Many of you saw Haiti in the news last week. You have written and asked what exactly is going on. Thank you for doing so. This gives me the opportunity to respond in a correct manner, for many of the news reports that we have seen have presented a misrepresentation of what took place there in the last week.

The Haitian government created a double-digit hike in the costs of petrol and kerosene after making an agreement with the International Monetary Fund to increase the government revenue if they would do so.  For the average Haitian who lives on $5 a day, a 38% increase in petrol wreaked havoc. Many took to the streets to riot and, after three days of protests, four people were killed. Most of this took place in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti.  However, there was also rioting going on in Cap-Haitian as well. Our leaders have told us that it has pretty much calmed down now. Many of the Haitians have demanded that President Jovenel Moïse step down and the gas hike has been temporarily suspended.

There is no simple solution here. We live in Haiti most of the year. We know what it is like to have to purchase food, gas for our vehicles, gas for our generators, and the list goes on. We have asked ourselves many times, How in the world are the people that we live and work among able to survive? Of course, we know one of those answers is that many of them come to our doorstep looking for help. It is an endless stream of those who can’t help themselves and others who are just plain hungry that put an incredible amount of pressure on us to help them. We have identified with Moses many times as he carried the burdens of a nation and had to have supernatural help to get these former slaves from Egypt into Canaan. There is no way to adequately describe the pressure we are under to help those in crisis mode, yet there’s no way to adequately describe what they are going through either. My husband has often described the average Haitian life as a little bird who totters on the very end of a branch. The average citizen cannot see beyond today. Jobs are virtually nonexistent and we are there to make a difference. So….when the government elects to impose a gas hike, not by increments, but on a large scale, the result is chaos.

As I’ve mentioned before in a post, it is a common misconception of many to think that it is cheaper to live in Haiti than to live stateside. Prices are constantly fluctuating. One of many examples is that of trying to provide the gas tanks and other commodities needed for our feeding program. It’s akin to running on foot to catch an airplane taking flight.

Some ask, Why can’t they just get it together and learn to run their own country? The youth of Haiti have inherited a multitude of problems that were created from many generations past. Let’s never forget that it was the United Nations that imposed an embargo on Haiti in 1992. The results of that decision were disastrous. An already sick country ended up in the ICU ward as a result of that one move. 

Haiti is certainly responsible for many of its own problems. There is no easy answer. What we do know is that we love the Haitian people. Some of the most loyal and loving people we know that prayed us through many dire situations reside in that country. We ask that, instead of judging them, you would please pray for them in this time of deep distress.  Pray for Rehoboth Ministries as well which has been laboring for over 35 years in this country to make a difference in people’s lives. Help us help them by offering a cup of cold water to a very thirsty people.  Also, pray for stability among the Haitian people.

Contact Information

Pritchard: pgiba3@gmail.com/ 910 703 3098 / Haiti: 011 509 4160 4096

Dana:        danaptl@gmail.com / 910 916 7229 / Haiti: 011 509  3272 5600

John:        adams.john@gmail.com / 910 581 0390 / Haiti: 011 509 4785 9023

NOTE: Our stateside #’s do not work when we are in Haiti.

Send Checks to: The Lord’s Table / PO Box 11049 / Goldsboro, NC 27532 / (919) 751-8188  or give online at Haiti – https://pushpay.com/pay/tltglobalmissions/?f%5B0%5D=Haiti

** Please earmark your gifts HAITI