traveled with Luckner Fond-Rose (known to all as “Maya”) on a week-long Trip to meet and be transformed by the people and the spirit of Haiti. Sponsored by the Haitian Timoun Foundation, the journey inspired laughter, tears, wonder, gratitude, and a renewed sense of hope and call for every traveler. Three of the strongest examples were Jacquelynn Vail, Meredith Davis, and Ashley Chylla – three teens, who share a few thoughts and feelings here, in their own words.

From Jacquelynn and Meredith:
The idea that we support Haiti financially, and that some of us receive a card from a child that we sponsor every holiday or so, is given an entirely new meaning when you step out of your comfort zone and enter their lives and country. Your 6 a.m. Starbucks and morning commute are either a thing of the past or given an entirely new meaning when you leave the place you were so blessed to be raised in and go to one that might as well be on a different planet.

You step off your plane and into a new country, culture, and a new way of living. It’s hard to believe that only ninety minutes ago, you were in Miami, Florida and your biggest worry was whether or not your butt looked good in those jeans. You are immediately slapped with humidity and burning trash. We had the luxury of an air conditioned bus, while our eager eyes tried to take in this brand new world, and how it functioned, and as we zoomed down the streets, noticing hundreds of cars but no road signs or stoplights. There were women selling simple, everyday items, like a toothbrush, to feed their family. The thing that overwhelmed us the most was the obvious lack of nutrition in stray animals and even small children.

Ice cold water and a very warm welcome awaited us at St. Joseph’s Home for Boys, where we were spoiled with our own beds, even though we chose to sleep on the roof under the stars. We also took “bucket baths,” got two great meals a day, and had electricity. But we soon understood that all these things are very hard to come by in Haiti. At our hotel in Jacmel we had to order dinner after breakfast, because it took all day to go through the town and find the food.

But in all its need and all its misery, Haiti contains the most amazing, hopeful, and inspirational people you will ever meet or hear of. From a man who was both physically and mentally abused by his parents, whom he now supports financially. To a women and her husband struggling to care for their own children but still taking in a child who lost everything, including his family, as the result of a natural disaster. After feeling your heart break for those known as "less fortunate" than you, the sunset on a local beach with Haitian kids was all that we needed to be reminded that God truly is everywhere, even a place considered one of the poorest in the world.

We met children at Wings of Hope [HTF partner, and the premier home for severely disabled in all the Caribbean] who literally reached out for your hand, but ultimately took hold of your heart. As you look into their eyes you see a story of a child left behind, simply because they are disabled, left for nothing, and left for dead, but somehow all that pain and anger that you feel for them, because they don't know better to feel it for themselves, melts away when they look into your eyes, and give you a huge smile. [Photo above is Jacquelynn with her family's sponsored child, Delome, at Wings of Hope.] It is pure, innocent children like this that help you realize your true purpose, and why it is that God called you to this beautiful place.

Just because some of you have not yet experienced something like this doesn't mean this isn't what you are called to do, we are here to share this with you because we know that it will affect you the way that it is meant to and you will take it as you must. Thank you for helping us take this amazing opportunity to extend our hearts, to expand our minds, and to come so close to God and all that he is doing. Now let us help him on his mission to save others. We love you, thank you, and Gods peace.

From Ashley:
In all honesty I never thought I would be going to Haiti. I mean I had heard about it in church. The whole “Haiti needs us and we need Haiti,” but who really knows what that means. If you haven’t been you’re just sitting there thinking “uh huh, sure they need us.” I had always wanted to go on the trip. To see what it was like first hand, but I didn’t have the courage to ask to go. I received a letter in the mail. Its return address was Abiding Hope, all I could think was “oh great, more senior high stuff.” As I start reading I realize that they’re asking me to go to Haiti. After the shock had kicked in and gone I thought about it. I was really worried at first, missing a whole week of school, and going to a country with a high crime rate, uh not for me. I just couldn’t let those be my reasons though. I couldn’t miss this opportunity. I called the church up and said yes. I had no idea what I had just gotten myself into.

Walking off the plane in Haiti was the first of many firsts for the trip. I had never had to walk down a flight or stairs to get off a plane. While I was complaining about the stairs it hit me, I was in Haiti. Everything was different; the smell, the look, the feel, the whole bit. As your leaving the crowded airport you see the poverty. There are tons of people selling goods on the side of the street, people bathing in rivers, animals everywhere, and street children roaming around. That’s when you only start to get it, though. Almost everywhere we went we were greeted wholeheartedly. We were lucky enough to have great accommodations. We couldn’t help but notice that most of Haiti didn’t live like this. The electricity is only on for about five hours a day and it varies when it’s on. This made driving a pain: first, there really are no traffic laws; and second, when the power isn’t on neither are the stop lights.

