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Shining a Spotlight on Restore Haiti

Restore Haiti
Restore Haiti aims to reduce global poverty through a child sponsorship program and relationship building in regions of Haiti. This nonprofit organization founded and formed through friendship continues to change communities through relationships.

How it Started

In 1997, Restore Haiti founder Philip Peters went on a mission trip to Jamaica. There he met Gerald Lafleur, a student on the island. They quickly became friends over the trip and the two stayed in touch through letters. In 2004, Peters took a team of 12 to visit Lafleur. There, Lafleur shared his vision to help his homeland of Haiti with Peters. The two wasted no time and a year later Peters took a team of six to visit a local community in Haiti. “After seeing the need, I knew that the little that I had and the resources that I had were something I could use, and a long-term commitment was birthed,” said Peters. With the help of mentors and the local church, Peters gathered clothes and shoes to donate to the community.

“I want[ed] to live life with them,” said Peters. “When I saw the look in their eyes, I knew a relationship was starting to develop and I wondered what could happen as those relationships went deeper and deeper.” Go deeper the organization did, as Peters and Theresa Swain, Restore Haiti’s Executive Director, partnered with others in the U.S. and Haiti to create a child sponsorship program.

Morne Oge

Restore Haiti serves in three main locations, Morne Oge, Matador and Carrefour. All three communities operate five days a week providing education and hot meals for students through the child sponsorship program. In the Morne Oge region, where the nonprofit originated, it partners with Restoration Ministries to provide food, education and medical care to those in the sponsorship program. In addition, this program equips over 700 elementary, secondary and university/trade school students with sponsorship for their education. A medical clinic within walking distance from the feeding program gives students access to health care. The Restore Center located a short distance away in downtown Jacmel houses a computer lab for both students and staff.

The Matador Region

The nonprofit’s work in the Matador region, located on the outskirts of Jacmel a few miles from Morne Oge, serves 240 children who attend elementary school. These students suffered malnutrition and the community had no funds to pay teachers. In 2016, Restore Haiti extended scholarship opportunities to students in this region to help cover tuition to keep the school open. The nonprofit also extends hot meals and medical care to students in this region.

Carrefour

Restore Haiti’s location in Carrefour near Port-Au-Prince provides education and food for the children in this region. Additionally, this region focuses on mentorships with students, life skills training and character building. “In Carrefour, they are receiving English lessons and art classes at this time,” Juli Wendt, the Director of International Service for Restore Haiti, told The Borgen Project. In an area where most youth join gangs or live troubled lives, providing food, education and life skills gives the necessary foundation for change in this community. According to the Overseas Security Advisory Counsel’s Haiti 2019 Crime & Safety Report, gang on gang violence has risen along with homicides, which totaled 757 in the Port-au-Prince region approximately four miles from Carrefour.

Reynold Yordy, President of Restore Haiti, reported that “[The people of Haiti] need a hand up, not necessarily a handout. That is what I am excited to see us do as an organization…having people mentor someone.” With a dedication to see relationships built and mentorship continue, Restore Haiti changes the community.

Restore Haiti’s Accomplishments

Restore Haiti has several accomplishments. Along with a child sponsorship program, the nonprofit focuses on disaster relief providing water and re-establishing agriculture for local farms. In addition, Restore Haiti provides supplies and tuition for 60 schools, drills wells for clean water and prepares students for universities and trade schools.

Restore Haiti employs over 50 Haitians who serve over 1,000 students in these three communities. Juli Wendt told The Borgen Project that “38 students have graduated with the majority being female, 30 girls and eight males. We motivated the girls more to succeed as they were the most vulnerable group and it clearly paid off.” An education impacts earnings, childbearing, population growth, health, nutrition, well-being and personal decision making for girls according to a Global Partnership Study.

This cultural shift also comes from the students giving back. For instance, Larry John, a graduate of the Restore Haiti program, got to attend school and university through the sponsorship program. “We children [had] a place every day to go to school, reduc[ing] the consequences we have here in Haiti,” he said. Reducing those consequences by providing students with education and food gives them an opportunity to live life. Now he works for Restore Haiti as a photographer in the program and lives the life he dreamed. “The program gave me a monthly salary which allowed me to get married,” he said. In addition to having a life of his own, he gets to give back hope to his community.

