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In recent months, our neighbors to the south in Haiti have been ravaged by violence, political turmoil and economic disaster. Unfortunately, the situation is growing more dire by the day. Roughly 80% of Haiti’s capital city is under the control of armed gangs, and more than 362,000 have abandoned their homes due to gang violence in recent years.
Currently, 4.97 million Haitians — roughly half of the country’s population — are facing severe hunger. Three out of four women do not have access to basic health and nutrition. Six out of 10 hospitals in Haiti are out of commission, and those still operating face shortages of electricity and supplies, and some have even been looted and burned.
Moreover, UNICEF estimates that more than 500,000 Haitian children lost access to education in recent years, and over 1,700 schools have been closed in Haiti’s capital alone. According to estimates, 1.4 million Haitians are “a step away from famine,” and there is expected to be a 10% increase in the number of Haitian children suffering from acute malnutrition between now and November. We are losing a generation before our very eyes due to the malicious acts of a small few, which are impacting millions of everyday Haitian families and children.
As we watch the plight of everyday Haitians continue to be marred by violence, destruction, and chaos, many Christians both in America and around the world are left asking themselves: What can I do to help my suffering brothers and sisters in Haiti?
Pedestrians run for cover after hearing gunshots in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Thursday, March 7. (AP/Odelyn Joseph)
We firmly believe that the best thing our brothers and sisters in Christ can do is donate their time, talents and treasure to the locally led organizations there on the ground and leading the relief efforts, like Mission of Hope.
Mission of Hope is a Christian, faith-based charity that works alongside churches and local leaders in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic to spread the faith through nutrition, education, medical care, and, of course, the Gospel of Christ.
Because Mission of Hope’s Haitian staff is still on the ground, serving those in greatest need with strategic partners around the country, they have the knowledge, expertise and know-how to serve as intermediaries for the rest of us. Mission of Hope uses our gifts as resources to fill the immediate humanitarian needs they see every single day.
Their network of locally led organizations is not just the most effective and efficient way to meet the needs today — it also serves to prepare them to lead the pending recovery and future responses to downstream issues that are sure to follow, like access to education, shelter and food and water for Haiti’s afflicted.
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As Mission of Hope expands its work to help Haiti, it continues to seek additional resources to expand its recovery efforts. We firmly believe that Mission of Hope is the best steward of our charity, and it is set up to navigate the complicated and heart-wrenching problems better than any organization in the country due to its firm reliance on God’s guidance and the Gospel of Christ.
We all tend to live in our own world, focused primarily on our goals, needs and lives. There is nothing wrong with that, of course — but as Christians and people of faith, we must also remember Christ’s commands to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, shelter the homeless and give alms to the poor. It’s easy for us to see the news and think about those suffering for a moment, only to hurry off to our next appointment in the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives.
Mission of Hope takes Christ’s message to heart. They have answered Christ’s call and devoted their lives to serving those in need, those who do not have a voice and do not have the resources to secure even the most necessities of life. Mission of Hope is doing just what its name says — bringing the Christian virtue of hope to those whose situation seems hopeless and those who have nobody to speak up for them.
We are the one-blood human race, united as brothers and sisters under our shared Creator. We have innate human dignity not because of our wealth but because we are all children of the Almighty, made in His own image and likeness.
Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” In Haiti today, we see day in and day out the kinds of injustices and horrors that would be unfathomable in our own country. Organizations like Mission of Hope are doing God’s work to confront injustice and comfort the afflicted in some of the direst situations in the world, like Haiti. Giving in any way we can, be it through donations, time, awareness, or prayer is one of the foremost ways we can value all life, from the womb to the tomb.
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Brad Johnson is the Founder and CEO of Mission of Hope.
Dr. Alveda King serves as chair of the Center for the American Dream at the America First Policy Institute.
