July 2023 🇭🇹 Haiti News

By Guesly Dessieux
Executive Director and Founder

There are days when I think about Haiti and tears start flowing out of my eyes as I feel powerless to change the situation. The news continues to weigh heavy on our hearts, but we remain optimistic and continue to work under traumatic conditions while attempting to meet the needs of those most at risk: children and youth. Many organizations have had to close their doors with inflation of prices and significant insecurity. PLH is standing strong and has responded to the national crisis. PLH employs 31 Haitians that keep our programs running. We have 200 kids and young adults participating in our programs weekly. We provide food relief to 16 churches and are feeding 130 youth weekly.  We remain steadfast to continue the work and trust in God's plan for Haiti but we need your help more than ever.  

Tomorrow, we launch our Join the Community campaign. Our goal is to raise $7000 in new monthly giving and we need your help to reach that goal. Monthly support keeps our Haitian staff employed, keeps programs going on the campus, allows us to organize events to encourage the community, and makes it possible for PLH to continue to push forward. If you are a monthly donor, I want to say a huge thank you. You have sustained PLH through some of its hardest months. If you are not a monthly donor, I want to invite you to join!

For as little as $10 a month, you can help continue the work of PLH and empower Haitians to build a stronger Haiti.

$25 a month can help keep the soccer fields mowed and lined for tournament season. 

$50 a month can help cover teacher and coach salaries.

$100 a month can help provide nutritious meals for youth to combat the increasing food insecurity.

✨2O23✨ Happy New Year!

We hope your Christmas was blessed and we wish you a new year filled with hope and purpose!

2022 HIGHLIGHTS

• The PLH Haitian staff rose to the challenge of running the organization in Haiti without any US staff in the country. We saw the capability of Haitians when trained well, invested in, and empowered to lead.
  

• Construction of the kitchen and fruit drying facility was completed.
  

• The purified water station was constructed.
  

• PLH was awarded a grant from UMCOR to help fund the construction of the PLH Educational Center.
  

• Seven PLH staff attended a two-day leadership conference in Port-au-Prince.
  

• PLH hosted soccer academy games.
  

• PLH hosted two months of summer classes for kids in the community to learn English and artisan crafts.
  

• A champion from Oregon taught an 8-week personal finance class via Zoom for PLH staff and local community members.
  

• Laura Polynice, PLH Administrative Assistant, and her husband, Wahi, welcomed their first child, Jesher.
  

• We celebrated the wedding of PLH staff member Wilson Emmanuel and his bride, Madlinie.
  

• PLH employee Guy Destine and his wife, Jesula, welcomed their third son, Guy-Lensky.
  

• PLH and 19 pastors from Camp Marie and the neighboring communities came together to discuss the current state in Haiti, its impact on the community, and how we can help the community rise above.
  

• The staff celebrated another year with a staff Christmas party at the beach.
  

• PLH hosted its 3rd annual Christmas Eve Candlelight service.

While 2022 held significant challenges, the achievements from the year, were all made possible through the donations, support, and generosity of the PLH community. Through all the PLH programs and projects, our mission is always to draw others nearer to Him. We are humbled by all that God has done in and through Project Living Hope.

But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

A Look Back at 2021

Happy New Year! Or as they say in Haiti, “Bon Ane!” We hope all your holiday celebrations were blessed and that you are facing 2022 with hope and purpose. We wanted to take this opportunity to share an overview of some of the things God has done in Haiti through PLH in 2021 and what we pray He will do in 2022. 

Though this past year was full of challenges, God did so much! 

The PLH campus continues to develop at a steady pace despite increasing material costs and the inability to send volunteers or containers to Haiti. In March, the first basketball court and a bathroom and locker room facility were constructed. In August, the classroom was insulated and the first PLH office created, providing a reception area to welcome students and guests and to carry out registration and business transactions. More than 300 fruit trees were planted throughout the campus and three wells were dug. 

The PLH classes and athletic programs were able to run on their normal schedule, providing training, education, and encouragement for more than 200 players and students. This year, we offered specialized classes in Medical English, Teaching English as a Foreign Language and a Survey of the Bible. The advanced English students, hungry for learning, enjoyed each of these courses. The courses also attracted many new students from nearby areas. We look forward to offering additional specialized courses in 2022.

