Please allow me this opportunity to update you on how things are going and to thank you for your continuing support of the work of CCH in Haiti. 

My wife, Emmy, and I were financial supporters of CCH long before we ever stepped foot in Haiti. CCH has been a mission partner of our church in Vienna, VA since the early 1990s. Then in 2012, after we both retired, we had the opportunity to travel to Haiti for the first time and meet the Haitian men, women and children served by CCH’s healthcare and education ministries. We’ve been “hooked” ever since. Indeed, we believe that this work is more important today than ever before.  (Photo: Emmy and I (left) at Isaiah House alongside the Education Team of CCH volunteers in January 2019.)

The pervasive lawlessness, corruption and violence in Haiti continue unabated.  There is no functioning government in the country, armed gangs control large areas of the nation, and rampant inflation makes the cost of basic necessities out of reach for many Haitians, especially those who live in rural areas.  At the same time, we see glimpses of hope and light in the midst of hostility and carnage.  You are the source of much of that hope and light in Haiti today.

Thanks in large part to your generous support, CCH has continued to provide world class medical care to thousands of Haitians every month.  In fact, even with the seemingly unsolvable problems and challenges mentioned above, CCH’s primary care and rehabilitation clinics have remained open, and CCH doctors, nurses and other medical professionals continue to provide much needed care. 

In fact, our clinics were closed only two days over the past year, and that was because of violence and gunfire right outside of our doors.

In addition, the schools that we support have remained open, and CCH has continued to provide ongoing professional development for the teachers and directors of the schools.  Our Haitian staff have worked diligently to orchestrate this training, and our volunteers in the States have participated via Zoom and WhatsApp. 

Speaking of our Haitian staff, we are thankful that our initiative in hiring three school nurses last year has exceeded our expectations in terms of providing on-site medical care, observation and training at the schools.  Our decision two years ago to install solar panels has enabled us to have uninterrupted electricity at our clinics and program center even with a paucity of gasoline and diesel fuel resulting from the gangs blockading roads and preventing these materials from reaching our area. Your financial support has enabled all of this, as well as the provision of a hot, nutritious meal for nearly a thousand students and teachers every day of the school year.

What’s next?  And what are we planning on doing in view of the ongoing violence and lawlessness in Haiti? 

• First of all, we will continue to pray for the nation of Haiti, for a return to government functioning, for a restoration of the rule of law and a reduction in violence. 
• We will pray for our Haitian staff, whose dedication and diligent efforts are what makes the ministry of CCH happen every day. 
• We believe that we finally have a way to safely ship materials to Haiti, even though the cost is high. With this viable pathway, we will continue to supply our clinics and schools with the materials they need – even when they cannot source them in Haiti.
• A a time when many NGOs and organizations are closing their doors and leaving Haiti, we are expanding our health care services.  We are in the process of adding an Occupational Therapist to our Rehabilitation Clinic, and we are exploring ways to provide additional dental services, enhanced pediatric care, vaccination programs and dedicated women’s health services.
• Rest assured that we continue to be committed to being good stewards of our facilities and equipment, not to mention the funding support that you provide.

We continue to be integrally involved in a coalition of NGOs – see www.haitiresponse.org – and other organizations that are advocating for various governments, including ours, to support the goal of restoring a functioning government and the rule of law in Haiti.

How are we staying involved, despite our inability to travel?

Emmy and I traveled to Haiti four times a year for almost ten years, primarily working in the CCH education ministry.  We loved those trips.  Our commitment to CCH and the Haitian people we were serving seemed to grow each time we went to Haiti.  Then because of the kidnappings and violence that began to wrack Haiti, CCH could no longer send teams to Jacmel.  More than just being disappointed, we grieved deeply because of our inability to travel to Haiti.  However, we knew that the needs of the children and teachers and directors in the schools we were supporting did not disappear.  In fact, we knew that if the professional development for the teachers and directors did not continue, much of the progress we had achieved may be lost.  Further, if the children did not have the daily meals that CCH provided, and if the facilities and education environment in the schools did not continue to improve, our hopes for those children to receive a good education may be lost.

We prayed.  And God answered those prayers by encouraging us to continue our support of the CCH education ministry.  So we did what we could do via Zoom and WhatsApp and other means.  We worked with the CCH staff in Haiti to continue to provide regular professional development and training sessions for the directors and teachers.  We worked with the CCH staff in the US to raise funds to support the continuation of meals for the kids throughout the school year, and we helped raise funds to hire school nurses so that there could be a healthcare presence on a more continuous basis in the schools.  

Of course, we still ache to be able to go back to Haiti, but we can see that even our meager efforts are having a positive impact.  We are thankful for modern technology that enables us to continue to serve. 

And yes, we firmly believe that we will go back to Haiti at some point in the future.

This is the reality of CCH’s work right now. I share this with you so that you understand what you are supporting and how critical your ongoing support is. Thank you again for partnering with us.

With Gratitude,

Wood Parker, President of the CCH Board of Directors