Today, I’d like to take you on a picture tour of the campus
of the Eben Ezer Léogâne village. I’ll share
what I have learned from various GO project websites and stories. Until we go
there next year, we’ll have to let our imaginations fill in the gaps. If you
have specific questions let me know and I’ll try my best to find out the
answers.
Léogâne is a seaside
town in Ouest Department,
Haiti. The
town is located about 29 km (18 mi) west of the Haitian capital, Port
au Prince. The town was at the epicenter
of the earthquake on January 12, 2010 and was
catastrophically affected, with 80-90% of buildings damaged. It also had been destroyed in an earthquake in 1770. You can
see it near the center of the map below, the little orange icons denoting
locations where Global Orphan Project has established villages..jpg)
This history of Eben Ezer Léogâne began in 2011 when Pastor
Claude Mondiser created a new church in Léogâne, Eben-Ezer Evangelic Church,
which was the only church in the area. Pastor Claude and the church’s members
have a heart for caring for orphaned and abandoned children in the Léogâne area.
He had previously partnered with Global Orphan Project for other orphan
villages. The construction began at Eben Ezer Léogâne in the summer of 2012. By
October of 2012, about 60 children live here.
As you see the following pictures, the 3 signature components
of Global Orphan project’s orphan care become apparent. As we “tour”, I’ll point out how the care is:
1) Local Church Owned, 2) Base Level (culturally relevant) and 3) Sustainable
Here are the outside and inside of the Eben Ezer Evangelic
Church. The church is the heart of the
village. GO Project does not own the day-to-day care of the
children. The local church does. The
local church leadership selects and supports the staff to help care for
children. This way the children have a
steady assurance through the Gospel of grace in Jesus Christ.
Next you’ll see a side by side view of the
children’s homes. These are the homes that have roof damage from previous
hurricanes. We are praising God that, thanks
to a generous first donation, the roof repairs can start soon before the rainy
season begins and the houses become a mess. The construction of the village buildings is
done by Haitian workers, and the staff leading the village are Haitian as well.
Here's a closer view of the girls' home and a picture of some of the children living at the village.
The latrines, bathhouse, and kitchen are each separate
buildings from the children’s homes. Here
are pictures of the bath house and kitchen constructed this past summer. No comment is even necessary on the stark
difference between this and what we have in our American homes.
The campus has a garden with a variety of plants, including mangoes,
which help feed the children who live there.
The village well is a source of clean water for those who
live there. Apparently it is easy
enough to draw water that the children are able to do it too.
The garden and the well, in addition to a chicken coop on
property, all offer opportunities for future sustainability for the village,
the 3rd facet of GO project’s model. In
addition to using these to provide for the kids who live there, there is an
opportunity to sell the extra water and food in the community, proceeds of
which could help offset some village expenses.
The campus has a large soccer field where games and fun can
be had. Below, you can see jump rope and soccer fun when a GO Project group
came to visit.
Lastly and importantly for our piece of the project, there is
a school on campus, divided into 2 buildings. The crux of orphan prevention is
the school. By funding the school budget
of $3000 per month, each child can attend for a nominal fee. The fee is enough to keep the families engaged
but small enough that they can afford it. The children who attend receive a Christian
education and one meal a day. This
sounds so common and basic to us where we live, but to these Haitians, it is a
huge step forward. Currently, there are 160 children at the school, including
all the Eben Ezer Léogâne Village orphans,
but there is capacity to grow. The church leadership provides the oversight for
the school choosing the staff and making decisions for the school. Ultimately,
as the school is able to open up to the at-risk kids of the community, the
church will be able to identify the kids most in the need to join the school in
the upcoming year.
The first building is for the kindergarten. Adrien said it is not uncommon to have
multiple ages represented in the kindergarten as children who have never been
to school get their first start.
The primary school has room for more students in the upcoming
school year too.
Will you pray for God’s work here
in this part of Haiti? Will you
give to the orphan prevention effort at Eben Ezer Léogâne to help these children? A
one-time gift or a recurring gift can make a big difference here! Click here to be directed to the
myGOproject page which allows for a one time gift directly towards this
project. If you’d like to set up a
recurring monthly gift, use this link instead and please make sure to specify “Gilmans Loving Leogane Kids project”
in the box for specifying about the donation.
As a side note, for some reason I was having writers’ block
as I started this blog, so I took a break to read my bible. I had been reading in 1 Samuel and came across
this verse: “Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying ‘Thus far has the
Lord helped us’” 1 Samuel 7:12 (with the note saying Ebenezer means stone of
help). May God use each of us as He
continues to be the rock and the help for these children.
Thanks for joining the tour! We thank God for your open and
interested hearts.
