Look for the Helpers

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping... you'll know that there's hope.' To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother's words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers -- so many caring people in this world." - Mr. Rogers

2020 has not been an easy year, but you don't need to hear that from me. The pandemic has made us a global family, siblings by experience, all of us living with some measure of fear or loss or illness. Sometimes it feels like there's pain everywhere I look, and the "scary things in the news" can be overwhelming, but I'm reminded of the advice given to Fred Rogers when he was just a boy. Shift your focus. Look for the helpers. That's where you'll find hope.

It's true. There are helpers all around us: Doctors and nurses in the emergency rooms who are providing treatment to scared patients; teachers who are nurturing students behind a camera or a mask, sometimes both; mental health professionals caring for people struggling with isolation; first responders who run towards danger for the sake of a stranger; brave citizens who speak out for the marginalized and oppressed; moms, dads, partners, sisters, brothers, friends who pour love into our lives. Right now, take a moment to pause and be grateful for the helpers in your life.

When I think of helpers, I also think of you. Your gifts and prayers have empowered even more helpers in Haiti at a time when they most needed you. Truly, with your help, our partners in Terrier Rouge have helped thousands of people this year by responding to unpredictable crises as they arose. From educating kids in the midst of a pandemic, to bringing soap, masks, and clean water to families, to keeping the clinic open despite threats of political unrest, they helped others because you helped them.

Our Thanksgiving newsletter is filled with inspirational stories of helpers: a beautiful example of how Espérance et Vie and the clinic came together to save a woman's life, how Jatrofa Projenou is impacting, and is impacted by, families just like yours, and a spotlight on a helper who, inspired by the founder of Bethlehem Ministry, discovered a creative way to use his gifts in support of Pere Bruno. These stories provide a close, personal look at the transformative services provided by Espérance et Vie and Jatrofa Projenou. Every person served could tell you how they have been empowered through your support, and that's a lot of people! By the end of 2020, we will have treated over 6,000 patients at the clinic, educated more that 1,000 students, employed hundreds, and distributed food, masks, and soap to thousands of vulnerable people in Terrier Rouge and surrounding communities.

I don't need to look far to find the helpers. We are all the helpers. Your donation to our Annual Campaign empowers our partners in Haiti to be the same. Our Haitian friends remain physically, financially, and ecologically vulnerable to threats beyond COVID, so we continue the work, blessed to be given the opportunity to bring Hope & Life to Haitian children, moms, dads, partners, sisters, brothers, and friends, like those you gave thanks for a moment ago.

Let's shift our focus. Let's be the helpers. That's where we'll find Hope.

Kristen Pace

Executive Director

Bethlehem Ministry

There's hope & life in Haiti because of you!

Dear Friends,

As we move into the Fall of an unprecedented and difficult year, I hope that this letter finds you and your loved ones safe and healthy. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us our shared human experience and how much we need to pull together as a global community to care for one another.

I want to personally thank you for your continued support this year. I see that, like me, Haiti is on your mind and in your heart. Your steadfast loyalty to the mission of Bethlehem Ministry has allowed us to provide humanitarian aid, continue to pay and support St. Barthélémy teachers and staff, and keep our clinic open. Your gifts have also supported important agricultural innovation and investment in our work to empower Haitians struggling to move beyond subsistence living.

Thank you, too, for coming to our month-long “birthday party” as we celebrated Pere Bruno’s 75th birthday in July, honoring him with a special campaign to recognize his life’s work of educating and caring for the people of Haiti. Your expression of love for Pere Bruno in videos, letters, emails, and donations touched his heart and encouraged him in the important work he does ministering to his fellow Haitians.

Your involvement this year has been crucial. Your prayers, generosity, and encouragement have made this work possible, and your continued support will keep the vision of our ministry alive and growing. This year has shown me what’s possible when we see one another as family and care for each other as our own.

Our Annual Campaign, Hope and Life, is starting this month and we have a lot of new and fun ways we’ll be connecting with you over the next few months. This campaign is both the capstone for this year and the foundation for what comes next. As you think about your year-end giving, consider joining our Sustainers Circle with a monthly, unrestricted gift to support the work of Pere Bruno in northern Haiti. These consistent, unrestricted funds provide the flexibility to support the efforts most in need of resources at any given time. These needs are constantly changing, and it is important that Bethlehem Ministry remain nimble so that we can address any need that may arise.

As 2020 has shown, life in Haiti and around the world can change in the blink of an eye. Let’s create a solid foundation for what’s to come.

Mesi Anpil! (Thank you very much!)

Deb Myers

President of the Board

COVID19 in Terrier Rouge

Terrier Rouge is one of the 13 municipalities of Haiti’s Nord-Est Department, the capital of which is Fort-Liberté located near the border of the Dominican Republic. An estimated 36,000 people live in Terrier Rouge, an area roughly 60 square miles, about the same size as St. Louis. It contains 15 small villages and many more women than men. According to a 2009 census, 39% of the population of Terrier Rouge is under the age of 15; people aged 15-64 account for 53.4%, and those aged 65 and over 7.6%. Agriculture and livestock farming are the main economic activities in the area, with the main crops being corn, potatoes, cassava, pigeon peas, and sisal.

Prior to the arrival of COVID-19 in the Nord-Est Department, about 40% of new mothers managed to breastfeed exclusively. When the pandemic reached Haiti, forcing the shut- down of the country’s borders, access to food (and food diversity) became increasingly scarce. This new normal has left breastfeeding mothers without access to enough food to produce adequate milk for their children, leaving the babies lacking proper nutritional intake as well.

Prior to the pandemic, in the Nord-Est Department, 66% of children were living with anemia and 36% of children under the age of 5 were malnourished. That was before the borders, ports, and airports were closed. It is important to note that the country has been mainly relying on imports over the past 10 years, with food coming from the Dominican Republic via Dajabon, a Dominican town next to the northeast border with Haiti.

Families living in Terrier-Rouge were already surviving in extreme poverty. With the arrival of this pandemic in March 2020, life and livelihood have been paralyzed due to the closure of Haiti’s borders and with the absence of government assistance. The children are completely neglected thus the medical team of Clinique Espérance et Vie is dedicated to providing health and nutritional assistance to the children of the area. Unfortunately, we do not yet have the data to know how children are faring against COVID-19 in Terrier Rouge. And we do not have the testing or medicines to diagnose and care for children suspected of having the virus. We will continue to raise awareness in our community in order to protect children as much as possible while promising to provide their families with medical care, quality food, and face masks.

Dr. Bendson Louima

Medical Director, Clinique Espérance et Vie