I'm Going To Haiti And I Need Your Help

Dear Friends and Family,

As many of you know, this will be my 4th trip to Jacmel, Haiti. I will be there January 27-February 4, 2012, and I can’t wait! I work with an orphanage called, The Hands and Feet Project, we have about 70 children now, and 3 project sites, in Jacmel (where I will be), Grand Guave, and Port Au Prince. We take children in who’ve been abused, orphaned, or their families have no means of taking care of them. This way they get to go to school, have 3 meals a day, and a huge family that loves them dearly.

Some people would ask, how much of a difference I really make in the lives of these beautiful children in just one week, obviously construction gets done, painting gets done, but one week in a child’s life?

That one week, out of the 52 in a year, might not seem like much, but by going back each year, I am a part of this family. 

They remember my name. When I get out of the van after the 3 hour/40mile drive from the airport, they run to me, arms wide open, saying “Bwitney, Bwitney! Mwen sonje ki jon yo konte a dis nan Spanish!!!” (I remember how to count to ten in Spanish!) Which I taught them the previous year!!! Even I had forgotten about that! This year when I was there I lost my voice. Every. Single. Night. I sang the Hannah Montana song (that has a hip hop dance to go along with it) every single afternoon for hours. I taught them the dance, and they loved it, they’ve never seen anything like this except in American movies, and now they got to learn it!  

I’m now a green belt in Karate (white, yellow, blue, green, purple, brown, black) and the boys there are learning karate from the guy who’s been teaching me.  He’s interning there (which I would like to eventually do) and teaching karate, but the girls don’t really want to try, they feel it’s a boy sport…. Well guess what! I’m a girl, they know me, and I’ve been doing it for a year now! I just can’t wait to be there, and continue loving on them; being a part of their lives.

However, I cannot do this alone. I need an abundance of prayer. Walking down the streets and seeing a 2 year old who’s hair is turning orange because of malnutrition, touching the burn marks on a girls arms and legs knowing she’s been abused, holding a baby who’s been life threateningly sick 7 times because his parents won’t give him clean, boiled water, and not knowing if he will live when I leave… they weigh heavy on my heart and spirit, and are extremely frustrating at times…  Prayer is necessity. 

Financially I need support too. I have been blessed for God to lead me to this beautiful country and give me a heart for the people, but I need support financially. 

This year it will cost $1750/person to go (payments starting this month until we leave in January) that goes to plane tickets to Florida and Haiti, and back. It pays for our food while we’re there, the supplies we’ll need to buy, ex: in order to build more bunk beds for more kids, or paint so they can have a feeling of ownership in the room they share with 8 other kids, and other projects the orphanage has planned and needs us to do. (Last year we made the cabinets/ counters for their kitchen that now feeds 67 children!!)

If you are able to contribute financially, please email me via alittlebirdietoldmetoo@gmail.com, or comment below.

Please, above all else, keep me and my team in your prayers as we prepare our hearts to return to this place we love so dearly.