Lisa Landis travels to The Dominican Republic with HOPE International October 6-10
I invite you to join me as I travel on the Woman2Woman Dominican Republic HOPE International Trip October 6-10. Keep it tuned to WJTL FM 90.3 for live reports from the DR featuring conversations with the women, families and communities that are being transformed through the work of HOPE International. I’ll also introduce you to the Dominican Republic HOPE staff and give you a glimpse into the history, culture, and people of the region.
HOPE International (HOPE) is a Christian faith-based, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focused on alleviating physical and spiritual poverty through microenterprise development.
Oct 6-10th learn how you can come alongside HOPE and be a part of helping women in the Dominican Republic find dignity and work their way out of poverty. By providing small business loans and basic business training, HOPE empowers individuals to defeat poverty. Because poverty disproportionately affects women and their children, HOPE concentrates over 80% of its efforts on women. As little as $50 can help start, or expand a business that creates an avenue for consistent and dignified provision.
I’m eager to learn more about the work of HOPE in the DR and look forward to sharing what I learn with you over the airwaves of FM 90.3 WJTL!
Paul Baker on WJTL
Fred McNaughton talks with author and radio personality Paul Baker about Food for the Poor. Listen here!
Food for the Poor’s Sydney Henry
Notice the girl and her blind dad.... she brings him to the feeding center every day. She is 11 years old and we ended up getting to spend some time with them at there home, a 10x10 cement room.
Click HERE to listen to the interview with Food for the Poor’s Sydney Henry.
Chris Strayer Talks About Food for the Poor
I tried to take a pic... did not work real well. 
Click HERE to listen to Chris Strayer on the Get Up and Go Show as he talks about his experience in Haiti with Food for the Poor.
More from Haiti
A boy waiting to get the food for his family
Notice the girl and her blind dad.... she brings him to the feeding center every day. She is 11 years old and we ended up getting to spend some time with them at there home, a 10x10 cement room.
Homemade Sandals
The school that is run by the church and supported by Food for the Poor
Making a fishing net
Sister Mallle Fenna who runs a home for elderly Haitians.
A young boy at the Notre Dame de l'Espoir Boys Home
Sister Flore who runs the Notre Dame de l'Espoir Boys Home
A young girl at the Little Children of Jesus Home, a home for handicapped children.... (this place is one of those places that tugs at your heart)
Sister Marie Passe and young girl at the Little Children of Jesus Home
The beds Little Children of Jesus Home. They are beyond full with 102 children being care by a staff of 78. Keep in mind these children are all handicapped so these beds make it rather hard for the staff to care for these young ones
wow.. what else can I say. It was alot of fun to get the kids to smile. This is a young girl at the Maison D'Amor Girls Home during there lunch.
On the back of a shirt of one of the young girls at the Maison D'Amor Girls Home.
I tried to take a pic... did not work real well.
Maison D'Amor Girls Home
Chris Strayer in Haiti
I am sitting in my hotel room writing you after having a rather incredible day. In the past 10 hours I have seen some amazing sights… not amazing like a shooting star or like the way the Lord blessed Evie with her health issue’s a little more than a year ago…. but more like a reality check – amazing. I would have to say it was within an hour or so of arriving I was feeling emotionally overwhelmed to the point that I could have cried. I truly have seen the poorest of the poor… I have seen the lines and the masses of people waiting for their daily ration of food…. the line that starts around 4am and is the only food alot of these people get each day… I have been in the 8′ x 10′ single room, cement house where 7 people somehow manage to live and sleep.
And just when I thought I had seen it all… well, I had not. We visited Cite Soleil here in Haiti. The area is generally regarded as one of poorest, roughest, and most dangerous areas of the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country. There is little police presence, no sewers, no stores, and little to no electricity. There are pigs and dogs eating out of the what looks like a river but is filled with trash and raw sewage… there is trash everywhere and the house or shanty’s are made out of metal sheeting and whatever else people can find.
I am really not sure what else to say for now. I thank you all for your prayers as I traveled down and appreciate your continued prayers.
Chris
Back home
I arrived home Friday night March 13 after an adventurous, hard-working, full-filled, friend-making week with Mennonite Disaster Service in Cameron and Diamond, LA.
A few observations of my time spent in two small towns still recovering from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Ike. First, you might wonder why these people want to move back home and rebuild, especially if there is another chance of a devastating storm. The answer is simple. It’s home. It’s what they know, it’s where their friends and family are located, and it’s their land. If you think about it, we all have the potential for disaster no matter where we live. It can come in the way of wildfires in CA, flooding in the east, snow and ice to the north, tornadoes in the midwest, etc. No one is safe from natural disaster no matter where you live. And in the case of many of the people I had the chance to meet, moving is a luxary they cannot financially afford. Home is often not just where they own land, but where they make a living.
As far as the MDS short and long-term volunteers I spent time with this past week, they all came with a strong spirit to serve! They worked hard, yet made time to visit with the home owners when they visited the worksites and had fun with their team of volunteers! MDS volunteers are encouraged to not only work on repairing and rebuilding, but to touch lives and help people regain their faith. I saw that in action time and again last week. It was also great fun when homeowners like Mr. Bean brought fresh oysters to share and Gail Boudreaux shared local dishes like Boudan. She even sent me home with a jar of “Tony’s cajun seasonings” -a staple there.
My respect for Mennonite Disaster Service and the work they do has only grown with my visit to Louisiana. Just have a conversation with locals in these small communities. Talk to people waiting for homes, people who have moved into new MDS homes, people whose homes have been repaired and neighbors who have witnessed the work of MDS. Several comments were heard time and again-”MDS LISTENS” “they RESPECT THE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY”, “they HAVE BEEN HERE FOR THE LONG HAUL”, “they are GOD’S PEOPLE”.
I was proud to wear my MDS nametag and found it a great conversation starter to find out where the people were at with their faith & hope-especially those hit by both Rita and Ike-2 major storms just three years apart. Imagine just getting your life back to together, only to have everything literally torn-apart by another strong storm.
One highlight that was especially close to my heart was meeting MDS homeowners Mitch and Carolyn from Cameron Parish.
If you have a chance visit wjtl.com and listen to my interview with this special couple. Even Mr. Bob who will move into his new home this week said, “if ever a couple deserved a new house it’s Mitch and Carolyn”. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house as they spoke their story into my microphone. You’ll find their story at wjtl.com under Listen under wjtl.casts or see the link above.
For more information on how you can do short-term or long-term volunteer work with MDS or financially support the work they do visit mds.mennonite.net.
