12/16 Update: As of Dec. 16 the remaining members of the U.S. based missionary group kidnapped in Haiti have been released.
A small island country just west of Florida is sinking deep into turmoil and needs help. Between political instability and natural disasters, Haiti, especially in the last six months, appears to be following a downward trend.
Although Haiti had political upheaval in previous years, it accelerated when their president was attacked. Shot a total of 12 times, Jovenel Moise was assassinated in his home on July 7, 2021. The gunmen aren’t yet known, although the police have several prime suspects.
With no one keeping the country in check, multiple gangs now control different parts of the country, as well as a large portion of the gas flow into Haiti. This proves to be problematic and even dangerous for the people in the country because gas is their main power source.
On top of the political unrest, Haiti was pummeled with a magnitude 7.2 earthquake on Aug. 14. The natural disaster desecrated homes, left 2,200+ dead, and others injured or homeless. A mere three days after the earthquake a tropical storm appeared. Flooding towns with mud and debris, the storm brought down buildings already damaged from the earthquake.
After Haiti’s series of losses, missionaries from Ohio came to help out, rebuilding homes and assisting families affected by the earthquake and storm. The 400 Mawozo, one of Haiti’s gangs, kidnapped 17 of the missionaries: 16 Americans and one Canadian, on Oct. 17. Among the 17 abducted are an 8-month-old baby, a 3-year-old, a 6-year old, and a 15-year-old.
They have demanded a total of $17 million for their release: $1 million per person. This year, the gang had been known to kidnap numerous other people, a few who come from other countries. They have slowly started to release them.
News of Haiti may hit close to home for several Fresno Christian families that have connections with Haiti, including sophomore Meilani Gilmore and her family.
Gilmore herself has been to Haiti more times than she can count as it become like a second home for her. Working alongside her family to help the people of Haiti lead self-sustaining lives, one part, in particular, was her favorite.
“My favorite part was being able to meet and connect with the kids there and the kids in the orphanage that we stayed next to.”
In addition to having gone herself, the connection she has to the country goes back to her great-grandparents, Oran and Arshaloos Bell. They moved to Haiti with their family in 1947 to bring the gospel to the country.
58 years later, their grandson, Ericlee Gilmore, (Meilani’s father) established his own nonprofit organization called Christian Friendship Ministries.
Later the name was changed to Haiti Gospel Outreach, HaitiGO for short. Christian Friendship ministries posted on their Facebook page in 2018, “While our name has changed, our mission… is the same.”
Jeremy Brown, superintendent of Fresno Christian, is also the educational advisor at HaitiGO. He fell in love with Haiti and spreads the gospel by actions, rather than just words.
“HaitiGO’s mission really is to spread the gospel,” Brown said. “In spreading the gospel and teaching people about Jesus, we realized when they’re hungry and suffering, we can’t just tell them about Jesus. So HaitiGO’s mission is not to primarily put out the gospel but also to live the gospel and to help the communities we’re in.”
HaitiGO has established four churches in Haiti, as well as feeds over a thousand kids per day, starts schools, and cares for many orphans there.
Brown has a heart for Haiti, and extends an invitation to anyone who may feel inclined to help, once it becomes safe for missionaries to travel there.
“If anyone reading this has an interest to go to Haiti, contact me or you could contact Rich Wathen and HaitiGO. We’d love to talk to you because getting that exposure to that trip and seeing what God stirs in you is what happened to me,” Brown said.
In addition to the people at HaitiGO, the Deffenbachers also have a connection to the country.
Brent Deffenbacher, husband of Fresno Christian’s high school principal Amy Deffenbacher, recently made an outreach trip to Haiti. Deffenbacher’s experience strongly impacted him.
“In the systemic poverty and oppression, I was humbled by the calling and commitment of the missionaries we visited, even willing to be placed in an unsafe environment,” Deffenbacher said. “Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere… a plight too close to home to ignore. Currently, there are tens of thousands of Haitian refugees on the US/Mexico border.”
A great way for high school students to take part in solving this crisis is by raising awareness. Simple ways to help raise awareness are: posting on Instagram, directing focus on the subject, or telling a friend. Raising awareness can help people inform themselves, enabling them to help out, too. Direct them to organizations that are offering aide to the people of Haiti.
Another way to help support the Haitian economy from the US is by buying these Haitian cereal box bracelets. Women in Haiti make them and sell them in America to help feed their families. One more major way to help is prayer.
For more ways to help, visit World Vision, Haiti Communitere, HaitiGO, and Haiti Emergency Relief Fund. To find out more about the Gilmore’s nonprofit, visit HaitiGO.
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