From gazebos to clean water to parties to growing churches!

Much of our funding for 2014 has come from the organization World Challenge.  Most funds are spent on training, but we also sometimes support community projects or provide funds for events to encourage our volunteers.  Here are just two stories that I received in July:

Shelter and benches that were built for meetings and trainings in La Planj

Before the CHE program started in La Planj we had lots of difficulties, especially with our water. The water was really in a bad state and a lot of people suffered from typhoid, intestinal worms, and cholera. We were not well-informed about what was happening. When the CHE program came, because of the good training they brought and the way we applied the principles, well, everyone worked together to clean the water sources and protect the springs. Now the water isn't wasted (by falling on the ground) and the animals cannot put their bacteria in the water. Everyone is so happy because they have good water to use. In the name of the CHE program we thank you for your help with the gazebo we now meet under (completed in 2014) as well as the improvement of our water source (completed in 2013). To the supporters of World Challenge we say think you. We hope that God will protect you and your communities. We will always remember you in our prayers. Thank you so much. – Borgella Lucile, secretary of the La Planj CHE committee
.

Mother's Day party in Grand Ravine:  CHEs, committee members, and community members were present

We had 32 community health evangelists (CHEs) in Grand Ravine, but some of them had stopped being active in the program. This Mother's Day party (given with World Challenge funds) was important because it showed those CHEs what they were missing out on, what we were giving to the people with our trainings. Also, there were others who came and were interested in the CHE program who now want to be trained. The CHE program is very important – since it started in Grand Ravine four years ago the community is different. Spiritually, the churches in the area have more people and more evangelism is done. There were 100 people in my church before CHE and now there are 150! Every Tuesday they go out in groups and evangelize. – Vitalus Victales Wilnique, trainer in Grand Ravine

Stories of Transformation -- Community Health Evangelism (CHE) programs in Lospinit, northeastern Haiti

Noël Anisia, committee member

For me, before CHE came to Lospinit we had so many things ravaging the community. For example, we had kwashiorkor, children with bloated bellies. We learned a lot about nutrition, and now the children are more well-nourished.

Also with cholera, God really extended grace to us through the CHE program – the trainers taught us great lessons. They taught us to wash our hands before we eat, to make a Tippytap to wash our hands. They taught us to make a dish rack, to make latrines, keep our yard good and clean, and gather up the trash. Oh, man, this was really good.

The trained a committee and community health evangelists (CHEs). The CHEs started doing home visits. Whatever house we go to, people are really glad and they tell us not to get discouraged and to keep visiting them. After we learn something we show it to our family.

Something else we teach people is to sit down once a month to share. We meet the fourth Sunday of every month – the trainers, committee members, and CHEs. We gather funds into a pool, we call this a “mutual.” We loan the money to each other, and for every 100 gourdes you borrow you have to pay back an extra 10 gourdes. It's for when one of us has a problem, this augments what we have. Once I had a need and at our monthly meeting everyone gave me 100 gourdes. . . I resolved the problem. In two months I repaid the loan.

In terms of what we learn in CHE about wisdom: even if it's not easy, because of the training we learn -- even if we are the loser in a situation we control ourselves, we use wisdom, we measure our words.

Do you have any more spiritual brochures that we can leave with people? We do the lessons with them, but particularly the ones that have Bible verses in them people say they would love to have them at their house so that they can read them again. [Someone else added: Yes, yes! They always say they would like this!]

(c) copyright Noël Anisia. Used with author's permission.

François Jean, committee member

CHE has taught me many things. I have learned how to have better hygiene. I have learned SODIS [solar disinfection of water]– we do this quickly and we see it's a really good way to treat water. Before I treated water with chlorine but that's difficult because you have to buy the chlorine. SODIS is easier.  Also, we help people built latrines so that they can protect themselves against bacteria. 

 CHE also teaches us how to evangelize better and in a way that is more brief. We don't talk on and on like we used to. With what we learn in CHE we learn we should speak briefly and simply. We shouldn't talk on an on, brief is better. I like to use the brochure “Peace with God,” we teach a lot of people how to use it.

Once I was walking down the street and I came across a person who was evangelizing. He was talking a lot and made people tired. I looked for him later on so that I could teach him this method. He thanked me, saying that he thought the brochure was really good. He asked if I could get one for him and I said I would look into it for him.

(c) copyright François Jean. Used with author's permission.

Amelie Jean-Baptiste, Community Health Evangelist

What I like about CHE is the Bible teaching. When you see a portion of Scripture, that really helps you. If you have a disagreement with someone we have learned we shouldn't yell at people. We have changed this and really behave better with people within the CHE group and with our neighbors. We even tell the children they should live like brothers and sisters and not argue or hit each other or throw stones and hurt one another. When there is fighting the children suffer and their parents suffer, too. They listen to us, and even though they still fight sometimes it's gotten better.

(c) copyright Amelie Jean-Baptiste. Used with author's permission.

A week in Mombin Crochu (northeastern Haiti) -- Day 3

Continuing my posts from a trip I took last year to collect stories.

Wednesday, July 17

No communities to go to this morning. I went to bed with a headache and woke up with one. I've been told that perhaps I'm tired, so I take a nap. I wake up and there's a crate filled with mangos and pineapple in my room.

In the afternoon we walk a short distance up the road to the community of Lospinit.  As we wait for people to gather these three children come over to play.  

Next post:  stories from Lospinit.