We had an early morning, loading the bouncy people cage at 7:00 a.m. for a 1.5 hour drive to Love A Child. This FMSC mission partner is located east of Port-Au-Prince in Fond Parisien, It was a special day there because they were dedicating a football field-sized food distribution center. 700,000 meals were distributed from this site today to 52 distribution locations. Some mountain villagers traveled 4 hours to attend this event.
Bobby & Sherry, Love A Child's founders, have been serving Haiti for 30 years in a variety of capacities and were gracious hosts guiding us through their facilities. Our first stop was at the mobile clinic office. There we saw a wall of medicine used to treat a variety of ailments.
We also visited their medical clinic, built to serve 30 patients a day, but currently accommodating more than 130. In addition to treating patients, they also have a 5-bed emergency room and provide education on nutrition to young mothers. One of the more tender moments of the day was the opportunity to meet a 10-year old boy with a fatal auto-immune disease, We prayed over him and a box of FMSC food being distributed to his family as it was presented by Mark Crea, FMSC's CEO.
The Love a Child site also has a neighborhood school for 450 children, as well as an orphanage for 57 kids. During our tour of the orphanage, we were able to meet some of the children and learn about their program to transition teenagers into adulthood through further education or jobs - many of which are within their organization.
We also visited Love a Child's tilapia farm and chicken coops. These are part of their endeavor to promote sustainability within the Haitian community. Future plans include building a local market near Miracle Village, a local housing community, to increase employment and support families in becoming financially independent.
After we finished the tour, it was again time to kennel up into the tap-tap. We made a quick photo stop near Lake Azuei, and also visited a local metal-ware maker to purchase some reminders of our Haitian adventure.
On the way back home, we hit gridlock that reminded us of being on 694 during rush hour while maneuvering through a construction zone in a snowstorm. Rumor has it that many of you may have experienced this earlier this week. Maxim, our impatient Andretti-like tap-tap driver, made a U-turn in the middle of mayhem to find roads less traveled. He was successful! We drove in the opposite direction far above the posted speed (100km/h vs. 40 km/h) only to be halted by a wandering bull. Ole!
Back at the ranch, we enjoyed a Haitian feast of rice, beans, Creole chicken, militon, green beans, spinach, cucumbers, fried plantains, eggplant, and avocado. After viewing the day's photos and sharing stories, we closed with devotions.
You can learn more about Love a Child at www.loveachild.com.
Deb, Judy, & Lisa
Bobby & Sherry, Love A Child's founders, have been serving Haiti for 30 years in a variety of capacities and were gracious hosts guiding us through their facilities. Our first stop was at the mobile clinic office. There we saw a wall of medicine used to treat a variety of ailments.
We also visited their medical clinic, built to serve 30 patients a day, but currently accommodating more than 130. In addition to treating patients, they also have a 5-bed emergency room and provide education on nutrition to young mothers. One of the more tender moments of the day was the opportunity to meet a 10-year old boy with a fatal auto-immune disease, We prayed over him and a box of FMSC food being distributed to his family as it was presented by Mark Crea, FMSC's CEO.
The Love a Child site also has a neighborhood school for 450 children, as well as an orphanage for 57 kids. During our tour of the orphanage, we were able to meet some of the children and learn about their program to transition teenagers into adulthood through further education or jobs - many of which are within their organization.
We also visited Love a Child's tilapia farm and chicken coops. These are part of their endeavor to promote sustainability within the Haitian community. Future plans include building a local market near Miracle Village, a local housing community, to increase employment and support families in becoming financially independent.
On the way back home, we hit gridlock that reminded us of being on 694 during rush hour while maneuvering through a construction zone in a snowstorm. Rumor has it that many of you may have experienced this earlier this week. Maxim, our impatient Andretti-like tap-tap driver, made a U-turn in the middle of mayhem to find roads less traveled. He was successful! We drove in the opposite direction far above the posted speed (100km/h vs. 40 km/h) only to be halted by a wandering bull. Ole!
Back at the ranch, we enjoyed a Haitian feast of rice, beans, Creole chicken, militon, green beans, spinach, cucumbers, fried plantains, eggplant, and avocado. After viewing the day's photos and sharing stories, we closed with devotions.
You can learn more about Love a Child at www.loveachild.com.
Deb, Judy, & Lisa
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