The Future for Restore Haiti

In an interview with The Borgen Project, Philip Peters said that “As Restore Haiti has been in existence for 15 years, we…started with wanting to see [kids] eat, have access to medical care and go to school. As those students have grown up, it is our desire to continue to offer [them] opportunities for life. That could be enrolling in university, pinpointing skills and having them get a job, get married and build a life of their own.” When asked how Restore Haiti can help graduates and the community going forward, Peters said that “With the program, we currently offer over 50 jobs, from medical staff, cooks, teachers and now creating photography, video and social media teams. We are committed to dream, find jobs, opportunities and team up with people to help us provide jobs as we see more and more [students] move into adulthood.”

– Danielle Beatty
Photo: Flickr

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3 Organizations Fighting Child Poverty

fight child povertyToday, about 385 million children worldwide live in extreme poverty according to UNICEF. These three organizations fight child poverty through child sponsorship programs. By pairing a child in poverty with a monthly financial donor, these programs work to ensure children receive necessary medical and educational resources to end the poverty cycle.

3 Organizations Fighting Child Poverty

  1. Restore Haiti: Restore Haiti is a non-profit that works to fight child poverty in Haiti. This organization was started in 2005 by Philip Peters and Gerald Lafleur after Peters visited Lafleur’s homeland of Haiti. Peters saw “the need and knew that the little [he] had and the resources [he] had were something that could be used, and a long-term commitment was born.” The organization focuses efforts on three main communities: Morne Oge, Matador and Carrefore.

    Morne Oge, the community where Restore Haiti began, partners with Restoration Ministries. Today, they serve over 700 elementary, secondary and university/trade school students and their families. Children in the sponsorship program receive meals, education and basic health needs through the help of a monthly donor.

    In Matador, Restore Haiti provides tuition assistance and one daily hot meal to students. They also plan to fund new, sanitary bathroom facilities and a satellite kitchen for the 240 children attending the elementary school.

    Carrefour began as a satellite program in 2014. Today, Restore Haiti assists with educational expenses and two meals a week to children. On their website, they note that “In the Carrefour community, many youths end up joining gangs and living troubled lives, so the food, education, and life skills being imparted to them are key to seeing change come to this community.” In addition to the school costs and meals, Restore Haiti’s community-based staff provides mentorship, training in life skills and character building to the children in Carrefour. 

  2. Compassion International, Inc.: This organization advocates for children and is the world’s leading authority in holistic child development through sponsorship. They were founded in 1952 when Reverend Everett Swanson flew to South Korea. He was there to minister to American troops but felt compelled to help the orphans there reach their full potential. Together, Compassion and local churches provide whole life care – holistic, comprehensive care to help children “fully develop and become responsible, fulfilled adults.”

    Children enrolled in Compassion programs are 27-40% more likely to complete a secondary education, and 20% more likely to have a higher income as an adult. Compassion aims to fight child poverty through a direct partnership between a child and the sponsor. This is done by cultivating a meaningful relationship between the sponsored child and the sponsor through letter writing and emails. In 2019, more than 2.1 million children were sponsored. Today, in addition to child sponsorships, Compassion provides mother and baby care and health resources. They also work to meet critical needs such as providing clean/sanitized water, treatment for HIV infection, access to medical treatment and disaster relief in their efforts to fight child poverty.

  3. World Vision: Started in 1950 when Bob Pierce helped one little girl, this organization now helps more than 3.5 million children in nearly 100 countries. They fight against child poverty through sponsorship programs, health and economic empowerment, child protection, disaster relief, education and food security. World Vision uses a child sponsorship program where a sponsor’s commitment helps the sponsored child and community overcome poverty. According to World Vision’s reports, “over a five-year period, 89% of the children who were severely malnourished in severe relief areas were treated and made a full recovery.” Typically, sponsorship lasts 10-15 years.

    World Vision’s work extends to the next generation of children. The organization’s influence in Bangladesh improved reading comprehension. Students who used the literacy programs measured at 68% reading comprehension compared to those not using the literacy program, who measured at 4% reading comprehension. In Zambia, moms located where this organization runs health and nutrition programs were six times more likely to receive healthcare designed to boost newborn survival compared to mothers in areas where these resources are not available.

    In addition to funding education and health needs for the sponsored child, funds go to make necessary changes in the community. World Vision meets with local community leaders and, after developing a plan, addresses things like “improving water, sanitation, health and nutrition, education and child protection.” The organization’s effects are lasting. Eight out of ten World Vision wells are still functioning at high levels in Ghana after being drilled nearly twenty years ago. The improvements made through World Vision’s child and community sponsorship programs provide the necessary health and educational experiences to fight child poverty.

– Danielle Beatty
Photo: Flickr