by CCH Executive Director, Clark Seipt
Dear Members of the Coalition:
Throughout 2020, CCH Leadership Staff in both the US and Haiti gathered on Monday afternoons for a weekly devotion. We rotated leadership, and every week we started our time together with a “Two Word Check-In”. Each person shared two words that described how they felt in that moment. Sometimes a word would catalyze a lengthy group discussion; other times, there was no discussion – we simply felt heard.
As the year came to a close, we created this word cloud, using everyone’s “two word check ins” from 2020. The bigger the word, the more often it was shared.
Pretty cool, right?
As you’ll see we were tired and concerned in 2020, but also thankful, grateful, and hopeful.
Our team members have been a gift to me this year – as we’ve led this mission and ministry together.
We celebrated small and big wins together. We navigated uncertainty and volatility. We wrestled with the frustration of having so many factors out of our control. At the same time, we were in some ways freed to intensely focus on the crisis that was immediately before us. And that work was good. When we became weary, we lifted one another up. When we didn’t know the next step, but put our heads together. We prayed together and laughed together. What. A. Year.
As I reflect back on 2020, I’m thinking about how Covid19 has affected CCH in the near, medium and long term future. I wanted to share these thoughts with you.
During and as a result of the COVID experience, CCH has:
1. Become more laser-focused on how and where we believe we can have the greatest impact.
Back in March 2020, US and Haiti leadership began managing COVID-19 preparations and response in both countries. We knew that we’d have to adapt our operations to focus on current and anticipated needs. We also knew that we wanted to be very intentional in how we directed our limited resources: funds, people, time, energy, materials/supplies. We came together even before Haiti’s first case of COVID and asked ourselves:
“What are the top priorities that CCH must accomplish in the next 90 days? How can we be most impactful, with what we have, reaching and serving the most people in need?”
From those conversations, we identified 5 priorities, which guided us during a very hectic time. Choosing to focus on this short list required us to adjust programs, refocus staff roles, and redirect resources, as appropriate. Activities that did not advance those 5 priorities were paused. (For example, we stopped our animal distribution programs.) New opportunities or requests were evaluated to determine if they aligned with our focus. Our entire leadership team was energized and encouraged by what we were able to accomplish in such difficult times!
I feel like we’ve had more clarity in the past 9 months than we’ve ever had before. We’ve had honest and thoughtful conversations about what’s working, what’s not and the pitfalls of “business as usual”. We updated our guiding priorities as 2020 progressed. Now we have an updated set of priorities specified for 2021, organized by quarter and aligned with CCH’s longer term strategic goals! I believe that a lasting impact of COVID-19 will be a leaner, more focused and even more impactful CCH.
2. Closed our Isaiah 61 Guesthouse
With the Isaiah House lease up for renewal in June 2020, we found ourselves at a decision point. Should we continue operating our own guesthouse in Haiti? We were already concerned about the viability of the guesthouse, economically. A pattern had already developed for Isaiah House: in good years, the guesthouse broke even; in other years, it carried a deficit.. I’m convinced that COVID was a tipping point for us in this conversation – and one that was a long time coming.
In April 2020, Rubinste St Louis (In-Country Director for CCH) and I recommended to our Board of Directors that CCH not renew our lease for Isaiah House. I laid out a clear list of reasons in support of our recommendation. A main reason was to redirect thousands of dollars annually to advance our mission and ministry. The Board agreed. When teams do return to Haiti (and we look forward to when they do), we’ll offer them a menu of vetted accommodations from hospitality vendors.
If in the future we feel that we need our own guesthouse facility for volunteers, we can reconsider our options. I believe that the volatility of the past 18+ months, with COVID as a “last straw”, gave CCH the nudge we needed to make a difficult and bold decision for the good of the organization. Again, we’re choosing to be more focused and more impactful.
3. Bonded more closely as a staff and continued to break down programmatic silos.
In recent years, CCH has been working to bridge the divides between our healthcare, education and community development staff and programs. Our repeated message over the past couple years, especially, has been: “We are ONE CCH.” Keeping one another safe during COVID, implementing our Kowonavirus Prevention Campaign, and leading by example (i.e., modeling prevention practices in our professional and personal lives) has really brought our team together. It’s been an all-hands-on deck effort! I think part of this new unity is also rooted in experiencing a pandemic together. Being asked to be the example in one’s community is a powerful thing. Doctors have learned from our Education Liaison. Community Development leaders have walked alongside our nurses. It’s been encouraging, heart-warming and highly effective!
