by Shane Gilles
I just realized that I have explained very little about our surroundings and what exactly takes place here in Haiti with Kids Alive.
The property we are staying on is a few acres and consists of a missionary house, a school house, and the foundation of a new house with nothing more than a concrete slab and the start of some drain pipes. This property was purchased several years ago by Kids Alive and after the missionary home was built, fell into a land dispute. Kids Alive has done everything correct, but laws and money work very differently in this country than what we are used to. Because the land dispute is not completely settled (and the earthquake may postpone hearings even further) the missionaries have not wanted to build more permanent structures than necessary (hence the unfinished house).
Each Kids Alive ministry center consists of multiple homes with up to 10 (sometimes more) orphaned children, plus their “parents”. Here in Cap-Haitien, these families are living in small rented homes and will be moving into the temporary housing when we are finished building. However, our efforts are paving the way for an even bigger goal and that is to bring in up to 150 displaced orphans from the Port-Au-Prince area. These kids will have access to clean water, a solid diet, safety, and love. Some of these orphans have never experienced even one of those.
The school on the property has 48 students. They have been very curious as to all the work we are doing and keep trying to get closer and closer to us as the days go on. All the students in the school are orphans that live in the Kids Alive residential homes, plus several others. Every week, all of the families get together at the school for an evening of worship. We had the privilege of attending on Thursday night and it was one of the sweetest moments of worship I have had in a long time… and most of it was in Creole!
Our work continues to be very progressive. The lean-to – which is now the multi-purpose room – is complete. Several of the tents are up and the block work on the unfinished house (to close in shower stalls) is steadily rising. Our team is tired, but we also have high spirits and becoming close friends.
Hope you enjoy the pics!
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