Student Greg Bottaro Provides Update on Haitian Orphanage
Last spring I wrote an article for Mind Matters about a mission trip I would soon be taking to the mountains of Haiti to help build an orphanage. Joining me on the trip would be a number IPS students who also wanted to volunteer their time and services during the week-long break. In light of all that has occurred in the last month, I wanted to give you an update on the orphanage and its residents.
The mission organization called Movin’ With the Spirit (MWTS) oversees the long-term building project for the compound which continues despite the recent setbacks. Thankfully, the orphanage was completed before the January 16th disaster and plans for building the clinic and school are underway.
A month before the earthquake, the first two orphans were welcomed into the house that we helped build. The goal was to take in more children as funds became available. With the earthquake, however, the orphanage went into emergency mode and the doors opened immediately. The head of the organization, Sean Forest, recognized the desperate need for a safe refuge and trusted that the necessary provision would come.
There are now 20 children staying at the orphanage. Thanks to widespread fundraising efforts, there is plenty of food and clothing for the children, as well as provisions for the building. The 2 acres of land surrounding the orphanage have become a refugee camp. Just a few days after the earthquake, trucks began arriving to the mountains from Port-au-Prince with family members escaping the ravaged city. Within days, Port-au-Prince had run out of gas and water. Meanwhile, the small village in the mountain was and still is alive with makeshift tents and a new community of people.
With every passing day, the reality of these displaced people sinks in further; their homes are destroyed, their city is destroyed. Their cathedral and churches are destroyed. The market and the hospital, the old familiar route to a friend’s house. . . all gone. Though they’re alive, life as they knew it is now only a memory.
Despite the hardships, they join together daily in prayer with the missionaries. They come together as a family to support each other and provide for each others’ needs. In this small community it’s clear that life is not always pleasant and nothing is guaranteed. However, it’s possible to make the best of every situation and together they’re finding the strength necessary to carry on.
As always, the Haitian people are witnesses of hope.
The news coverage of Haiti’s devastation is slowly dwindling, but its people will be suffering for years to come. We can’t forget about the Haitian people simply because the media isn’t reminding us. Please continue praying for them and for the missionaries. If you would like to follow the mission team’s ongoing efforts, please check out www.mwts.org or visit MWTS’s Mission Haiti fan page on Facebook.
Last spring I wrote an article for Mind Matters about a mission trip I would soon be taking to the mountains of Haiti to help build an orphanage. Joining me on the trip would be a number IPS students who also wanted to volunteer their time and services during the week-long break. In light of all that has occurred in the last month, I wanted to give you an update on the orphanage and its residents.
The mission organization called Movin’ With the Spirit (MWTS) oversees the long-term building project for the compound which continues despite the recent setbacks. Thankfully, the orphanage was completed before the January 16th disaster and plans for building the clinic and school are underway.
A month before the earthquake, the first two orphans were welcomed into the house that we helped build. The goal was to take in more children as funds became available. With the earthquake, however, the orphanage went into emergency mode and the doors opened immediately. The head of the organization, Sean Forest, recognized the desperate need for a safe refuge and trusted that the necessary provision would come.
There are now 20 children staying at the orphanage. Thanks to widespread fundraising efforts, there is plenty of food and clothing for the children, as well as provisions for the building. The 2 acres of land surrounding the orphanage have become a refugee camp. Just a few days after the earthquake, trucks began arriving to the mountains from Port-au-Prince with family members escaping the ravaged city. Within days, Port-au-Prince had run out of gas and water. Meanwhile, the small village in the mountain was and still is alive with makeshift tents and a new community of people.
With every passing day, the reality of these displaced people sinks in further; their homes are destroyed, their city is destroyed. Their cathedral and churches are destroyed. The market and the hospital, the old familiar route to a friend’s house. . . all gone. Though they’re alive, life as they knew it is now only a memory.
Despite the hardships, they join together daily in prayer with the missionaries. They come together as a family to support each other and provide for each others’ needs. In this small community it’s clear that life is not always pleasant and nothing is guaranteed. However, it’s possible to make the best of every situation and together they’re finding the strength necessary to carry on.
As always, the Haitian people are witnesses of hope.
The news coverage of Haiti’s devastation is slowly dwindling, but its people will be suffering for years to come. We can’t forget about the Haitian people simply because the media isn’t reminding us. Please continue praying for them and for the missionaries. If you would like to follow the mission team’s ongoing efforts, please check out www.mwts.org or visit MWTS’s Mission Haiti fan page on Facebook.