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The problem with the messiness of truth is that the concept of truth is absolute and clear. Meaning something cannot be both true and untrue at the same time and that there are certain things that are true regardless of the situation. Unfortunately, our culture has turned "truth" into anything but an absolute concept. Here are some ways we have done that:

For lack of a better term, I will call it the "Olive Garden Principle." The Olive Garden Principle can be defined as the idea that when a group of people (3 or more) get together to try and choose a place to eat, they always end up at the most average restaurant possible because it neither offends nor excites and because everyone can find at least one thing to eat there.

Most orphans do not have people fighting for them, pushing them, or loving them. This is the biggest travesty in our world. That we, as followers of Christ, would forget the very people for whom He came to save. The outcast, the downtrodden, the poor of this world.

For instance, our kids' schedule does not change just because a team comes down. They still have tutoring, meal time, etc. We do special things when teams come down, and we have fun hanging out with them, but we make sure that our kids do not grow an unhealthy attachment to their sponsors or to other Americans they may never see again.

If you have been to an unhealthy orphanage, the opposite is probably true. The kids probably run out to you when you first drive up, they probably latch on to you and sit in your lap or have you hold them constantly the entire time you are in the country. Our kids are attached to Madam Noucheka or Madam Oser, they are attached to Lener or Gina, and they get excited when Mackenson and Wisner come in the gate. These are the men and women that they are connected to and that they have a relationship with.

The dark side of really well-run orphanages that are backed by a lot of supporters and money is that many of these places do not prepare their kids for real life in Haiti (you can substitute any developing country for Haiti). The truth is, we have made a lot of "American" mistakes. But this is also the reason that we have Haitians in charge of every aspect of our ministry. People that we trust and listen to, and people that make sure our kids are raised in the country where they live rather than an American oasis that is nothing more than physically located in Haiti.

Most people who run orphanages make 1 of 2 mistakes. Many orphanages that are backed by foreign money will "pamper" a kid with things that they will never have again outside of the orphanage until they are 18 and then send them into a world they are neither prepared for nor equipped to handle (I will write more about this at a later date). Other orphanages, mostly those who do not have the same backing, use the kids in their orphanage for as long as they can in whatever way that they can until they are no longer useful and they send them out. Neither of these 2 mistakes are acceptable. 

My challenge to everyone reading this is to be careful who you give your money to. It is important to know what is happening on the ground at all times because it can be the difference between taking care of children or allowing children to be taken advantage of. It is so important to be equal parts giving and wise, and this is why we take every precaution with every donation we receive to make sure our kids and our employees are taken care of.

This story sets up the rest of this series about the dark side of Haitian orphanages. It is there and it is very prevalent. I wanted all of you to know that we have some experience in this. We got our kids out of a place that was terrible and into a place where they are loved and care for. To hear some of their stories from their old orphanage, and to know that the ones that they don't tell are much worse is a very difficult thing. But it is really important to talk about this side of orphan ministry and to do our best to make sure it does not happen to other kids.

Many orphanages in Haiti do not exist primarily to take care of children. In fact, many exist because morally corrupt men or women want to take advantage of the suffering of children and make money off of people who truly want to help.

Unfortunately, the information above is more of an understatement than a mere statement of truth. I would venture to say that the vast majority of orphanages in Haiti are at the very least a means of exploitation for money and at the worst something much more evil than that and this applies to Haitian and American run orphanages alike. To take advantage of and to exploit children, no matter the purpose, is one of the worst things I can think of, and it is important to call out this practice when it exists.

As you probably already know, I (Matt) have been back in Haiti since Monday afternoon and it has already been a whirlwind trip. After not being here for the past 2 months, right now is the first time since arriving that I have had a chance to even sit down and think about what has […]

Over the next few days (unless of course Elijah comes) we are going to be sharing pictures, posting blogs, and trying to get some organizational work accomplished for All Things New.  The main focus of our blogs will be to cast vision for 2017 for our organization so that everyone connected with All Things New […]

Tomorrow is coming much more quickly than we anticipated. I know that sentence does not make a lot of sense, but stay with me for a little while and you will understand what I mean. We will be leaving from Haiti at 12:51 and arriving in Jacksonville at 6:51 tomorrow evening after having been in […]