For several years Hope Church has been supporting the Haiti Foundation Against Poverty, and in particular their Gift of Hope program which offers employment to women enabling them to keep their families together by providing a steady income for them to provide food, housing, medical care and other essentials for their families. For many of these women this is what has allowed them to keep and raise their own children rather than place them in orphanages or watch them suffer from malnutrition or other easily treatable conditions. The political situation in Haiti remains dire, however, and in mid-February there were ten straight days of violent demonstrations. The large scale disruptions have since lessened, but there has been continuous gang fighting and other issues. One writer compared the situation to being in a room with many jacks-in-the-box, having no idea when or where one is going to pop open and cause a return to the more violent, large-scale demonstrations.
Because of this situation, the women in the Gift of Hope program have seen their incomes reduced. At first this was because it was often unsafe for them to travel to work. Secondly, many mission groups, both those intending to work directly with HFAP and others with other missions, have canceled their trips. These groups would travel to the Gift of Hope Boutique to purchase the products. The reduced sales have also meant a reduction in work and subsequent loss of income. Because of this HFAP issued an appeal for gifts to be given to create a special fund that would guarantee that these women will have income enough to cover their basic needs and keep their families intact. The Board of Deacons decided to designate the 2019 Easter Offering to this fund. Gifts can be made at any time in April by using the special Easter Offering envelope or by denoting Easter Offering on the memo line of your check.
Another way to support these women is to visit giftofhopehaiti.org and purchase their products online.
~Ben Sikkink, Senior Deacon