The Ministry. In the days following the January 2010 earthquake, few orphanages in Haiti escaped a swell in the number of children they cared for. Such was the case for Life is Hope Orphanage in the neighbourhood of Croix des Bouquets on the eastern edge of Port au Prince, the capital city. With 100 children living where there was formerly 60 and with the realization that few families were able or even alive to claim the children, the orphanage began to make plans to better care for the children.
A Partner. As a ministry operating under a family of Haitian Baptist churches, Life is Hope Orphanage received hope for its future when church leaders invited an American missions organization called Praying Pelican to become involved. Praying Pelican is an organization that arranges short term mission opportunities for American churches and so began a relationship where mission teams began to visit Life is Hope Orphanage to help meet some of their needs.
The Need. It didn't take long to realize that the current facilities of the orphanage had become inadequate to house and feed the children and have adequate facilities to provide schooling for all the children. The leader of Life is Hope Orphanage, Pastor Jean Larochel, began to search for land to purchase and found it on the northeast edge of Port au Prince. These underdeveloped land was spacious but had no services and utilities; it became clear that a construction project with little in-house understanding of planning and construction would be a great challenge to overcome.
eMi Canada Comes Aboard. eMi Canada first received an email inquiry from a Board member of Life is Hope in November 2012. After further emails, phone calls and a completed eMi Canada Project Application, the project was approved to receive an eMi team. I will be jumping in to help with the architectural design, leading a team with two interns (U of Manitoba, Ball State) and volunteers that will include an architect (North Carolina), an electrical engineer (Saskatchewan), a structural engineer (California), two civil engineers (Illinois and New York) along with two spouses who will join us to help the team and spend time at the orphanage.
The Project. eMi Canada will be there to develop a master plan, design all the facilities needed house, feed and care for the children. Also, there will be enough land for school buildings and a guesthouse for visiting teams. As donations are raised to purchase more land, Life is Hope has a vision to build adjacent vocational training facilities so as the children grow up, they can be taught practical skills of a trade.
To read more about the project on the eMi Canada website click here: Project 10038 - Life is Hope Orphanage
Please keep us in prayer as we travel in the air one the ground and also remember all team member families as we are away for this project. Thank you to all our supporters and friends who are making it possible for me to do this work. I will update this blog as I am able in Haiti but for sure will provide a follow-up upon our return.