Haiti is a nation where many people are suffering dire poverty. Mission: Haiti is one of the Christian organizations serving Haitian residents by offering basic medical care, help with construction and basic humanitarian care. Sometimes those who go on missions simply provide friendship.
Helen Roenfeldt, mission and project coordinator for Mission: Haiti is pleased with some of the accomplishments of the organization. It originally was formed by the Florida Georgia Office of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. It is considered separate from the church body, but is accountable to the District. Roenfeldt is a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Weston, Florida.
“We take medical teams to Haiti. We help with doctors, nurses, paramedics and pharmacists to see patients and raise health awareness,” said Roenfeldt. “We work to educate people in Haiti about the importance of proper hygiene. We educate them on hand washing and how to brush their teeth. We see patients with all kinds of illnesses and provide medicine for infections and skin problems. All the medicine is free to patients.”
Mission: Haiti also works with orphanages associated with the Lutheran Church of Haiti. Because of the high death rate in Haiti, many children there don’t have parents. A recent cholera epidemic took the lives of many people. Because of the poverty in Haiti, many parents can’t afford to support their children, so they place them in orphanages. The organization recently built one orphanage and is in the process of building two more. “We provide educational assistance to young people, and then we provide attention to the kids,” said Roenfeldt. “We provide them an opportunity to interact with adults and team members of the mission teams that come. We provide help with the upkeep and installing electrical systems and building gardens. We provided a goat herd for one orphanage.
In addition, Mission: Haiti takes teams to help with the construction of schools. The organization distributes eyeglasses to those who can’t afford them. “We want to make sure the kids go to school and receive an education or learn a trade,” said Roenfeldt. “We do self-sufficiency projects so people can learn to take care of themselves.”
Another growing program is the self-sufficiency loan. This program allows Haitians to receive loans of $50 to $100 toward starting a small business. Business owners who receive these loans are overseen by a committee comprised of a community leader or a pastor. They help the people who have received the loans. So far, 16 microloans have been awarded.
“We give them a loan for one year, and then they start paying it back with no interest. The money can be loaned out again. We have people doing mattress refurbishing, repackaging rice and beans and household items and them selling them,” said Roenfeldt.
Furthermore, Mission: Haiti offers Bible classes and Vacation Bible School programs. The organization has achieved many positive results. In January, it offered a medical clinic and Vacation Bible School.
“In the town of Jubilee, we offered a medical clinic and saw about 600 people in four days. We had a doctor and nurse practitioners [available to provide care]. We gave a workshop to women about pregnancy and how to take care of themselves during pregnancy. We offered supplements to children and infants. We offered four days of Vacation Bible School with 150 kids [attending].”
A major benefit of the mission trips is to build relationships. Once that has been done, the mission teams can help the residents of various communities in Haiti. “This gives us a better opportunity for us to understand their life situation and to show that other people really care about them,” said Roenfeldt.