4. Empowered our Haitian leadership to be creative and adaptive leaders.
If you’re reading this, you likely know CCH well enough to know that we’re all about “training the trainers.” That means we give our Haitian staff and partners the tools to be the changemakers in Haiti. We work to build capacity in Haiti, for sure, but we also listen, learn and seek out solutions together. Travel restrictions and COVID precautions have prohibited teams of US board members, staff, and volunteers from traveling to Haiti since February. More than ever, we’ve had to rely on our leaders in Haiti. They’re guiding us to select the best next steps, priorities, timing, and sequencing of actions.
It was an adjustment for US staff to realize that we could not travel to Haiti; it was an adjustment for Haiti staff to realize that no one would be coming! We’ve held each other accountable in new and clearer ways. We’ve also challenged one another to stretch beyond our normals. We’re seeing different perspectives and to trying new approaches. I feel like a switch flipped during COVID. Our Haiti leadership team consistently brought new and exciting ideas to the table. Their creativity and willingness to imagine opportunities and ideas blossomed! It’s been so wonderful to witness and to support!
I give thanks every day for their dedication and leadership, and I’m grateful to walk alongside them (from afar) during this period of time. We would not have accomplished what we have were it not for the leadership of our Haitian staff. CCH’s reputation as a trusted and reliable resource for people in Haiti has been accentuated because of their efforts. I think this part of our experience during COVID will have a lasting impact on how CCH leads and learns.
5. Been forced to explore what our mission and ministry look like without teams coming to Haiti throughout the year.
We love our work with volunteer teams. While our mission and ministry are led, day to day, by our staff in Haiti, our volunteer teams add value to those programs and experiences. I know our staff misses those volunteers and the motivation they provide. Many staff members’ jobs, by design, include team interactions and support. We’ve had honest conversations about how that transition has been very difficult over these many months!
While we remain absolutely confident that teams will one day return to Haiti to work alongside CCH, we don’t know when that will be. Our experiences in 2019 and 2020 have forced us to reflect on the strength and viability of various programs – without teams as a guaranteed part of that effort. We’ve been reassured and encouraged by the leadership of our staff and by the persisting impact of our work in Haiti.
Necessity is often a catalyst for innovation. Teams were not an option – so how would we manage? In many such instances, our staff have figured it out! We’ve also identified areas that aren’t working without teams and begun to ask important questions about that. If one of our efforts is entirely dependent on team involvement, is it truly equipping and empowering Haitians to lead? Our experiences now are making our programs stronger, empowering our Haitian leaders, and forcing us to be more creative and adaptable. I also firmly believe that we have an opportunity to engage teams in different ways in the future. We will continue to examine where and how we have the greatest impact using US volunteers.
6. Found new ways to engage with our donors and other supporters.
Pivoting was the name of the game in 2020. I feel like we’re on Plan Z at this point when it comes to keeping you, our supporters, engaged in ways that help you feel connected (even when you are far away). In addition to preventing travel to Haiti this year, COVID also forced us to postpone and then cancel our Annual Benefit – a gala-style event that raises 20-25% of our operational budget. Other events were also postponed or canceled. Yes, such events are part of our “toolbox” for raising mission-critical funds for CCH, but they’re also platforms for storytelling, awareness raising and introducing new people to our work.
We knew 2020 would be an uphill battle, and the constant uncertainty and volatility made everything hard to plan. We tried a number of new things in fundraising as the year progressed, many of which were well received. We’ve forged new partnerships in Haiti and in the US because of COVID-related efforts. The COVID pandemic has certainly impacted giving in many ways, but people have continued to give generously! We also applied for and received funding through the US Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Through it all, we’d remind one another of our values:
- Steward resources well;
- Be honest and transparent;
- Seek out ways to do more together;
- Try new things;
- Believe in the strength and patience to endure.
It might seem strange, but I think it’s possible that the lasting impacts of COVID on CCH may actually be positive. We’ve learned hard but valuable lessons this past year that we will carry with us into the future. In no way do I want to minimize the severity of the virus and the lives of the many, many people, worldwide, who have died from COVID – or those who grieve for them. I also recognize that COVID isn’t the only potentially grave challenge ahead of us – in Haiti or here at home in the US. Lord, hear our prayer…
But I am optimistic that CCH will be stronger on the other side of this.
Maybe we all will.
I look forward to partnering with you in the new year and all that we can do together.
With love and thanks,
Clark
