Need
Need is an interesting thing. Something that many people throughout the world do not, and probably will not ever fully understand. While there are many other people throughout the world living in desperate need, not knowing what it is like to be without a need.
Coming to Haiti and seeing the need is both heartbreaking and motivating. It motivates me to make any difference I can make. In a country like Haiti, where the need is vast, it can be difficult to know where to start. The people who are with need exponentially outnumber those who are without, where do we begin? The answer is with each individual person.
We begin with helping one kid start going to school. We begin with helping one family get food. We begin with creating opportunities for just one person, and this spirals into making a bigger difference.
It is easy to get discouraged and not feel like your impact is making a difference but it is important to keep chipping away and making every difference we can make. Something that can often be taken for granted in a country like Haiti is relationship building. People have so many material, physical needs that often times mental, spiritual and relational needs are put on a back burner.
It is important that we not only feed the bellies of the needy but also feed their minds. There is no way to stop the cycle of poverty if we just give out food and supplies without educating, informing and teaching people to provide for themselves.
You may wonder why I am writing this. Everything that was written above, was written by me two and a half weeks ago. Often times I write blog posts and they don't quite feel "right" or finished so I save them as a draft. This was one of those situations. I just didn't feel like I knew how to end this post, so I felt it was best to wait and see what God wanted to do with it.
Now, after Hurricane Matthew I see why God wanted me to hold onto this blog post until He was ready. Many people right now want to help in Haiti, want to help make a difference in the lives of the people who were impacted by Hurricane Matthew. The best advice that I can give is give to an organization that is operating with Haitian workers, Haitian roots and truly impacting the people on not only a physical level but on a spiritual level too.
I realized that my newsfeed on Facebook is filled with great information about organizations that are helping out with Hurricane relief because I have a large number of friends that I have met throughout my time here that are working in Haiti. It occurred to me that nobody in America's newsfeed looks like this. People might not know where to start, they might not know how to help. They may want to donate to a grassroots organization that is making a difference but not know how to go about this. Below are some links if that is something that you want to do. I do not live in the south. The area I live in was not seriously impacted by the Hurricane, but I know for sure some people who are making a difference in areas that were. So please, donate to Haiti, make a difference in Haiti. But more importantly make a difference where it will be felt by Haitians, where it will contribute to the economy and the people. Make a difference that would save lives, help Haitian staff and help expand the impact of aid here in Haiti. Again, always do your homework before donating- however I figured I would provide some links to give you a good place to start!
And most of all, thank you for your prayers for my beautiful country. They are forever appreciated.
HaitiOne is an organization that I know is doing a lot of amazing work in the area. I went to one of their conferences that they put on for female missionaries in Haiti. They are doing awesome work and are very much on the front lines after this hurricane.
https://www.haitione.org/donation
Breathe Partners
www.breathepartners.com/give
Mission of Hope
http://www.mohhaiti.org
Disciples Village
www.disciplesvillage.org
Haiti Poverty
HaitiPoverty.Org
Coming to Haiti and seeing the need is both heartbreaking and motivating. It motivates me to make any difference I can make. In a country like Haiti, where the need is vast, it can be difficult to know where to start. The people who are with need exponentially outnumber those who are without, where do we begin? The answer is with each individual person.
We begin with helping one kid start going to school. We begin with helping one family get food. We begin with creating opportunities for just one person, and this spirals into making a bigger difference.
It is easy to get discouraged and not feel like your impact is making a difference but it is important to keep chipping away and making every difference we can make. Something that can often be taken for granted in a country like Haiti is relationship building. People have so many material, physical needs that often times mental, spiritual and relational needs are put on a back burner.
It is important that we not only feed the bellies of the needy but also feed their minds. There is no way to stop the cycle of poverty if we just give out food and supplies without educating, informing and teaching people to provide for themselves.
You may wonder why I am writing this. Everything that was written above, was written by me two and a half weeks ago. Often times I write blog posts and they don't quite feel "right" or finished so I save them as a draft. This was one of those situations. I just didn't feel like I knew how to end this post, so I felt it was best to wait and see what God wanted to do with it.
Now, after Hurricane Matthew I see why God wanted me to hold onto this blog post until He was ready. Many people right now want to help in Haiti, want to help make a difference in the lives of the people who were impacted by Hurricane Matthew. The best advice that I can give is give to an organization that is operating with Haitian workers, Haitian roots and truly impacting the people on not only a physical level but on a spiritual level too.
I realized that my newsfeed on Facebook is filled with great information about organizations that are helping out with Hurricane relief because I have a large number of friends that I have met throughout my time here that are working in Haiti. It occurred to me that nobody in America's newsfeed looks like this. People might not know where to start, they might not know how to help. They may want to donate to a grassroots organization that is making a difference but not know how to go about this. Below are some links if that is something that you want to do. I do not live in the south. The area I live in was not seriously impacted by the Hurricane, but I know for sure some people who are making a difference in areas that were. So please, donate to Haiti, make a difference in Haiti. But more importantly make a difference where it will be felt by Haitians, where it will contribute to the economy and the people. Make a difference that would save lives, help Haitian staff and help expand the impact of aid here in Haiti. Again, always do your homework before donating- however I figured I would provide some links to give you a good place to start!
And most of all, thank you for your prayers for my beautiful country. They are forever appreciated.
HaitiOne is an organization that I know is doing a lot of amazing work in the area. I went to one of their conferences that they put on for female missionaries in Haiti. They are doing awesome work and are very much on the front lines after this hurricane.
https://www.haitione.org/donation
Breathe Partners
www.breathepartners.com/give
Mission of Hope
http://www.mohhaiti.org
Disciples Village
www.disciplesvillage.org
Haiti Poverty
HaitiPoverty.Org
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