Haiti Agroforestry Mission

We thank God for all of you who have been praying faithfully for the ministry of Haiti Hope Fund and for the suffering people of Haiti. We thank you for your generous gifts that have provided tremendous relief in Haiti following the horrendous earthquake of 2010, and for your continuing efforts to provide desperately needed medical supplies during the on-going cholera epidemic. Over 2,200 people have died from cholera even though medical personnel are working furiously to arrest the progress of the disease. It is believed that over 93,000 people have been infected. The World Health Organization and the Pan-American Health Organization have estimated that the cholera epidemic in Haiti could affect over half a million people within the next six months, and within a year there could be 10,000 dead.

As you can see, this health disaster will not be ending anytime soon. We need your continued support and prayers, particularly for the health and welfare of the dedicated medical teams at Ebenezer Clinic near the campus of North Haiti Christian University (UCNH). However, we have a special request from UCNH that has prompted our writing this News Bulletin so soon after our Fall/Winter Newsletter. During the final week of December, 2010, we received an urgent message from Dr. Jules Casseus, President of UCNH, about a drinking water crisis at the University and the surrounding community. The University provides drinking water for everyone on campus, as well as for the community around the campus and for the Ebenezer Clinic.

This clinic is one of only two cholera treatment centers in North Haiti. It is located just outside the UCNH campus. The University pumps water from a deep, safe well located on campus, far from the clinic, into a 30,000 gallon storage cistern. Unfortunately, the cistern is located near the clinic and it has become contaminated by the cholera bacillus, and has been emptied and shut down. A new storage facility will have to be built, possibly an on-campus water tower.  Dr. Casseus has issued an urgent call for help in raising the necessary funds to build this new storage facility as soon as possible.

Currently the entire University is forced to spend hours each day without running water, since water flows only when the generators are running to provide electricity to the pump. The cost for building this storage facility will be close to $20,000 USDollars. We are asking all our faithful supporters to consider making a special, “over and above”, gift to help us reach this goal as soon as possible. If you have not given recently, this would be a wonderful time to step out in faith and give generously. You can use the enclosed envelope to send your gift, marked “Water Storage Project” in the memo area of the check.