After 12 days with our team in Haiti, founder Jean Elade Eloi reflects on local leadership and how far the dream has come.
Dear partners and friends,
I had the opportunity to visit our team in Haiti at the beginning of October for about twelve days. Of course, I enjoyed every minute there.
But there is a reality that has really sunk in.
For many years, friends and supporters traveled with us to Haiti and saw this work firsthand. Because of the instability and safety issues in the country today, those large trips are no longer something we can plan the way we once did. Some of you have asked me when you can come again, and I believe that day will come, but for now, travel looks very different.
The country is basically bloqué — blocked. We cannot fly into Port-au-Prince, and I do not know how long that will continue.
And yet, despite all of that, our team has refused to be paralyzed.
The Dream Was Always for Haiti to Take Care of Haiti
That was always the dream.
Not for people from the United States to come in and do everything, but to partner with leaders in Haiti so they could build, lead, and care for their own communities.
And I can tell you that, in some really important ways, that is happening.
Years ago, we regularly carried medical supplies with us to our clinic. Last year alone, our Community Hospital purchased more than $40,000 in medicines and lab supplies in Haiti using funds generated through patient care and lab services. That is progress!
We are not completely there yet. We still rely on your support to help us pay our staff and keep the work moving forward. But we are moving closer to the vision we have had from the beginning.
Defying the Odds
Everything continues to move forward.
- Our church has grown from one church to five.
- Our clinic has grown into a Community Hospital.
- Our school continues to graduate young men and women at 17 and 18 years old, prepared to take their next steps.
In the place where we work, these things are not supposed to happen. But they are happening. The hospital is not supposed to be there — but it is! Students are not supposed to have these opportunities — but they do!
And that is because so many of you chose to believe in this work and walk alongside us.
Local Leaders Carrying the Work Forward
During this last trip, we had the opportunity to gather about 20 of us (leaders from each area) to continue to challenge each other to do better every day!
To take care of our patients with dignity and respect; to provide the best possible education to the kids that attend our school; to continue to dream for our university campus in Bainet (our Leadership Academy) to provide a place for existing professionals and high school graduates to further their studies.
For me, this dream began in 1975 when I was 12 years old.
It took another quarter century before we planted the seed in 2000.
At the time, we dared to believe something could change. And along the way, so many of you decided to join us in that crazy dream — partnering with leaders in communities throughout Bainet to help create something better.
There is still plenty of work to do.
We want to create more opportunities in Haiti that generate the funds needed to eventually cover our payroll expenses locally. The instability in the country has slowed those efforts, but it will not stop us from continuing to look for ways forward.
We are not done.
There are no words that can fully express our gratitude.
All we can really say is simply: thank you.
Thank you for daring to believe with us. Thank you for walking alongside us. Thank you for helping us get to where we are today.
We do not intend to stop, and we continue to count on your partnership and support as the work moves forward.
— Jean Elade Eloi
Founder, Hope for Haiti Foundation
