A New Day

A rooster crows, piercing the silence of the still, cool morning. Call and response across the lanes as others join. Rays of first light creep above the horizon, above the canopy of the coastal plain. Slowly, organically voices start to rise, just a few at first but growing into a low chatter as the morning light spreads. Sprinkles of laughter follow, a crescendo of life awakening. A goat herder rousts his charges from their overnight pen and starts through the lanes to the paths out of town for the day’s grazing. From our perch on the roof of St. Barthélémy school we look out and greet a new day dawning in Terrier Rouge.

Soon the school yard is be bustling with life as children arrive, some on foot in small groups, many delivered by their fathers on bikes, motos. Hundreds of children! Their red polos and gray shorts clean and fresh. Conversation, laughter, and spontaneous soccer play erupting. Order emerges from disorder as the crowd sorts itself into classrooms. Then ranks of students led by their teachers emerge from the classrooms to stand at attention, filling the courtyard and the balconies for morning assembly: a prayer, the 23rd Psalm, raising the flag and singing the national anthem led by the enthusiastic, if not always well-tuned, strains of the marching band. A new day begins at St. Barthélémy.

That was the scene some years ago. Some things have changed: A second building now houses the high school, over a thousand students are enrolled, the neighboring Espérance et Vie (Hope and Life) Clinic provides medical care to the students and community, and Jatrofa Projenou supports vocational training, local enterprise and restoration of agricultural lands. The electrical grid has reached Terrier Rouge on its way to the nearby industrial park at Caracol; TVs, fans and cell phones followed. A National University campus was built just a few miles west of town. St. Barthélémy students are graduating, some continuing their education to become teachers, nurses, accountants, leaders. A new day is dawning in northeast Haiti.

The legacy of the leadership of Pere Bruno, Berry Rice, and Rob Fisher and the work of countless Haitians who have put legs on their dreams has been a force for transformation, of opportunity, of hope and life for the people of northeast Haiti. It has been a privilege to be a witness to and a small part of Bethlehem Ministry’s support of Espérance et Vie and Jatrofa Projenou. May the next new day be just a bit brighter than the last.

Rich Wheeler

Board of Directors, 2014-2020

"The people made me fall in love with Haiti."

My family first became aware of Bethlehem ministry through our church’s alternative giving fair (Navidad Market) and moments for Mission in church service, and we began supporting a child at St. Barthélémy school in Terrier Rouge around the same time as our oldest child began kindergarten. We still have pictures of our recent students on our bulletin board in the kitchen and just placed an ornament with a past student on our Christmas tree. Rich Wheeler and I worked together on our church’s Missions Committee. Rich and Janet Wheeler were passionate supporters of the ministry and encouraged me to become more involved.

My first trip to Terrier Rouge was around Thanksgiving in 2014 with several others from our church (St. Andrew’s Presbyterian in Houston). We arrived in another world with different schedules, sounds and concerns. The people made me fall in love with Haiti. It was such an eye-opening experience to see how Espérance et Vie was able to convert our small annual donation, combined with others, into real educational opportunities for the children of Terrier Rouge.

Rich Wheeler encouraged me to join the Bethlehem Ministry Board of Directors and participate on a different level. I have been blessed with the opportunity to work with many fine people all working towards creating a sustainable organization that connects hundreds of people in the US with the ministry in Terrier Rouge. Bethlehem Ministry is very different today than it was eight years ago when I first joined, but the common thread is the way that God is using the volunteers, informed by the steady guidance of the Bruno family and the Haitian people to create opportunities and serve. Today we have youthful energy on the board, committed board members, and dedicated sustaining donors all over the country working to partner with our brothers and sisters in Haiti to create educational opportunities for enthusiastic children, economic opportunities for members of their community and health services to improve quality of life. I have truly enjoyed getting to know everyone involved in the ministry!

Richard Estimable, Kelli Mayfield, Jaques-Mary Saintus, Eric Lokker, Ryan Lokker

Involving my family with the ministry has been meaningful to me. As my son was working to earn his Eagle scout rank, he was looking for a project that he could organize and lead. Through consultation with Pere Bruno, he decided to collect school supplies for St. Barthélémy school. The Scouts of his troop enthusiastically participated in working on the project, and our neighborhood was very responsive. Ryan raised money to send the supplies to Haiti-an interesting logistical challenge, to be sure! We were then able to bond when he accompanied me on another trip to Haiti in 2018. It was rewarding to see him internalize the lessons of the trip and educate his mother and sister about what he learned. He was also able to share his experience with his theology class at school.

I am so blessed to have been led to this ministry at church many years ago for it has changed me as a Christian, volunteer, and family member.

Eric Lokker

Board of Directors, 2014-2020

Nou pap janm bliye: We will never forget

A disastrous earthquake claimed more than 250,000 lives on January 12, 2010. Nearly 3 million people were affected with 1 million of those left completely homeless. The world grieved with Haiti 11 years ago, and today we solemnly remember the devastation the nation endured while giving thanks to our partners in Haiti who immediately responded to the crisis.

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Our Founders Remember the Devastation

“Pere Bruno’s daughter Rachel called to tell us there had been an earthquake 38 miles SW of Port au Prince. Two hours later there was a dead silence across the country as all lines of communication collapsed. No one could know where their loved ones were. We spent our night waiting anxiously with the Haitians. We prayed, we held hands with them, we loved on them and they held tight to us. That night was truly about relationship and solidarity.”

-Berry Rice

“The city where I grew up does not exist any longer. Everywhere in Port-au-Prince, people live in the streets or they use any park or space they can find. They sleep under the stars. Their temporary shelters are made of sheets some of them have recovered from the ruins. Tears came down as I was walking between the bodies of the dead who were still laying on the pedestrian walk way waiting to be picking up by the truck to be buried in a common grave. As I was walking I visited a community of 300 families gathered together on a small property without water, food and so on… They were practically dying.”

-Father Bruno

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Our Response

On January 17th, Pere Bruno traveled to his childhood home of Port au Prince to assess the damage first-hand and to formulate a strategy for our relief efforts. He brought with him 10 volunteers and enough food to feed 250 families. He returned to Terrier Rouge, his truck filled with people looking to create new lives for themselves there. That trip laid the foundation for our disaster relief strategy. Time and again, trucks filled with food, water, charcoal, and flashlights traveled to Port au Prince and returned with refugees. More than 1,000 displaced Haitians moved to Terrier Rouge within months, and Espérance et Vie showed those who lost everything in the earthquake that they still had a chance in life. Clinique Espérance et Vie treated health problems related to the earthquake including PTSD, dehydration, broken bones, malaria, and typhoid. 30 new children were enrolled at St. Barthélémy. Jatrofa Projenou mobilized to provide temporary employment to 25 people. Doctors, nurses, teachers, therapists, students, and others from the United States and Canada quickly answered their call to serve with the NGO. Everyone worked together to care for those in need.

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Moving Forward

“I wish all of you could experience the resiliency of the Haitian people, who in spite of great catastrophes, persevere with determination and faith. By the grace of God and the compassion of the human heart, Haitians are moving forward with their lives despite their unbelievable loss. Haiti will be forever changed. The face of Terrier Rouge will be changed as will all of us who lived through this, [but] you can rest assured that Bethlehem Ministry has made, and continues to make, a difference in Haiti. Thanks be to God!"

-Berry Rice, March 2010