I have been involved with various projects in Haiti for the last 20 years. In January, 2010 a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit Port-au-Prince and killed between 220,000 to 316,000 people. On October 4, 2016 Hurricane Matthew, a Category 4, hit Haiti, killing 546 people and leaving 1.4 million people needing assistance. The people of Haiti have had to often endure such horrific natural disasters.
On July 7, 2021 President Jovenal Moise was assassinated in his home. This sparked gang violence in Port-au-Prince, with gangs now controlling 80% of the city. On June 1, 2024, Garry Conille was appointed Prime Minister of Haiti by the transitional commission. Previously he was UNICEF’s regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean. Garry had served as Prime Minister from October, 2011 to May, 2012. He and the people of Haiti are awaiting the arrival of the police force from Kenya and other countries to help stem and dispel the violence.
This police force and military assistance cannot come too soon. On May 23, 2024 the world was stunned when Davy and Natalie Lloyd and a Haitian man who worked with them where brutally shot and killed in Lizon, Haiti. They were a young couple dedicated to “Missions in Haiti,” helping with an orphanage, school and church in Lizon, located on the Northern edge of Port-au-Prince. This is a terrible tragedy. We all mourn the loss of a dedicated couple and their friend who were doing their very best to help those who are in great need.
Some of my Treats for the Soul readers and friends have been generously helping Food for the Poor and me to build schools and other projects in Haiti for almost 20 years. In 2020 you raised $110,00.00 for Our Lady of Wisdom School in Lizon, the same town where the young missionaries were killed. Five classrooms, a kitchen and cafeteria, washrooms and a water tank for clean water were completed in June, 2021.
Sister Bosse who was the principal of Our Lady of Wisdom School asked if my readers and friends could help with tuition ($35 a student per month) for students who were so poor, they could not attend school. So I started Haiti Dreamers in 2021. Readers and friends donated $24,000.00. So I have sent Sister $8,000.00 a year the past three years for the tuition of 30 students. The students have to work hard to maintain a B average. There are 408 students in the school. With your help we will continue to support these 30 students who are so eager to learn. They are a living testimony to the lives of the three missionaries who were killed nearby in Lizon. Thank you ever so much for your ongoing support and prayers. As an Angel of Hope, you are making a difference in Haiti despite all of its problems.
Our Lady of Wisdom School. Lizon, Haiti