Seeing the kids and Haitians that help the kids showed me real love. These children loved you no matter who you were. It didn’t matter that you couldn’t speak their language, or that fact that our skin color was so different. In their eyes we’re all just children of God. They would trust you, play with you, and cherish their time with you. Even though these people are physically poor they are rich in spirit. They were some of the happiest people I have ever met. To think that there are spoiled kids in the States with tons of toys that will never be happy but there are Haitian children with nothing that are happier than ever.

Truthfully, the hardest part of the trip was leaving. We get so attached to those kids that we could barely speak to that we didn’t want to leave them. Even worse than that was after the trip. It was impossible for me to go to the mall without getting upset at people buying things they don’t need. I can’t sympathize for my friends’ simple problems anymore, and two dollars will never mean the same thing to me.

I can only hope that we keep putting our time, love, and money into Haiti. I have a new passion to help this country that needs us but most of all we need it. I can’t make changes by myself, I need more people. We need people to see Haiti’s needs, only then can you truly understand Haiti. I plan to go on many more of these trips and do as much as I can to get money and help for Haiti. If we get enough people, we can make a difference for all people.

UPCOMING HAITI TRIPS!

Two new HTF Vision Trips!
May 14-22, 2008
October 9-18, 2008
Meet all of our HTF Partners across Haiti. The best way to experience the full breadth and power of God's mission through HTF.

Visit & See:
* St. Joseph's Home and Guest House
* Resurrection Dance Theatre of Haiti
* Wings of Hope
* House of Blessings
* Grace Children's Hospital
* Trinity House School and Coffee Project in Jacmel
* Tetkole
* PAZAPA
* Fonkoze
* Louverture Clearly High School
* H.E.L.P. for College Students
* Homes, villages, schools, and lives of Haitians!

PLUS

Our Summer Senior High with Adults Immersion
July 19-27, 2008
Focused time spent in a few places, mostly in Jacmel, to live and work and learn alongside Haitians.

Contact Chris deForest for more information: 303.972.1283, or email Chris.

Answer to “Dirt Eating” – HTF Works to Eliminate Poverty in Haiti

The AP headline reads: “Poor Haitians resort to eating dirt.” With shock and sorrow, friends of Haiti around the world read recent reports of Haitians forced to live solely on cakes made from mountain dirt. As shortages, crop and infrastructure damage from hurricane Noel drive up prices, even the most basic staples become out of reach for poor people. About 80% of Haitians already live on less than $2 a day. And those at greatest risk are pregnant and nursing women and their children, who have the greatest need for adequate nutrition – and who bear the greatest burdens in the present society, along with the best hopes for the future of Haiti.

What can be done? A lot more than you think. And the Haitian Timoun Foundation (HTF) is at the forefront of that effort.

With its mission “That ALL May Have LIFE,” HTF has always made the eradication of poverty one of its top priorities, by empowering women and children through access to better homes, livelihoods, health care and education. The power of HTF comes through partnering North Americans with small, innovative, entrepreneurial, Haitian-run organizations – Haitian people with the knowledge, vision, incentive and passion to make a real difference for Haiti. HTF has no overhead costs; 100% goes to work on poverty and lifting up the children of Haiti (timoun means “little child” in Haitian Creole). Partnerships take the form of grants, child sponsorships, and educational scholarships – given directly to some of the top Haitian schools, residential and health care facilities, and visionary non-profits that can prove they are making a difference in Haitian lives.

Now, in the face of this latest news, HTF is preparing for a bold new initiative with one of its innovative and successful Haitian partners, called Fonkoze.

“Fonkoze” is a Haitian Creole acronym for Fondasyon Kole Zepol, which means, “The Shoulder-to-Shoulder Foundation.” Hailed as “Haiti’s Alternative for the Organized Poor,” it is the largest micro-finance organization (MFO) offering a full range of financial services to the rural-based poor in Haiti. Its mission is to build the economic foundations for democracy in Haiti.

Established in 1994, Fonkoze today is living up to its mission. It currently has over 115,000 depositors, over 50,000 active borrowers and 32 branch offices spread throughout every department of Haiti. As of December 31, 2006, Fonkoze had over $9.5 million in savings deposits, and over $9 million in loans outstanding.

What is the secret of its success in Haiti? 99% of its clientele are women, mostly mothers of young children, living in rural villages and small towns. Alex Counts, President of the Grameen Foundation and member of the Fonkoze Board, summed up their secret well: Fonkoze is tapping what I think is arguably the most power force in the world: a mother’s love of her children.

Here’s how it works: a group of five women, usually close friends in a single community, apply for a small business loan. These five form a “solidarity group,” each holding themselves accountable for the business. The first loan is for $75 U.S. over three months, and can grow to as large as $1,300 over six months as the business and the partnership thrives. In the meantime, these same five women join with other groups of five for support and education that focuses on literacy, family and business management, health and nutrition – all supported by Fonkoze branch offices and “Credit Centers,” which are run by already trained and empowered local women, each success stories in their own right and by their own efforts.

Like these inspiring women, Fonkoze and HTF make a great partnership, with shared values and ethics, and a mutual mission to improve the lives of God’s children. Now, both organizations are poised to take a new and even high road, for the sake of the poorest of the poor – the ones at the very bottom, without enough hope or the community connection to form a solidarity group.

