Hope Rises
We’ll remember October 10th, 2022. A day where the hopeless becomes hopeful. Where storm clouds gather yet the sunlight breaks through suddenly.
The past several weeks in Haiti have crumbled what little infrastructure was left, bringing the country from its knees to facedown on the ground. In the year since the Haitian president’s assassination last July, the government has provided no leadership, and elections have been put off time and time again. The gangs that once ruled only sections of Port-au-Prince have spread throughout the country, including the area of Verrettes. Add hurricanes, earthquakes, and COVID-19, and, like many other countries, Haiti has seen a massive spike in inflation, making basic necessities of life unattainable.
No food. No fuel. No clean water. And no apparent route to improvement. Then, the one refuge for many children was taken away. School was postponed. Indefinitely.
At Lespwa Lavi, for a moment, we were not sure which direction God was going to go. We had to remember our beginnings, our goals, and what has been promised. We began as a soccer academy, then set out to start a school, believing that empowerment of the youth is the future’s hope. The community of Verrettes joined in this belief, but they said that God would have to do it. So our church was founded in 2017, serving the poorest of the poor on the outskirts of the city. In 2019, just as plans to build our academy were finalized, Haiti began the downward spiral into chaos. We did not set out to be a charity or disaster relief organization, but it became necessary to partner with Convoy of Hope, Sawyer International, and others to provide nutrition and clean water. For otherwise, how could we expect starving children to succeed?
Since then, we’ve seen the children in our program go from severe malnutrition to normal growth. Fainting at soccer practice, to winning championships. One-third of students failing each class to over 97% passing. These amazing results came from prayer, nutrition, advocacy and mentorship – even without our own school.
Each time we tried to move forward with building Lespwa Lavi Academy, the nation fell into some new disaster. As gang violence increased in our area, we realized that building a brand new building would put a target on our staff and put their lives at risk. We decided to focus on leadership development and child advocacy while looking for another way forward.
Throughout everything our soccer academy and church have continued to operate at full capacity. We have been feeding 350 children a hot meal every single day…..until the end of August. Gangs had prevented the Convoy of Hope food shipment from getting out of port and our carefully set aside food reserves were used up. The day the food was finally available, the road out of Verrettes was blocked by protesters – a situation that has only intensified in the weeks following. Now the nation is in a complete lockdown. The only food available is what can be farmed in Verrettes….and the price is marked up over 700%. All water treatment plants in the country are shut down and cholera has resurged (thankful for our water filters). The government pushed back the start date for the school year to October 3rd, but that day arrived and no schools opened.
We had committed to this group of children, and now they were hungry with nothing to do. What else could possibly happen? On the USA side we felt helpless, but our Haiti team knew it was time for the next right thing. While the world continues to debate how best to help Haiti, the Haitian leaders we have already invested in hatched a plan.
The Child Advocate team determined that the children could safely meet at the soccer field, so they asked them to bring their school books. On Monday morning, October 10th, children filed into the national soccer stadium by the dozens, then the hundreds, and organized into class groups. Filling the stadium stands, the kids waited to find out what would happen. Director of Operations, Duvelsaint, told jokes while he passed out extra notebooks he had purchased. While the students chatted nervously, two Child Advocates wheeled a portable chalkboard out onto the soccer pitch.
You see, nearly every teacher in the country of Haiti is out of a job now. This week eight of them – three of our Magic Soccer coaches and five parents of sponsored children – started a tutoring program for Lespwa Lavi.
Education cannot wait.
These children cannot wait.
In her book One Thousand Wells, Blood:Water founder Jena Nardella talks about deciding whether or not allow her organization to be a “motorboat or a sailboat”. Motorboats are fast and can drive straight to their destination, but are dangerous and can leave a destructive wake. Sailboats are subject to the wind, often tacking and following a course unexpected, but reaching the destination safely. Sometimes the plans God lays out do not follow the straightest, easiest path. Oftentimes our expectations are not His. Sometimes our grand plans need a bit of humbling.
And once in a while, an academy is born in the middle of a soccer field.
We will be sharing more details about the tutoring program and future plans in the next few weeks. Please pray with us for continued safety. Pray for the highway to open up so we can get food. Pray for the right teachers and leaders to come to Lespwa Lavi now. Pray for a building to house the school as hurricane season is here and the soccer field is not perfect!