Haiti’s next generation
Gang violence in the capital makes life challenging, yet Christ-centred non-profit work in rural Haiti continues.
Bondye konnen – God knows. This phrase is often spoken in the communities of Haiti. Not spoken in tones of hopelessness but with assurance, with the deep hope that even in the darkest situations, God’s light shines. He knows.
It’s early Wednesday morning, 6 a.m., March 13, and I am being driven by our Children of the Promise (COTP) driver to the Dominican Republic border. It’s my third attempt to return home to Canada after all flights to and from Haiti were grounded. We travel east and the sun slowly rises over the horizon, bathing the countryside in the new day. What a beautiful day, as we experience “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22-23). Communities are waking up: children walking to school, food cooking on outdoor fires, wheelbarrows of produce being wheeled down the roads to markets, cows and goats crossing the road on their way to pastures. Life in rural Haiti. A peaceful reality in a land deeply fraught with turbulence and instability.
When we think of troubled nations, Haiti is at the forefront. For years, Haiti has struggled through natural disasters, corrupt leadership, violence, poverty, inflation and disorder.
Recently, chaos has reared its ugly head again as gangs took control of over 80 percent of the capital city, Port-au-Prince: attacking men, women and children, killing many, wreaking havoc in streets and neighbourhoods, destroying homes and businesses, shutting down seaports, airports and roads out of the city. Prime Minister Ariel Henry fled in February, then resigned; a transitional government has been instituted, with Garry Conille appointed as the temporary prime minister. The transitional government has been tasked with repressing the raging, rampant gang violence, with addressing Haiti’s deep poverty, and with planning an election for early 2026. A daunting, monumental mandate . . . God have mercy.
Turmoil in Port-au-Prince
Outside of Port-au-Prince, the country lives in relative peace and quiet. However, here in Northern Haiti, the effects of the turmoil in Port-au-Prince are also felt. With key routes out of the city into the northern and southern regions being controlled by the gangs stopping the transportation of critical goods, the shortage of fuel, food and medical supplies is a reality. Prices of these staples have risen sharply, making it difficult for people to access necessities of daily living. Inflation is said to currently be at 29 percent.
Those that are able flee Port-au-Prince, seeking refuge with extended family and friends in rural areas and other cities in Haiti. The atmosphere in cities such as Cap Haitien, on the north coast, is tense, the air filled with anxiety and worry as everyone is on the watch for the possibility that the gangs might find their way into their area.
And yet life goes on. People go about their daily activities, setting up markets with whatever supplies they are able to get, children go to school, banks are open, hospitals help patients as best they can with the resources they are able to access. In the darkness and chaos, there is light and hope. Communities rally together, take care of one another, share their resources and work together.
Children of the Promise (COTP) is a ministry that began over 24 years ago in the small town of Lagossette, not far from Cap Haitien, with a vision to provide “A Healthy Christian Home and Family for every Haitian Child.” Here is one of many places where the light of Christ shines brightly, led and operated primarily by the Haitian community, with over 130 employees bringing hope where there is no hope. This ministry invests in programs to strengthen struggling families, to empower them towards a life of sustainable health and wellbeing. Programs such as health and nutrition, occupational and physical therapy, domestic foster care, orphan care and sponsorship support families. Education is key to helping families out of the cycle of brokenness. The school, owned and operated by COTP, ICEP (Institution Chretiènne Enfants de la Promesse), provides Christ-centred, quality education to 333 students from preschool through Grade 8. Thirty-five of their students have physical and/or developmental disabilities and receive specialized programming. As the ICEP Development Consultant, I am privileged to walk alongside the leadership team, teachers and students as they live out the vision “to equip our students for a life of praise and service in their communities and beyond for the glory of Jesus Christ.”
COTP’s vision is “a healthy Christian home and family for every Haitian child.” (Photo credit: COTP).
COTP is located in the rural village of Lagossette, which is south of Cap Haitien.
Bernice in April speaking at COTP.
Jasmine Joseph, Director of ICEP shown here with Bernice, has “tremendous hope for the next generation of Haiti’s leaders.”
Anxious moments
During my most recent trip to COTP, from February 19 to March 4, all the airports in Haiti shut down in the gangs’ efforts to prevent Prime Minister Ariel Henry from re-entering Haiti. At COTP, the Operations Team worried about what gangs in Port-au-Prince were capable of doing. Airports in Haiti had never closed before, and they did not know how this was going to turn out – news from the capital city was not good. And so we gathered and encouraged one another. I sat with the leadership team at ICEP: Jasmine, Benoit and Youselene. We prayed. We prayed for God’s peace in Haiti, in our community’s lives, for God’s direction of where we needed to be and go. We wept about the pain and suffering that our neighbours were undergoing and cried out to God.
Schools in Haiti closed down for a week; ICEP also closed. During that week, the leadership team and I planned a PD day for staff. As teachers entered the school campus, it was evident that they were anxious about the situation in Haiti, yet welcomed the opportunity to learn. In our first workshop, we discussed poverty in Haiti. Each small group shared their hearts, their fears, their hopelessness. We returned to the hope of Christ, humbly knowing God is using us to build his Kingdom through the students we teach each day. Educating our students, leading them to serve as strong, wise, just and merciful Christ-followers is our task. We closed the session with prayer, leaving our heaviness and our burdens at the feet of Jesus.
Much has changed in Haiti this past year, yet God remains faithful. In the middle of the chaos, he holds us fast. And we cling to the surety that he will walk with us through the valley, giving us strength and courage every day. We continue to pray for Haiti, for an end to the horror and terror that has taken over so much, and thank God for his faithfulness.
Bondye konnen. God knows.
