Life-changing ways we use donations for our ministry in Haiti.
Five hundred miles off the coast of Florida, Haiti is a country in unimaginable need. Unfortunately, most people only hear bad news about Haiti, which saddens me. I have so many friends in Haiti; they are some of the kindest, nicest people I’ve ever known.
Unfortunately, Haiti is often held to a higher standard than elsewhere. Many of you have seen the latest headlines: Billions Spent in Aid to Haiti, But Little Good Done! The problem is the billions were never spent in Haiti because they never made it to Haiti!
When the earthquake struck Haiti in 2010, and ¾ of a million people died, one extremely well-known, US-based multinational disaster relief foundation spent $80 million dollars buying new computers for their offices around the US. It’s funny that Haiti was the one faulted for this. The question that needs to be asked is, how was it Haiti’s responsibility for misspending money they never received? Only a few months later, the same disaster relief group was back out there asking for relief for a tsunami on the opposite side of the world. And what about one foundation president who was called before Haiti’s Senate to answer for the hundreds of millions he raised for earthquake relief that never made it to build one house in that devastated country?
During the first year after the earthquake, $150,000 was donated from our many friends – $20,000 of which went for food relief and $130,000 to build and ship a medical clinic to Haiti. Fourteen years later, Aslan’s Clinic of Hope in L’Acajou continues to serve hundreds of Haitian children & families each day. Every penny of the $150,000 was accounted for and spent for Haiti!
Remember, Aslan is not a “drive-by” ministry. We don’t dump food bags off the backs of trucks and drive away as quickly as possible. Everything we do – in Haiti and in our programs in America – is relationship-driven. We know each and every child and their families by name. Our Haitian director, Israel Joseph, has been a friend since our first visit to Ouanaminthe, Haiti, in July of 1995. Every penny we spend in Haiti goes through our Aslan accounts. Unlike the billion-dollar foundations that pretend to care about the people of Haiti, ASLAN TRULY DOES CARE ABOUT THE PEOPLE!
Let me tell you about some of the life-changing ways we use the money donated to us for our ministry in Haiti:
CLEAN WATER
We provide clean (disease-free) water from our 90-foot, deep well for hundreds of men, women, and children every day. Some must walk up to 2 miles carrying buckets to be filled with water.
MEDICAL CARE
Through our medical clinic, our doctor, two nurses, and a lab technician serve people’s needs weekly. Many of the things we treat at Aslan’s Clinic of Hope are life-threatening diseases and illnesses, and most of our services there are free! Aslan pays our staff with money raised here in the US, much of which is donated by generous people like you. Most patients cannot afford even 100 gourdes (the equivalent of .75 cents US) to see our doctor.
SEWING SCHOOL
Our top-notch sewing school has become well-known throughout northern Haiti. We have graduated 3 classes of individuals with a trade that can support them and their families all their lives. Again, a treadle sewing machine is given to the top graduates – bought with precious funds donated by our friends who care about our families in Haiti.
MUSIC SCHOOL
Every funeral (many in Haiti) needs music, and every special event in Haiti needs music. Helping our young people learn to play instruments is another way to supply them with a trade that can support them throughout their lives.
MARANATHA CHURCH
Aslan has a beautiful church on our property to meet the spiritual needs of people throughout the remote area where we work. In addition to sewing and music classes, our church also serves as a community center throughout the week. Within the coming two years, we prayerfully hope to start a school for the many children in our area who cannot afford school.
FOOD
Our Grains of Grace program provides 80 families with rice & beans each month to help stave off starvation!
Aslan does all of this with the help of generous friends. These wonderful people provide thousands of dollars each year for our many projects in Haiti.
- STEP OF FAITH Ministries in Brick, NJ;
- ST. PAULS Church in Brick, NJ;
- THE GARY MESSINA FAMILY Foundation in Colts Neck, NJ.
Countless individuals see the needs and trust us to use their gifts to meet the real, tangible needs of people who have so little – like the man who has so little that his rice is in the pink bag, and he has nothing but his hat to put his beans in.
Haiti needs your help! Whatever you do, don’t give your hard-earned money to billion-dollar corporations that squander most of your donations on overhead. Aslan needs your generosity more than ever. Although Port-au-Prince is dysfunctional and dangerous, our programs in L’Acajou continue to operate daily. Our clinic is open . . . our well is open . . . our church is open . . . our sewing school is open . . . our music classes are meeting . . . our children are going to school each day! Please give and give generously! Ask your church to pray and invest their gifts in Aslan, a ministry making a world of difference in Haiti.
