Espérance et Vie

I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Psalms 91:2

I want to start by expressing my gratitude for the love and financial support that was given to us during the past year when we were facing great turmoil in my country. May the Lord continue to bless you.

Although 2019 was marked by a great deal of unrest caused by political turmoil, scarcity of food, road blockages, unsafe travels, shortage of money circulation, and devaluation of the Haitian currency, our school kept its doors open. In Terrier Rouge, all schools were closed for a month with the exception of Saint Barthelemy. We set the example. We are currently educating and nurturing 1,100 children and employing 100 people - teachers, administrators, and support staff, including cooks and gardeners, and we have improved our curriculum with the arrival of a new Director of Studies for the secondary school. It has become a tradition of excellence that our 9th and 13th grade students achieve high marks on their official exams.

Although limited by the situation in the country, our marching band continues to perform locally on many occasions. Our students have been interacting with students from other schools in the town by playing sports together or performing in theater, literature contests, and liberal arts. We are also proud to announce that our students played a predominant role in the packing and distribution of food to our needy brothers and sisters in different places around Terrier Rouge. We are training them for the future to be great leaders and citizens of the country.

The whole school gives thanks to the Lord every single day for the work of education happening in Terrier Rouge and the surrounding communities and the support received from Bethlehem Ministry.

In His Name,

JMB+

Social Service Residency

Before receiving their state medical license in Haiti, the Ministry of Health requires medical practitioners to spend one year in an underserved area of the country. These sites are pre-selected by the Secretary of Health and are barely modified over time. Clinique Esperance et Vie has been fortunate enough to be one of the selected clinics for the past 10 years. Most recently, two general practitioners have been serving in the clinic and a small monthly stipend is paid to them by the State. This program, called the Social Service Residency, has been such a blessing to the Clinic and the people of northeast Haiti.

Dr. Jean-Baptiste Loubents, Social Service Resident from the Ministry of Health (Left)

& Dr. Bendson Louima, Clinic Medical Director (Right)

So how does all this work?

All selections are made in a single day. Based on the order of school performance, candidates are called to pick a site on the spot. Since the government stipend is very low (and often late in arriving), most candidates will select a clinic where they know by word of mouth that they will be able to moonlight at a second job in order to have enough money to live on. The stipend they receive is not enough to pay for room and board and food.

Bethlehem Ministry Board member, Dr. Jean-Luc Franck, a nephrologist now living in Florida, served his year in 2003-2004. At that time, he was making around $60 a month. It is very difficult to survive in a new place on that salary so he opted for Grand Goave to be close to his family in Port Au Prince, but candidates pick their sites based on multiple factors.

As a result of his own experience, Dr. Franck had the idea of developing something similar to a job fair, where we could clearly present advantages such as the beauty of the Terrier Rouge community, a supplemental stipend, and perhaps arrangement for lodging. In doing this, we could attract the best doctors to serve Clinique Esperance et Vie for an entire year.  With the right incentives, he feels we will have a great deal of interest. We are asking for your help in providing this incentive.

Choose to become a Clinic Sustainer at $200 a month, and we can entice young doctors, specialists, and nurses graduating at the top of their class to make Terrier Rouge and Clinique Esperance et Vie their home for a year, bringing the very best medical care to northeast Haiti! Imagine, just $2,400 a year to bring quality doctors to the Clinique. This is what is possible when we work together - we can make a difference in Haiti!

Jatrofa Projenou's Work in 2020

People in the area we serve are experiencing greater food and economic insecurity than usual, due to factors beyond their control, including massive crop loss from a year-long drought, 38% inflation, the political meltdown and the extreme income inequality that is related to it. In the face of this Jatrofa Projenou’s (JP) work in 2020 is centered on four programs.

Food Development Program

The bruising yearlong drought of 2019 showed us just how fragile Haiti’s food supply is. There is not enough to eat, families are hungry, and malnutrition is up. The situation has worsened due to steadily rising prices of imported food. Food is the ultimate economic asset. It is dependent on the land and farmers, and in turn, has foundational value to the local economy. Farm to table should be a short reach. By increasing crop diversity and improving farming methods, the Food Development Program is increasing the reliability and resiliency of the food supply, enriching the diet, and increasing farm income.

Land Conservation Program

The Land Conservation Program protects and rehabilitates the ecological and economic value of small farms, which are the dominant land use in Haiti but are ecologically degrading and under-achieving their potential to grow food and produce wealth. Unlike many reforestation programs, JP’s land conservation program works because it is based on the economic interests of farmers and the ecological reality of their land. Its methods are simple and easily understood by farmers and the success of one farm inspires others.

Livelihood Development Program

This program facilitates ways

that farmers in a community can work together for mutual economic benefit, such as setting up a manioc flour mill or making soap. JP is fostering a new attitude about what a small farm (10 -25 acres) and the communities made up of those farms can achieve by pulling together and building on their strengths, which includes a strong connection to and knowledge of the land, strong multi-generational families, and strong communities. Key parts of our approach are brainstorming ideas with farmers, testing their feasibility, facilitating cooperative arrangements, acquisition of equipment, setting up operational protocols, and finding markets.

Community Information Program

Listen, talk, share, have fun, help out, join in. This is the foundation of everything JP does in a community. This is the most human of things and when you do them right, projects succeed and communities come together to accomplish things that individuals cannot. In the small communities between Gran Basin and Perches we have regular meetings, occasional parties, connection to young people in the classroom and after school, and we hike up long paths to visit households to get acquainted. JP is trusted here, and as a result, has been recently able to trigger community cooperation on several projects: work on seven farms (175+- acres), a system of conservation belts on steep land, a model pole-production woodlot, a yam plantation/nursery, a pineapple nursery, a group exploring the idea of making guava into products, and an engaged youth group.

Rob Fisher

Director, Partner for People and Place