No More Dirt Cookies for These Families!
Thanks to the generosity of our Bright Hope supporters, families in Haiti are now eating real food and earning new income, as opposed to the dirt cookies that were their only recourse in recent months. Through a micro loan program that began in 2008, over 280 families are receiving immediate supplies of rice, as well as farming tools and seeds to plant their own gardens. One hundred percent of the initial loans have been repaid, and now families are receiving additional loans to expand their gardens and even build their own small business ventures. Here are the stories of six families whose lives have been touched through your gifts to this campaign:
The Francois Family
“The rice we are receiving from you gives me peace of heart and peace of the stomach.. “ Ferdinand Francois has three children, Donald, age 17, Roselene, age 15 and their youngest, Esaie. He is a farmer by trade. “This has been so good for the children, because during the summer, their hunger is particularly hard,” he told our Haiti partner. “I used my micro loan money to buy seed to plant so that in three months, we can have more food. But for now, we have enough to keep us alive.”
The Florisme Family
“I have had dreams already about the third bag of rice I will receive …” So says Jespere Florisme, the father of the three children pictured here with him: Gesson is thirteen, Kedelinda is ten and Benidieu is eight. Jespere and his wife can only afford to send two of their three children to school at this time. Jespere earns money through farming, but he has been quite ill and that has limited his ability to work steadily. The micro loan he received through the Dirt Cookie campaign is enabling him to plow his land and buy seed for planting. When asked how the immediate supply of rice has helped his family, he replied, “One of the greatest challenges I faced is to find food every day. Needless to say, I am dependent on the rice we are receiving.” “We use our rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Life without the bags of rice would mean no breakfast, no lunch and no dinner repeatedly, and headaches morning, noon and evening, trying to find something to give to the kids.” We praise God that help has reached Jespere and his family.
The Venold Family
“God always comes at the right time…” Mr. and Mrs. Venold have nine children. The family is so poor that they cannot afford to send all the children to school at once - they have to rotate their attendance from one year to the next. With the help of their micro loan, Mr. Venold is now busy planting pistachio seeds in their new garden and hopes for a good outcome. Mrs. Venold was very concerned about the future of her family, because she recently had surgery on her neck and had been unable to help her husband with the farming. “I didn’t know what I was going to do with this hunger…Then God sent us a supply of rice and our micro loan, “ she announced happily. “This is something that has never happened in our lives before -- having a bag of rice to eat whenever we want to.” This family now has new hope for their future.
The Joseph Family
“If we get this rice, we are delivered” she says. Elanise Joseph has eight children, three of whom are pictured with her on the right. Her husband Lucien has to be away from his family three weeks out of every month in order to travel to his well-digging job in Cap Haitian. But there is still not enough money for their two younger children to attend school, so they are home at this time. Their parents are hoping they will be able to return to school in September. With their micro loan, the family bought seeds and they are now plowing their land. “The bags of rice help me to feed my children every day,” she said. “I have also sent some of the rice to my other children who are living nearby.”
Dorsilien’s Family
“I call each bag of rice a “savior”, because it is saving our lives and those of our children.” Dorsilien has four children and one two-year old grandchild. Their youngest child Jesunie became very sick and the family had to spend most of their money on her medical expenses. “The help we are getting now shows me that I really find my family in the church,” he said. “I was forced out of the community where I was living because gangsters came to my house and beat me in my head. They stole everything I had. Our main work is farming, but as you know, depending on farming can cause you to die of hunger as you wait for crops to grow and mature. With our micro loan money, we bought seeds but as we wait for seed to produce, we have the rice to eat.”
Ivera’s Family
When asked about the impact of this program on his life, Ivera said "I have never been so surprised by God…"
Ivera, along with his wife, children and granddaughter, is delighted with the blessings coming their way through this campaign.
Ivera’s family used part of their micro loan to buy seeds for their garden. As another father in the program reported, Ivera is also feeling the added pressure of the summer months, because the children are now home from school. As a result, he and his wife come face to face with their family’s hunger all day long. “The rice we are receiving is the solution to this problem right now,” he added.
One of his children recently told his father that “this is his favorite vacation so far” because the family has something to eat every single day this summer.
