ATN's 2022 In Review
First of all, our annual fundraiser is coming up on March 4 (a Saturday for the first time) at 6:30 at Deerwood Country Club. We would love to see all of you here, and we are going to be sharing about all the different ways you can help us make this night a success. If you are familiar with ATN and know you will be attending, here are some early links to purchase tickets, register as table captains, or be an event sponsor (there will be a lot more info coming out soon!):
- Tickets are $75/each: Purchase Them Here
- Table Captains pay $500 for a table and then recruit people to fill the seats: Purchase A Table Here
- Event Sponsorship (including a table of 8 and advertising on ATN social media) is $1,000: Become an Event Sponsor Here
- If you already know you are not in Jax on March 4: Donate to the event here
Now, to get to the review of 2022. It may take a couple of blogs/emails to get all of the information out there, but I want to do a general review today to get things started.
2022 was a very rough year for Haiti. When Haiti's President, Jovenel Moise, was assassinated on July 7, 2021 and then a massive earthquake hit the peninsula just a month later all, it seemed like things could not get worse. They did.
Gangs took control of the country, kidnapping for ransom was commonplace for Haitians and foreigners alike, schools opened only sporadically, thousands of people in Port Au Prince were displaced, there is no functioning government, only a handful of elected officials, and no timetable for things to get better.
A review of 2022 for the country of Haiti has almost nothing positive. How could it? People are starving and they are unable to do even the low-paying work they were able to do before. There are close to 100 gangs operating around the country and they control everything. Gangs outnumber, outmuscle, and out-gun police officers and there is no Haitian Army. For things to get better, the international community is going to have to step in.
In my next blog, I will talk about how these things have affected All Things New, because they have...A Lot.
At the same time, I can actually report something amazing about our kids and our employees. None of our kids have missed a meal. They still have people coming to help them, give them school lessons, and care for them every single day.
None of our employees have missed a paycheck. In fact, we are even beginning to think about giving our employees their yearly bonus! They are able to care for their families and many others in a time when that is virtually unheard of.
There is a lot of negative happening in Haiti, but because of your prayers, generosity, and support for our ministry, there are probably close to 400 or more Haitians that are being fed and kept alive because of our ministry there.
Without getting long-winded, I am going to end our first update here with the difference that you have helped us provide there. THANK YOU! Without your generosity, in a time where it is hard to be generous in America, I don't know where ATN and our kids would be. Because of you, they are doing great in a place where very few people can say that.