Their new vision started in Bangladesh, where another microfinance institution developed a revolutionary way to empower the most impoverished – usually a widowed or abandoned mother with children. First, these bottom-rung families must be found – not an easy task, since they have usually fallen out of community and are barely clinging to life. Over a two-year period, the female head of this family is given one-on-one supervision and encouragement, along with training and support for health care, home repair, and a simple way to begin to earn her own living or build small assets for the family. As her confidence and self-worth are built up, she is able to rejoin her community and move out of abject poverty.

Fonkoze has already begun to bring this vision to Haiti. Calling it Chemen Lavi Miyo (CLM), which means “Road to a Better Life,” they have piloted the project with over 150 families in the last nine months. Gauthier Dieudonne, the Haitian Director of CLM (second from right in above photo), estimates that at least 75% of the families currently in the project are doing well enough to stay on that road. “Of course, we are working to make that number more like 90 or 95 percent,” declares Dieudonne. The Director should know – he spends many days out in the countryside, visiting the families and the case workers walking alongside these courageous people.

The spirit Gauthier exudes is powerful and contagious. In fact, it is that Spirit that empowers HTF and Fonkoze to ramp up CLM to 1,000 families by the end of 2008. The cost for each family over two years is $1,000 – less than 1% of the median household income for the zip code 80127, the community in Littleton, Colorado where HTF was founded.

Is it possible to find 1,000 families across the U.S., willing to step up and walk with 1,000 Haitian families, as they take a proven and powerful new “Road to a Better Life?” HTF and Fonkoze take their directions from Jesus Christ: “With God all things are possible!” (Matthew 19:26)

Middle Schools raise $3,200 to "Give A Kid A Shot"

Haiti came to Colorado in late September, as two Littleton-area schools welcomed talents young visitors from the island nation. Together they collected over $3,200 to immunize poor Haitian children. And they got a new and surprisingly hopeful view of real kids from Haiti and their lives there.

The week of Sept 17, West and Falcon Bluffs Middle Schools have been participating in "Give A Kid A Shot," a campaign seeking to inoculate the nearly 1 million children in Haiti who have little or no access to vaccines. Only two dollars is enough to provide basic immunity for one child.

"These middle schoolers really got the picture," says Nicole Hoffman, one of the local sponsors and a medical advisor for the campaign. "They know the money they collected this week will mean life to 1,800 kids in Haiti."

Those 1,800 Haitian children became real through the appearance and the art of the RESURRECTION DANCE THEATER OF HAITI - the celebrated troupe of young dancers, drummers and story-tellers who were once orphans living on the streets of Port-Au-Prince, the Haitian capital. These nine boys and young men, ages 12-27, gave four performances over two days at the two schools.

"These boys gave us the best assembly I have ever seen in my career as an educator," says Wendy Rubin, principal of Falcon Bluffs. "It was moving, inspiring, so much fun. Our kids can't stop talking about it - that's always a good sign! Best of all, it helped them to think more globally, and really connect with people from another country and culture. This is the kind of learning and awareness that we really want to foster in our schools and with our kids."

Falcon Bluffs science teacher Carolyn Brewer, who also helped organize the event, was thrilled to see and hear the reaction for students, teachers and parents. "You should have seen everyone's faces. They were mesmerized. And a really appreciate the fact that the performers stayed and spent the day with them." The older members of the Dance Theater troupe accompanied students to social studies, art, and music classes, where they shared their perspectives and expertise.

Lead Drummer Bill Nathan (left) is a world-class percussionist who has studied with the best on three continents. "He gave an entire music class a Haitian drumming lesson," recalls Ms. Brewer. "Everyone was getting into it. It was one period they're never forget."

The 768 students at Falcon Bluffs raised over $1,536 in just a few days. A giant tote board in the shape of a syringe registered the contributions. West Middle School sixth graders had been at work since the previous week to "give a kid a shot." They had a similar "syringe" to measure their success: over 400 West students collected $1,636. The totals are still rising, as final amounts trickle in. One parent at Falcon Bluffs felt so inpsired by these boys and their cause that she wrote a check on the spot for $100.

The campaign "Give A Kid A Shot" is sponsored by the Haitian Timoun Foundation (HTF), a Colorado-based non-profit that focuses on improving the lives of Haitian children ("timoun" in Haitian Creole). HTF works directly with other Haitian organizations that can prove they are making a measurable difference in their country. For this campaign, HTF is partnering with Grace Children's Hospital in Port-Au-Prince. This initial effort in the campaign is starting small - again, with a few thousand kids - but the vision of HTF is to vaccinate one million Haitian children.

Just as importantly, none of these Colorado kids will ever think of Haiti as some downtrodden nation, or as a hopeless cause. Instead, they will remember the hope-filled smiles, stories and art of these boys - and the special time when they got to help "give a kid a shot."