Haiti Children's Rescue Mission

The Children of HCRM

In a country dedicated to the practice of voodoo where an estimated 80% of the population live in poverty, Haiti Children's Rescue Mission (HCRM) is a light of hope in a place of spiritual and emotional darkness.  Child slavery, rampant sexual abuse and exploitation and other horrors are all too prevalent in a country where parents who cannot afford to feed their family sometimes resort to selling their children into bonded slavery or turn them out onto the streets to beg and fend for themselves.

HCRM is a place of refuge and hope as children in their care live in a safe home, receive an education and have an opportunity to be adopted by loving and caring families.  All this happens in an environment where the love of Jesus is lived out by the staff and experienced first hand by each child.  The orphanage is currently housed in rented facilities but HCRM has now purchased an undeveloped property on which they hope to build a permanent home, one that can accommodate more children and be more affordable to maintain in the long run.

Pastor Jean Fritz at the new property

From February 13th to the 22nd, I will be leading an eMi team of two architects, a site planner, three engineers, a draftsman and two engineering students (one an eMi intern) to help design the facilities and infrastructure (power, water, sanitation) for the new property. Also coming is a volunteer photographer/artist/writer who will help to produce fund-raising and awareness documents for the orphanage as it continues to fund-raise for the construction project as well as its many ongoing expenses.

We would welcome you to pray for our team: for travel safety, sensitivity to the needs of the orphanage, flexibility and grace in working together toward a common goal and an openness to love all the people we will be there to serve.  Please also pray for my family and the families of all volunteers as they sacrifice time with their loved ones and fill the void in the busyness of family life at home.

You can see more details of the project by clicking the link under Upcoming Projects at the top of the side bar of my blog.  You can also visit the HCRM website at www.ourchildreninhaiti.org.  Thank you to all our supporters and friends who have come alongside my family and me in so many different ways, making it possible for me to be a part of this work.

2008 - Year in Review

FACTEB Seminary in Boma, DR Congo

Proposed Library, Women's Education and Resource Centre

Post-War Congo. We saw a great deal of military presence in the DR Congo: from the airport in the capital Kinshasa, the road checks on the highway, to the large military contingency in the city of Boma, our destination in the western region of the country. We were told that it is not uncommon as foreigners to be detained for bribes. Fortunately, we had a major (head chaplain in the military) with us to escort us around for the week.

It turns out the most challenging part of the trip for the team was enduring the 14 hour mini-bus ride to cover 500 km from the capital to Boma. Potholes at every 75 yards for many, many miles made for a hot, slow and bumpy ride that finally ended at 4 am! But we made great conversation and often these are the best "team bonding" moments. (Thankfully we were booked an air flight for the return...that took only 55 minutes!)







Dr. Kenzo's Family

The Seminary. Our host, and rector of the seminary, was Dr. Mabiala Kenzo and his wife Lau. They live in a residence on campus and while the team stayed at a guesthouse in town, much of our days were spent in the Kenzo residence, transforming their living room into our temporary office.

Our task was to transform an aging group of buildings into a cohesive campus, design new campus buildings and infrastructure (water, sanitation, power) as well as student housing. After many meetings with Dr. Kenzo (and he in turn with his faculty) we endeavored to capture their vision for training 300 seminarians per year from their current 55 and we set about creating a phased plan for construction that would bring them to their vision step by step.






Recently painted classroom (r) and computer resource (l) buildings


The Seminarians. It was inspiring to spend most of our time on campus in and amongst the seminarians. Each man or woman studying here has been chosen by their church to become a leader both within their church and out in their community. Sacrifices by the students have gone beyond changes in their livelihood and the monetary costs: student-housing at FACTEB currently does not have running water, consistent electricity or in-house sanitation.

Many of the seminarians are married with children so it really adds to the stress. In fact, there are enough children of seminarians on campus for us to incorporate a grade school into the overall campus master plan. Therefore, the role of the eMi team was not only to add to the academic setting of the seminary with a new library and classrooms (phase one) but also to design housing that will raise these standards of living…and they always had a ready smile and warm greeting for us. Indeed humbling and inspiring....








New Master Plan for FACTEB Seminary


Project Photos. A new set of photos has been uploaded to my Photo Gallery for this project, so click here (Photo Gallery) and see the Boma, DRC set with a slideshow (click the middle of the photo for commentary). If you want to spend a little more time looking and reading, click here in Details (Photo Details). Check it out and see what your support and encouragement and prayer has produced in the work of this team. “Thank you” to all our prayer and financial supporters for making project a reality.

Seminary Redevelopment in the DR Congo

Country. On June 18th my next eMi team will be traveling to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Our final destination will be Boma, a port city on the tiny western Atlantic coastline of the third largest country in Africa. This is a country that has been devastated with military strife, poverty and HIV/AIDS. Although it is blessed with an abundance of natural resources, the power struggle to control these vast resources has also been the root of much of the conflict.

From 1998 to 2003 the country suffered through the Second Congo War, often referred to as the African World War. Although treaties were signed in 2003, related fighting still persists in the eastern portions of the country. Our team is going to the western edges of the DRC, which has seen little of the recent unrest.

Ministry. FACTEB seminary school was founded close to 30 years ago and today is showing the ill effects of age, of war and a lack of resources for regular maintenance. But with the peace that has come to this region in recent years there are now new efforts underway to restore, and indeed increase, its capacity as a place for higher education and the training of pastors and biblical scholars. Dr. Mabiala Kenzo, a professor at Ambrose University College has recently moved back to his homeland to become the Rector for FACTEB and is our main contact for this project. Funds from sponsoring groups such as the Christian and Missionary Alliance of both Canada and the USA are ready to be released. However, funding groups have been reluctant to release resources while FACTEB is lacking a long-range strategic plan for the redevelopment and growth of its facilities.









Dr. Kenzo in a typical classroom

Goals. The plan of our eMi team is to come alongside the administrators of FACTEB seminary to produce such a set of documents. These will include written analyses of the existing facilities, recommendations for the renovation of existing buildings, design for high priority new buildings as well as construction budgets and phasing strategies. The team will also produce a new overall master plan for the campus. Phase One will be what the ministry can realistically build in 24-36 months. Beyond that, more eMi teams can be sent to design subsequent phases in detail and also revisit the master plan, as there are likely to be changes in scope and/or vision as the seminary grows.

Meeting Additional Needs. In a country torn by strife, poverty and disease, leadership that brings hope and a foundation for peace is greatly needed. The graduates of FACTEB seminary will strive to meet that need with spiritual leadership in the churches and in the community. Biblical teaching and pastoral training will always remain the primary focus of FACTEB. However, with a property that is close to 80 acres in size the seminary wants to also explore other avenues for meeting need in the local context, such as vocational training.

The eMi team will investigate the potential for incorporating vocational training on the campus property. Vocations that pertain to construction can be used to benefit the reconstruction of FACTEB and provide important jobs and training for the local population. Such facilities could also be a source of monetary funding that can be put back into the seminary.

Prayer Items. The team will be traveling by both road and domestic air transport. Please pray for travel safety for the team, unity as we endeavor to serve the seminary and both vision and wisdom in our work.

Thank you to all who continue to support my work and my family through your donations and prayer. I am thankful for each of you as I go to serve wonderful ministries such as FACTEB in the DRC.