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WHCC Newsletter Spring 2021

Donations may be made through PayPal here or through CanadaHelps here.  Your support allows this ministry to happen, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

The Covid-19 cases in Haiti which was only 25 cases with 1 death during our last update on April 8, has now ballooned to a total of 3538 total cases of which 3460 are active cases, 54 deaths and 24 recoveries. It is indeed a troubling and worrisome time for the world and in Haiti, more than doubly so. Added to this, is the fact that about half the population of Haiti (~ 12 million), live below poverty lines as defined by the World Bank and another 40% of the population characterized as being “food insecure” by the UN.

In a May 8, 2020 news release, the 17-member Ad Hoc United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), a group chaired by Canada, is warning concerning Haiti that, quote “Unless adequately managed, the COVID-19 health emergency and its socio-economic impact could become a humanitarian catastrophe, threatening to unravel some of the hard-won development and security gains achieved in the past decade and half in Haiti”. This UN report among other concerns, sights the current hurricane season that is just beginning, as one to keep an eye on. Being in Haiti means that we are equally impacted as all the other people living in the island by whatever befalls Haiti.

The kids in their new vehicle

Camille has been in regular communication with our children and the house mother. They are all doing well Healthwise and are in good spirits. They, as virtually people everywhere, are tired of being sheltered in place but they fully understand that it is not safe out there. They have been able to continue their school work in a very unique way. Unlike over here where the use of technology has allowed students to continue their education online, the house mother has been going to the school and collects school work for the kids from time to time. Their year-end exams are scheduled for July and please pray for them for retentive memories so that they can all pass their exams and none will be left behind to repeat a class. Their driver, who is also an associate pastor at the children’s church, together with the house mother have been tutoring the kids at home and helping them with their school work. They miss us terribly as we miss them too. The plan is for at least Camille and Sam to visit them as soon as travel restrictions are lifted to and from the Island.

Thanks to the regular donations to this work by some of you, we have been able to maintain our level of staffing and provisions at the home and the kids are not really lacking.  Food and other commodity prices have stabilized thankfully but they remain relatively higher than they were just a few months ago. We need you all to please continue to remember WHCC and Haiti in your prayers and in your support. We don’t want to see any erosion of gains we have made in the last ten years but rather to push ahead because the need in Haiti is relentless. We need to be in a good fiscal position to get through this and expected difficult times ahead.

Thank you all for your prayers and support and for hanging in there with us.  We appreciate it!

Please stay safe and may God continue to bless you all.

Welcome Home Children's Centre in Haiti is 10!

It’s hard to believe but May 9, 2009 was the day we officially started taking children into our rented home in Cabaret, Haiti. We were not totally sure what we were getting into but we knew exactly what we were being prompted to do – rescue, nurture and provide a loving home to as many orphaned children as we could accommodate.

A lot has changed since then. We of course now have our own place in Marotte, Haiti with 16 children in our care. To mark this milestone, we held a small 10-year anniversary party in our compound on the 11th of May. The kids invited some of their friends from school and church and we had our staff invite families and friends. The pastor of the children’s church as well as some of the congregation were also in attendance. We had a fun time, eating, playing and dancing. See some of the event’s photos near the bottom of this page.

We are really proud of the physical, intellectual and spiritual growth we see in our children. Right now the children’s ages range from 2.5 years old to 17! It has been amazing to watch the once little 3- to 5-year-olds become beautiful well-adjusted teenagers.

Please see some of the before and current photos of some of the children to see what we mean and we invite you all to share in our joy because none of this may have been possible if you hadn’t shown compassion to the plight of these kids and elected to support us in this work. There is a story behind each one of these kids.

  The common thread in the story of each of these children is that they are all in a much better place in life today than they may have ever been. Some may not even be alive, who knows. One thing that is for certain, we are blessed to be vessels of the good work of God. We are so thankful to all who have partnered with us along the way! The children are so grateful for the continued support and prayers, it has made all the difference in their lives.

Our work is not nearly done!

 The following are some of the kids who have been at WHCC from the very beginning in 2009.

