School Supplies Are Coming In: Thank You!

I know that many of you read and acted on our email a couple of weeks ago about School Supplies. Thank you for your generosity and help in that matter. I will be putting some pictures up on Facebook later today or tomorrow with of the first round of supplies and backpacks being purchased and given to the kids.

As many of you know, in the past, we have always done supply/belt/shoe/hygiene item drives where we asked sponsors to send down bags, students to collect supplies, and other people to chip in with physical donations. This year, that is not possible due to the danger both of me going down to Haiti and of Lener being asked to drive through Port Au Prince.

Instead, we have asked for donations to get the school supplies/belts/shoes/backpacks/etc. in Haiti. We will, and have already begun, to use those donations to purchase what we need in Haiti. There are some advantages to that. The first is that those people from whom we purchase will be able to use that money to hopefully send their own children to school fully supplied. The second is that our kids like the opportunity to choose some of their own things and to be a part of the purchasing process.

You may ask, then, why we do not just do it that way every year. The answer is simple. The supplies and things we buy in America last longer, are sturdier, and are of higher quality. We also like the idea of our sponsors and supporters taking a personal role in sending the kids that they love to school. 

School is beginning on September 21 this year, and while we are already purchasing supplies, it is not too late if you want to be a part of it. Just click here if you want to give a donation online, or click here if you would rather send a check and need the address. Thank you for your generosity to this point, unlike many children in Haiti, our kids are ready for the new school year and we pray this gives them a leg up in the world!

While school is about to start, and our kids are going to be ready, there are still some really big prayer requests needed for the rest of Haiti:

1. The political and social unrest is worse than ever! As of yesterday, it became clear that the acting Prime Minister was involved in the assassination of President Jovenel Moise. Currently, there is no real leader of the country and things just continue to deteriorate.

2. Those children and families that were affected by the earthquake are still struggling. Many are without food, without medical care, and without shelter and supplies are very slow to get to them. They are almost a forgotten group due to the the problems in the rest of Haiti and the world. Please pray for them, especially the children who have no place to live and no food to eat.