Junior. Jean Marc. Madame Elissant. These are friends we made in Haiti that will forever be a part of me. Our family started a nonprofit, Community Partnerships International, and teamed with a Haitian organization to serve in a remote village in the mountains of the poorest country in the western hemisphere. The area where we served had no running water and no electricity. We partnered with the people of the village to begin a free elementary school, which had 250 students in it, and employed 10 individuals who lived in the city and came to the village during the week to work at the school. Also, we started a church that was led by local pastors and elders. In 2012 we completed a church building, a 16 person bunkhouse for our team, and a school building with classrooms for each grade level. We traveled back and forth over the time we were there and I was there about 26 times because I loved it and the people were family. Unfortunately, sometimes things happen and we must refocus our attention. As devastating as it was, this is what had to happen.
We left Haiti in December 2018 and have begun a partnership with a small village in Cantamayec, Mexico. There we will be helping individuals begin small businesses that they can sustain and will support their families. We have provided them training and a revolving fund that will assist them with start up costs. We are in the beginning phases of this project and will continue to share as we move forward.