 2018 Highlights

 
As autumn befalls us, 13 of 14 of our children are back to school. They are excited and anxious to reunite with their friends, meet new kids and teachers, and start new grades. This is usually a time of conflicting emotions for us. On the one hand we are excited to see the physical, spiritual and intellectual growth in them, but it is also a time of extra expenses for us - time for new uniforms, books and tuition fees (education in Haiti is not free at any level or grade). Thanks to all of your donations, we have been able to keep up. Haiti is not an easy place to do ministry. There are challenges every step of the way. From little things like running out to pick up some eggs or screws and not readily finding them to trying to find dedicated people to execute various jobs. Notwithstanding these challenges we have encountered on this journey, we are still here. The positive and remarkable changes we see in our kids motivates us to continue and not be weary.
 

 NEWS FLASH:

Just before this publication, we received a phone call informing us that our home’s car had been totalled in an accident with a couple of our staff members and some of our children inside. We are very thankful that none of the occupants nor bystanders sustained any injury. Praise the Lord! We are now in need of another vehicle. Any help to replace it would be greatly appreciated.

We have come a long way from our very modest and very humble beginnings in Cabaret to our current home in Marotte. Our children have continued to thrive, to love and care for one another - sharing treats and clothing, as well as pray for each other – a beautiful and encouraging thing to behold! Truly a family.

During our trip to Haiti in February, we were able to:  

Complete the playground set that was started in October of last year. The kids were excited, especially the little ones. They would line up to climb the platform and slide down the “big banana” slide and take turns on the swing set while others try their skills on the monkey bars. Big hit and lots of fun for them. Thanks again Bryanna for the play set.

We built a kitchen counter with a water filter spigot which unfortunately was not completed because there was a missing part that we couldn’t source in Haiti.

We ordered a small dump truck load of top soil, constructed a 6 x 3 m garden and planted some seeds – carrot, peppers, beet, lettuce, but no germination happened while we were there, so this project continues to be a work in progress.

This past school year, some of the kids did not perform well in their mid-term exams so we decided to try something new to perhaps motivate them to do better. We pulled some personal funds together and treated all those who passed to an afternoon at a beach resort. It worked! They all passed their finals.

Next visit to Haiti...

God willing, the next visit to the orphanage is going to be in February 2019. In addition to Audrey, Camille and Sam, 5 other people have already volunteered for this trip. There is quite a bit of maintenance work and minor construction that needs to be done on the house and this will be one of the main focuses of this trip. We will also be working on the garden. Audrey is an excellent gardener and has grown and canned a variety of vegetables for many years so we will be drawing from her expertise. Lastly, we will be doing community outreach in Marotte.

Reflective Perspective

The problem of Haiti is enormous. Some people look at it and “run” because they think they cannot possibly make a difference. But we stayed and have been able to make quantifiable difference. You know what they say about how to eat an elephant – one bite a time. That has been our approach. Take what God has given us and do the best we can with it.

Our success can directly be attributed to 3 main factors:

1. The Lord has been our help and strength. He has been always present to help us through all our trials. We believe that it is He who made it possible for us to start this good work and that He is going to be watching over us as our labour continues to bear fruits. Praise God!

2. For every one of the challenges we faced then and now, there remained and continue to remain many encouragers who have never wavered in their faithful prayers and goodwill for us. They have affirmed us and supported us financially. Some have visited the orphanage and helped in various projects, including in local community outreach. Thank you!

3. Our dedicated board and group of volunteers here on the home front, have continued to work hard in various capacities to help keep WHCC strong and afloat. It is not an easy thing as we all have other lives to live and yet they make the time to help. Thank you!

2019 ...

We are going to start the implementation of the 2nd phase of our site development plan. This will include the construction of a large gazebo as a gathering multipurpose place for the kids and visitors, a dormitory each for the boys and the girls. The initial planning is all in place. The gazebo design is complete, and the design of the dorms is starting shortly. We are going to be looking for help in this area – both in the form of funds and worker bees. Please don’t get weary or run away from us now. We need you all to continue to partner with us to see this work become self sustaining. Every little bit helps. “Little drops of water and grains of sand make a mighty ocean” so they say and so are we believing.

