Rebuilding Roofs, Rebuilding Lives

Our past few posts have focused on the farming aspects of our Agriculture Project. Helping our farmers regain their livelihoods after Hurricane Matthew is not simply one-dimensional. Replanting, pest control, better means of cultivation, re-establishing animal husbandry and creating sustainable commercial enterprises are all key parts of our five year plan.

However, when the rain pours through your roof, it is hard to focus on the long term. We found that a number of our 70 farmers in Latiboliere had very leaky roofs, thanks to the Hurricane. They didn’t have funds to buy enough roofing sheets and nails to repair their buildings, and hadn’t been lucky enough to get some of the free materials that had been available – too much demand and too little supply. The issue arose in a meeting our President, Deacon Gerry Keenan, attended with farmers in March. We asked what kind of tools they needed. Their response was that they had enough tools. What they really wanted was dry homes – remember this is the rainy season in Haiti.

Thanks to our partners at St Mary’s Parish in Hales Corner, WI, we were able to deliver 1400 roofing sheets and five large boxes of nails last week. Each farmer got 20 roofing sheets. We thought you’d be interested in some pictures from the distribution.

Since Hurricane Matthew, we have been able to deliver more than 15,000 roofing sheets to families whose homes were damaged by Hurricane Matthew. Additionally, we have put new roofs on five schools, allowing 1000 children to continue receiving the Gift of Education. Thanks to your generosity, many lives have been touched in ways you cannot imaging.

Please help us continue to help our sisters and brothers in the greater Sassier area rebuild their lives. The Hurricane lasted two days…the recovery will be far longer.