In 2021, we added four new staff members to the Haiti team. PLH now has 18 salaried staff and 11 contracted workers. Our staff participate in team devotions each morning. This has been a good way for them to grow together and for those with a deeper relationship with Christ to minister to and disciple those who do not have a relationship or are less committed to their faith. As they take on more responsibility, we have seen the staff grow and come together as a team and the leaders step up into their roles. We look forward to continuing to train the staff and add new workers to the mix. 

This fall, PLH sent three young men to start a 3-year study in auto mechanics. Two of these men have been working for PLH for a couple years and the third has been a student in the English program since it launched in 2018. They are excited to have this opportunity to learn a valuable skill, and PLH is excited to have our own well-trained mechanics to work on the PLH vehicles and work in a PLH auto mechanic shop one day. We have also identified two young men to be trained in electricity. They will attend some short-term training workshops until they can join a formal school in the fall of 2022. Qualified, skilled and trustworthy professionals can be hard to find. We are excited to offer these young locals this opportunity and to be able to utilize them for future projects. We hope to provide them with continued training when we are able to bring in experienced professionals from the states. 

With the vocational center being completed in December of 2020, PLH had its own covered, lit, spacious area to host community events. PLH staff and community members came together for worship nights, family date nights, and parties. These special events offered hope, unity and fun for families and individuals. We loved witnessing parents and children laughing and playing together and our staff stepping up to plan and lead these events. 

If God could do all this in 2021, we cannot wait to see what He will do in 2022! More on that in our next blog post next week.

Construction Mission Trip: First Campus Buildings!

By Ed Chamberland

In December of 2020, I traveled to Camp Marie, Haiti with a construction team from PLH.  Our task was to put up two buildings and complete some other miscellaneous projects. Here is my daily journal from our trip.

Day 1. It’s a building race. Wayne Howe’s team is putting up the welded steel trusses over the containers which will be the shop. Guy Barth’s team is putting up the prefabricated steel building which will start out for educational classes. Being the first day, the focus was on laying out the buildings on the slab foundations and making adjustments for everything that didn’t fit.

The Guesthouse. I do want to pass on major compliments to Guesly and Sarah and everyone who helped build the new guesthouse. It’s right across the road from the soccer fields. It’s great, and I have no doubt it will be a restful and peaceful place for many teams.

Day 2.  Today was a good and productive day. Both building teams stood up all frames and trusses, and began to place the purlins. Lots of drilling and bolts.

The dirt crew worked on finishing the field drainage system, and finishing the entrance to the property (new pipe and rock). We also started a couple other projects and supported the building crew, literally, with the backhoe.

Day 3 was a great day. The building teams made good progress. Since I am not a building guy, I will just say they kept drilling and bolting and welding and putting more stuff up on the building frames. The metal siding began today, so the buildings will take shape quickly now. 

The dirt crew stepped up their game today when the grader showed up, including an experienced operator. We tackled grading field #2 by the center drainage system. We finished constructing the new driveway connection from the upper building area down to field #1, and graded a new driveway connection from the upper fields down to field #3. Sob fine-graded them with a new drag we made for the mower, which was like icing on the cake. This makes all the fields easily accessible for people, mowers, cars, trucks, etc.  We also staked and graded the main entrance road going from the main gate to the buildings with some nice looking crushed rock, sprucing up the entrance.

I had the chance to walk up to the top of the hill today. Best spot ever. My thought for the day was this. Toby Mac has a song called City on Our Knees. It reminds me of the PLH campus here in Haiti and the bright light that it will be for the community.

Soccer. The soccer teams showed up again for practice, like they do every afternoon. 

Women’s Ministry Event. Laura, Amy, Sue, and Dixie had a craft night upstairs with over 20 ladies from the community complete with cake and worship.

Welcome to Day 4. For those that have been here before, you might know where this headed. You get so tired, you know the week is ending soon, your list ain’t done yet, you are making great friends, you don’t want to leave, but at the same time you can’t wait to get back home. It will hit hard tomorrow. 

