Poverty in Haiti

As some of you may know, a group of us scheduled to go to Haiti last month had to cancel our trip because the civil unrest in Port au Prince and elsewhere made it too dangerous to travel. Even the pilots flying the single-engine planes for Missionary Air Flights were unable to take off and land for fear of being targeted by some desperate Haitians whose hunger had driven them to violent protests. This week we received news that the airflight restrictions are now being listed and a group of us, two pastors, two physicians, and I--under the planned supervision of Christian Flights International (CFI)--plan to spend a week in Haiti at the end of July. While in Ranquitte, Haiti, we'll be building the Haitian version of a Habitat Home. To give yourself some sense of the grinding poverty in Haiti, take a look at Poverty in Haiti, a slideshow published by The New York Times. The photograph above shows Pastor Ron Luckey and Claymon, a Haitian master-mason, mixing up "mud" (sand, concrete, and water) for the morter used to hold together the home-made concrete blocks for a small four-room home constructed for a grateful Haitian family who lived for decades in a 10' x 14' mud-wattle home with a dirt floor and no furniture.

Might you want to help build a home for "the poorest of the poor"? If so, contact Richmond's CFI supporter Harry Smiley; he'll tell you how you can help.