We have felt God changing our hearts and opening our eyes
towards the truly poor and needy in many ways over the past year. Particularly
He has grown our heart for children in need. God has been showing us how
blessed we are to have a healthy, loving, intact family and our own passion for
the importance of family has been growing as we enjoy the addition of each new
child. But what are we supposed to do about it? How can we personally make a
dent in what seems to be such a huge world problem? We didn’t and don’t feel
God calling us towards adoption or foster parenting, particularly at this time
in our lives when we’re moving so frequently.
We heard first-hand about the orphan crisis in Haiti when a
couple came to our church in November for ‘Orphan Sunday’ to speak about how
they had built an orphanage in Haiti for about 40 children. “That’s so cool, I didn’t
know a couple could just ‘build an orphanage’ we thought!” It immediately
sparked our imaginations. There was so much about building an orphanage that
appealed to us: it was tangible, it was hugely impactful for current and future
orphans, it was something we could do as a family and involve our kids in, it
was sustainable (more about that later), it did not depend on where we lived,
it was a place we could visit periodically to truly connect with the kids…and
the list went on. Over the next couple of months God was working on us, because
He sure didn’t let us forget it! After
the holiday festivities and illness slowed down, we came to the point where we
contacted Global Orphan Project (GO for short) to express our interest in
getting involved. Global Orphan Project is
the organization the couple had partnered with to build the orphanage they’d
described to us.
Global Orphan Project supports 22 orphan “villages” in
Haiti. Each village consists of multiple children’s homes, a school, and
essential facilities. There are 3 key elements
to a successful GO village. The village is partnered with a local church that
owns all of the day-to-day orphan care. Praise God, these children are not just
cared for but are taught and shown the grace of Jesus Christ daily. Secondly,
the children’s home is not fancy but provides a base level of housing. The result is an improved situation for the
orphans, without making it so “nice” that a parent is tempted to give up their
children just to get them a “spot at the orphanage”. Lastly, the villages become
self-sufficient as GO works with each to develop a business. These businesses ultimately fund the orphan
care after the first 3 years. 100% of all funds raised go directly to orphan care,
which is also quite amazing for a ministry. I could tell you more but I hope
you’ll read about it at www.goproject.org.
As we began to speak with a leader at GO, we learned that, yes,
there was a need and they were happy to have our help…but it wasn’t a need for
a new orphanage right now. In many ways, it’s bigger. GO has been learning over
the past few years of building orphanages in Haiti, that there is also a way to
prevent the family breakdown that results in the orphaning of children. Today there are many children in families on
the brink of collapse. If a family
member cannot afford to feed a child or send him or her to school (most schools
in Haiti are private), the family member sometimes gives up and orphans the
child. GO has learned that by funding the school in a community they can provide
one meal a day and schooling for at risk children, which in many cases is
enough to keep them with their families. That’s exciting! Not to mention the fact that the school also
benefits the village orphans who already attend. Giving these children a Christian education helps
prepare them to be leaders for Haiti’s future.
We refer to this as orphan prevention, and that’s where we’ve been led
to engage.
God doesn’t want us to be helping only at-risk children in Léogâne,
however, He wants us to embrace all the kids in the community and the multiple
types of needs they have. For the at-risk kids, the urgent need is food and
education to keep them with their families. For the orphans living in the GO
children’s homes, the current need is roof repairs for the homes so they can
stay dry.
Léogâne, 18 miles southwest of Port au Prince, was at the
epicenter of the 2010 earthquake and has approximately 134,000 people in it. The church that supports the orphans, Eben
Ezer Evangelique Church, is the only one in the area. The school associated
with the church is attended by children from the community and the 58 orphans
from the GO village named Eben Ezer Léogâne. About 160 children attend the
school now, but there is room for more in the school! The amount needed to fund
the school is $3000 each month. A gift of about $20 per month can make the
difference for a child in Léogâne to receive a meal and education consistently.
In addition to the school need, the orphan village’s roof repair need is $3400 to
fix previous hurricane damage.
Is it possible to go from knowing almost nothing about a
country and people group to thinking about it daily? Is it possible to take on
a new large family project just as all the work of moving is ramping up? Is it
possible that we can raise the funds that this group of children desperately
needs? “Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but not
with God; all things are possible with God’”(Mark 10:27)
This is just the beginning of the story. There is so much
more we’d like to tell you now and as we proceed. We’ll be making plans to go
to Léogâne, Haiti, hopefully within the next year, but we have to get settled
into a new job and location first. We’ve started a FB page at https://www.facebook.com/GilmansLovingLeoganeKids
and this blog that will be populated with frequent updates on the fundraising and the
children in the village. For now you can find information about the Eben Ezer Léogâne
orphan village at https://goproject.org/village/eben-ezer-leogane/.
If you like email or mail better, let us know and we’ll send
you updates that way too. We will be praying for you as you read and receive
this. Who knows how many of you God will send on this journey to Haiti with us
– to pray, to give, and maybe even to go with us when we go next year. These
children’s lives are going to be changed because of God’s work through all of
us; we truly believe it!
P.S. We’re still working out all the electronic
communication and details but if you are stirred to give now, contact us
directly by email or phone so we can help you.
Here are just a few pictures to start with:
Many of the children living at the Eben Ezer Léogâne Orphan Village
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The outside of the primary school at Eben Ezer Léogâne
The spacious inside of the primary school
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