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"A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying hte air and giving strength to our people. Franklin D. Roosevelt
Most people know a few things about Haiti. One, it is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and two, it has been hit by far too many natural disasters.
When I first arrived in Haiti with my wife and four of our children we were greeted by four consecutive hurricanes, Fay, Gustav, Hanna, and Ike in the span of three weeks. Welcome to the island. Then shortly after I returned home the island was hit by a 7.0 earthquake that took over 300,000 lives. A week later it had another 6.1 and then a cholera outbreak and hurricane Tomas.
That is a lot, but they have since that time been hit by Sandy, Matthew, Laura, Iota, Eta, Delta, Elsa, Grace, Franklin, Fiona, Isaias, Humberto, Dorian, Sara, Rafael, Oscar, Beryl, Erin, Imelda, and Melissa. To name a few of the storms that have continued to devastate the island.
In 2021 they had another 7.2 earthquake that barely made it into the news.
One of the reasons that Haiti misses out on the needed relief is that as soon as a storm like Melissa, Sandy, Matthew, etc. hit the coast of the US the focus chances. We are not interested in the damage there anymore, because now we can report the dollar amount of the damage done. We attach a dollar sign to the storms and tend to forget about the human suffering that these storms have already cost in poorer nations throughout the Caribbean.
This week we are thankful that the flood waters have dropped and the airport in Les Cayes has reopened and our farm manager was able to return to Central Plateau. This means that our team will be able to get paid for their efforts over the past month to keep our crops safe in the storm. Flooding is always a danger to the soil as many of you saw in our last post. It destroys road and infrastructure, and that destruction can take years to repair if it is ever repaired.
The people overcome these setbacks by creating new pathways and they work together to rebuild homes, businesses, and families.
They seem to understand what Paul tells us in Romans.12, “Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.
Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality.”
What we could really use right now is help in raising the funds for a crusher, mixer and briquetters for our operation in Benaco. The approximate costs for these items is $10,000. A mule train (10 mules) for transportstion of the grass and charcoal will cost an additional $2,000. These items will help to continue our mission to bring cleaner charcoal, curb tree harvesting and assist in reforestation in the communitieds we serve.
We want to thank all of you who have been supporting our mission over all the years and praying for our safety and for those whom we serve. As you may know, December 2nd is Giving Tuesday. “Giving Tuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of radical generosity. Giving Tuesday was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Join the movement and give, whether it is some of your time, a donation, or the power of your voice in your local community.”
We hope you will join us in making a difference in the lives of those we serve by donating to BonZeb. You can donate by sending a check to address on the left of this page, or you can use the website, PayPal, Venmo or Zelle. You can also us Candid.org, or Every.org.
Every dollar raised goes directly to serve the people of Haiti.
Your prayers are extremely helpful for keeping us on task, even when we are in the eye of a storm. “Our help is in the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 124:8
Thank you and may God bless you and your families.
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