Tour of Eben Ezer Léogâne village

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.

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 next picture shows the inside the one of the children’s homes with some of the children who live there. With triple bunks and cribs when needed, each home can house 24 children. Here you can see the base level of care represented.  Living here gives the children a ‘bump up’ into a humble, base level of care within the church family.  The homes and standards of care blend into the community, rather than jump over the top of it, so that intact families will not try to send their children here in hopes of “getting them a better life”.

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.