Please pray for us:

• For us to have stable, reliable and Christian workers, especially a driver. It is a big challenge to get trustworthy and reliable workers.

• Pray for the children, that they may continue to walk in the ways of the Lord.

• Pray for the board of WHCC here in Canada for wisdom and for the Lord's direction in the coming year.

 
It has been a good run for WHCC but we need the next 5 years to be great! We are counting on all of you to help make it happen. Please continue to remember us in your prayers and try and visit Haiti sometime. THANK YOU!

We are overjoyed to announce that as of February this year Welcome Home Children Centre has had a dedicated Solar Energy System in Haiti.  We made a trip in March to Haiti and witnessed the transformation this has brought to WHCC.  This has been a game changer in the life of our children and the operation of the home.  The children now have the opportunity to be able to study at night with proper lighting and the ability to socialize and play more safely when the sun goes away and night falls.  They are also able to watch some videos on the television set we had shipped last year.  We have also been able, for the first time, to plug in the fridge that was also shipped in the container.  The fridge was an instant hit with the kids all of whom have really never seen a refrigerator in action before.  They were bringing bowls of water to be placed in the freezer area to make ice – exciting!

Additionally, having a fridge at the home now gives the staff the liberty to buy perishable foods in bulk, thereby saving money due to volume discounts and less frequent trips to the market.  We plan to buy a freezer in the future to be able to purchase and store more bulk frozen meats and vegetable from Port au Prince, at deeper discounts.  It’s a large family we have out there and they are thriving.

Our last trip to Haiti consisted of a group of 6 people: Marie Charter, Andrea Renwick and Calvin Renwick who stayed for a week and Francine Lannister, Camille Otum and Sam Otum who stayed for two weeks. The purpose of the trip apart from spending time with our children, was 4 folds, namely, unload the container that was sent last year and sort its content, to set up a playground, install a closed circuit camera system and to update our “temporary” kitchen - complete with plumbing and electrical installations.  When we got there, however, it became quickly evident that the scope of work planned had increased. For one thing, there was no power to the pump to move water from the well up to the water tank tower.  The contractor had missed the conduit and power line from the panel to the pump (150 ft.) altogether. So we had to dig a 150 ft. long trench, install conduit, pull cable for the power connection to the well pump.

We were able to receive two more children, Islander and Fredson, into our home.  These siblings came to us very malnourished and anxious to join the rest of the kids as soon as they all met.  Fredson was 18 months old but could not stand on his own let alone walk and his sister was 8 years of age but had never been to school nor did she know her alphabets and numbers and therefore could not read, write or count. 

We are happy to announce that the little toddler can now walk and his sister is being home thought while a formal school for her is being sought.

What We Were Able To Achieve  In Two Weeks:
•    Andrea and Calvin purchased a washing machine in Port au Prince and donated it to WHCC. There was no time to do the plumbing for and hook up the washing machine. This job will happen next trip.
•    Marie purchased storage totes which were used to store sorted items in storage room.
•    Unloaded the sea container and sort most of the inventory.

•    Installed the 4 camera surveillance system.
•    Brought water to the kitchen.
•    Installed a commercial double sink unit we had shipped last year.
•    Brought power to the kitchen and the adjoining storage room and installed light fixtures and receptacles.
•    Built some shelves in the storage room.
•    Installed blinds in the gathering area on the 2nd floor.
•    Started work on the playground but was unable to complete the job as planned because we simply ran out of time. We were able to, however, clear an area approximately 60ft. x 30ft of rocks and rubbles and placed 6 dump truck loads of beach sand.

For fun, apart from craft and games, we were able to take the kids to Obama beach one day and had a great time of swimming and beach balling.  We also celebrated Andrea’s birthday with the kids and played a lot of games.

So we continue to grow as an organization with the continual help and support of great people like you all.  Thanks to all of you and may the Lord continue to bless you according to His riches in Glory. 

Please continue to pray for Haiti and her people.  We will continue to do as much as we can with your prayers, donations and goodwill to play our part to raise children with a bright future and great promise.