Building Houses for Habitat for Humanity!!

LifePaths' founder Elaine Knight (second from the left) and Helen, one of our volunteer travellers to Haiti (fourth from the right) are spending the day today building a house with Habitat for Humanity ... you ROCK ladies!!

THANK YOU SPONSORS!!

An estimated 44 children die hourly in Haiti. Most of these deaths could have been prevented if the children had received proper nutrition (~source Children's Hunger Relief Fund) ... MANY THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS FOR CARING AND LOVING THE CHILDREN YOU SPONSOR THROUGH LIFEPATHS GLOBAL ALLIANCE ... your kindness and support is helping to change these statistics ... one child at a time!!

Dying from Lack of Food ... Haiti Needs our Help!!

It is with a sad heart that we inform you that our dear friend and brother, Souvle passed away a few days ago.  Souvle was such a sweetheart and a kind soul. He was quiet and was always there to give you a "pound with a twist" because he said it locked in the love. Souvle was a great help to LifePaths' volunteers and we will miss him dearly. Souvle was not even 40 years old ... he would still be alive today if he had regular healthy food.  Things need to change in Haiti and we need to work harder to make it happen ... our friends are dying!!
Rest in peace Souvle ... Ayibobo!!

 

 

Eager to Learn

Children in Haiti want to learn so badly ... you will never hear a child in Haiti complain about going to school or studying to learn on their own if they can not afford school.  Adults in Haiti are the same ... so many work very, very hard to learn the English language ... for many, learning English is their only hope of ever having a better life!
When we travel to Haiti we are always asked by numerous Haitians to bring them books to help them learn English ... grammar books, dictionaries, easy to read English books ... they are so eager to learn and their determination to build a better life for themselves somehow, someway is so admirable!! Once you experience the hearts of those in Haiti you will be forever changed!!

Waking up Hungry

Travelling to Haiti is always an eye-opening experience, no matter how many times you have been there.  We will never forget what one of our "family" members in Haiti said one day when we were there in January ... it will forever stick in our minds.  He said, "If I wake up with a few dollars in my pocket, I don't wake up hungry, but if I wake up with no money in my pocket, then I wake up hungry".  He went on to explain that if he wakes up with a few dollars he knows that he has the means to purchase some food for himself and his family that day, but if his pockets are empty, he starts off the day without any idea how (or if!) he and his family will be able to eat that day.  What a shocking reality to the way of life in Haiti!

We experienced something similar to this during our most recent time in Haiti.  We have all been hungry in our lives, but never before had we experienced the concept of there not being any food to eat to satisfy our hunger.  One night we were watching a movie ... our first instinctive thought was "we need a bowl of popcorn to go with our movie" ... not even a concept for most Haitians.  Later on in the evening, many of us experienced one of those nagging "I need a snack" feelings.  Our first instinct of course was to jump up and go downstairs to a cupboard full of crackers, chips and other snacks that would instantly fill this need.  The reality being that the cupboards where we were staying (as it is in most homes in Haiti) were completely bare, not an extra crumb to be found.  They live from meal to meal (IF a meal is to be had) ... there are no extras!  The stark reality of their way of life hit us hard (as it tends to do when one actually experiences something personally)! We had never in our lives not been able to eat when we were hungry!  Those living in Haiti experience this on a daily basis ... something most of us can't even imagine.

We have no idea here in Canada how lucky we truly are!

A Haitian meal we enjoyed while staying in Tigoave

ITEMS NEEDED FOR JANUARY TRIP!

The following list of items are needed for our January trip ... if you have any of these items or wish to purchase them for us to take on this trip, please drop them off at our Head Office in London ... thank you!!!

Thank you to all our new Child Sponsors!!

Many, many thanks go out to all of our latest child sponsors!!  Our Home for Kids will be housing ten very special children ... we have had such an amazing response to our request for sponsorship for these beautiful children! THANK YOU!!

Our group of ten angels and some very special women in the
neighbourhood who help care for them.



Mayphanie and Maleyka

Esteblanka and Doudjy