An Update from Evens & Karina Paul
Dear Mission friends of Haiti, my family is very grateful to have all of you join us together to partake in this moment of darkness in bringing hope, healing and encouragement to the Haitian people as we are navigating together this pandemic. Haiti has not been out of the countries where Covid-19 has caused hardship and damages. But because of your commitment toward the people of La Victoire, Haiti, in the midst of the Corona virus God is still moving, acting and empowering our community. We are very thankful for each and every one of you who partake in being a source of encouragement to the people of Haiti. Again, thank you so much for your generosity toward the people of Haiti.
COVID-19 Impact on Food Security
Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, has suffered severe economic damage from the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the United Nations world Food program (WFP), the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean could leave around 14 million vulnerable people in severe food insecurity this year. In 2020, 4.6 million Haitians - about 40% of the total population - will require urgent humanitarian assistance. Of that amount, 57% of them are women and 46% are children. As a result, the number of Haitians facing food insecurity rose to 3.7 million this year. La Victoire, a poor, rural location in the Northern Region of Haiti, has suffered disproportionately from this event. People are struggling to meet their basic needs. The COVID-19 outbreak has had a negative impact on market access, food security, and livelihoods. This people who has already living in a precarious socio-economic condition has seen their situation aggravated. Its urgent to respond quickly to the enormous challenge presented by Covid-19 in Haiti, particularly in La Victoire in order to minimize the risk of food insecurity and protect the most vulnerable people in this community. Indeed, it’s vital that’s we provide food and cash assistance to that growing number of vulnerable people.
What SAI Has Accomplished
In the midst of the pandemic, let us share with you all that God has done through all of us for the people of La Victoire, Haiti:
> 50 women received a loan and training in small business management
> 500 families received help through our food distribution program
> Our schools welcomed back 350 children to our Elementary and High School after being closed due to COVID-19
> Storehouse Church reopened its doors after the government gave us the okay to do so
> Our sustainable agricultural program, Hope Farm, is still going strong
Microlending Success Story
I want to share with you the testimony of Bredgine, one of the beneficiaries of a micro loans program that we just launch through a loan that we received from Covenant World Relief. These loans empower women in our community through small business management in this moment of crisis. We all know that in time of crisis, women and children are most vulnerable, this is the same for women in La Victoire. Because of this, our microloan program was launched last month.
Here's Bredgine and her story:
"She lives in a village called Rang and is a married mother of 2. Bredgine attends our church regularly and is very involved in our church by serving in any capacity whenever she has an open opportunity to serve. She lives alone in a little tiny house with her mother in law, sisters and brothers in law while her husband is in Dominican Republic looking for jobs to be able to take care of the family.
A couple of months ago I visited Bredgine at home in Rang, met her husband for the very first time with a broken leg without able to move from the bed without an individual assistance. He was alone in the house and you can feel his spirit of tiredness of all that was going on in their families setting. After our worship service on Sunday, one of the church deacons approached me to address our leadership team on behalf of Bredgine who suffer hardly because her husband was coming back with little money he has made in Dominican Republic, while he was closed to get to home, got an a motorcycle accident and spend all her little business that was not only able to give food access to the community but also which was the source of income to her family.
But because of the Micro-Funding grant that we receive from Covenant World Relief, Bredgine got her dignity back. Her business is more beautiful than previous and Bredgeline continues to serve God faithfully as she sees God’s faithfulness deploys into her family.
