We want to thank the members of Calvary Church from Holland, MI who provided local training for doctors and other health workers from one of World Renew’s partners in Haiti, UEBH-STEP. Calvary Church purchased a van and transformed it into a mobile clinic for UEBH-STEP. Staff are now trained in operating it and using the materials provided with it.

A two day visit and training in community transformation in Belladere opened our eyes to the reality of the lives of the farmers there — their everyday challenges as well as their hope. The Christian Reformed Church of Haiti has been working in the community of Plateau Central and now is extending that effort into the nearby villages of Belladere I and II. Jackson, Lunise, and Edouarnus Estinvil (from ECRH) facilitated a community assessment with the local leaders and helped them identify their resources and roadblocks as they begin to work toward achieving their dream for their communities.

In Bercy, World Renew is focusing on water management and distribution. There are three cooperatives there that are facing the challenges of growing pains: their revolving loan funds need to be well managed, the literacy centers need to be maintained, initiatives to extend the cooperative movement to other remote areas needs to be reinforced, new construction needs to be completed, and ongoing training is needed more than ever.

It is encouraging to know that when the communities have the information they need, they can make decisions based on their existing reality.

In Thomassique, a new literacy center in Gwo Kajou is in full swing. We hope to start a post-literacy center there next year, if all goes well. A new justice pilot program in Gwo Kajou is also showing promise.

There has recently been a survey in Thomassique to determine the number of children needing need birth certificates. In Haiti, parents have up to 24 months to declare the birth of their children without being considered to be late and heavily penalized. Once this deadline is over, the process of getting a birth certificate gets complicated and requires the assistance of a lawyer. Within the five assisted communities, more than 3,000 children are not legally registered in the country’s official record. World Renew Haiti and our partners assisted the community council to complete the survey. While we likely will not be able to supply birth certificates for all of the 3,000 children who need them this year, we are planning for the completion of this project when we are able.

Fortunately, in the five communities where we are currently working in Thomassique, 39 children from zero to 24 months old are in the process of receiving their documentation, and eleven of those thirty-nine have already received their certificate. For those who need legal assistance, the community members — organized around a representative platform — had to set criteria in order select who will be helped first. It was a difficult process to set priorities, but the communities decided to start with those who need their paperwork to take their state education exams. Adolescents within the age bracket of 12 to 15 will have the priority as they need their birth certificate for the coming national exam at the end of primary school cycle. There were 32 adolescents affected.

It is encouraging to know that when the communities have the information they need, they can make decisions based on their existing reality. The plan is to extend this justice component of our program within the Thomassique area and also to other communities.

Prayer Requests

• Pray for the farming families in Belladere whose sons travel to the Dominican Republic to find work and discover that life is not necessarily better for them there.
• Pray for all our partners and for the organizational development processes they are working on.

Lunise Cerin-Jules

Country Consultant
World Renew Haiti