I feel like the building teams really shined today because the leaders, Wayne and Guy, are training their crews to work on their own. Putting up the metal siding and metal roofing was done mostly by the Haitian and American laborers with less and less directions from the leaders. It was a beautiful thing, and if you have led a team before, then maybe you can relate. 

The dirt crew had the grader for another day. He worked on field #2 filling in low spots, and field #3 grading it out for use. He found a big wet spot in the middle that needs to dry out, but they can use the ends for practice. He also spread more gravel on the entrance road. The backhoe crew put in double 18” culverts and graded a better connection to the soccer trailer/athletic center and field #2. In fact, I would say that’s one theme of our little projects - better accessibility to/from the soccer facilities. We also rigged up version 2.0 and then 3.0 of the field drag for use behind the mower. Sob pulled it for hours today and made things look really good. 

Day 5 and 6 together. 

To make a long story short, the buildings got finished! The shop/container building finished first. The design turned out so good - like really, really good. It’s tall, spacious, airy and practical all at the same time. The garage/prefab building had a tough time due to missing parts and drawings that had discrepancies. Even still, the shell is 99% done and the inside ready for use. 

The dirt crew did miscellaneous projects - putting out erosion control blankets, working on drainage, lifting welders and workers for the buildings, grading the entrance road, and general cleanup. The cleanup was a major effort as we worked towards an organized and nice looking site. At the end, we staked out the next round of projects - two basketball courts, two volleyball courts, and the public bathrooms. The courts fit great in the space provided between the entrance road and the soccer fields. 

Building Dedication. The most special happening of the week occurred last night. Amy and Laura planned the first event in the new shop - a dedication of the two new buildings. We had lights, tables, chairs, decorations, music, and quite a smorgasbord of local food for a group of 50+ workers and guests. It kicked off when Benedic provided a prayer for the event, and an explanation of the new buildings for the local people. Then Wayne stood up and said a few words including thanking the workers for their efforts and all the people for their hospitality. That spirit of gratitude was shared by many on the team. It was a grand evening that truly marked the moment! 

The team. There is no end to the shout-outs for those that made this happen. First, I want to recognize Bob Thatcher for his planning, designing, building, and being the overall construction manager of the trip. We lacked no tools (I think he has stock in DeWalt or something), and the 3 shipping containers included everything we needed (minus a few things the manufacturer omitted). Next, Wayne and Guy did so much putting up two buildings in a week! I know they loved working with their teams and training the guys. At the end of the day, they just get things done, and the results are amazing. We have about 120 years of experience between those 3 guys. How invaluable for PLH! I want to also highlight Josh Bentz for his patience running the backhoe with like 17 people telling him what to do all week long with many not-so-glorious jobs to boot. The two young bucks on the crew were Bryce Whieldon and Logan Classen. It was nice to see them jump in on blended teams and grow their skills. Cool experience for them. Next, (I know this is long) kudos to the Haitian PLH staff too. We have a great crew of about 10 who contribute a lot and who I call good friends after two trips. Benedic is the leader and I respect and trust him more and more each time I see him.

Thanks to God for this opportunity to serve and do his work. I believe He was onsite too, keeping people safe, providing everything we needed, and allowing special relationships to grow. At the end of the day, I believe it’s all about living out and sharing the love of Christ with and for each other. 

News from Haiti: Progress and Passion for the Ministry

By Guesly Dessieux

My family and I arrived back in Haiti on Monday, September 28. We were joined by one of the PLH board members and head of PLH construction, Bob Thatcher. Our hope was that the third container would arrive in Haiti prior to our arrival so we could unload it and set it on the building pad, but unfortunately, it did not. Bob spent his time digging out the drainage line for the Dessieux guest house septic tank, clearing the driveway up to the building pad, and doing lots of road repair. What caught both Bob and I by surprise was how overgrown the PLH property had gotten due to the significant rainfall during the raining season. Our staff was unable to pick up the Cub Cadet zero-turn mower which we had sent to Haiti and our push mower was broken. Sadly, none of the three fields were usable for soccer. What we were happy about is how well the erosion mats had worked to limit the erosion on the slopes around the property.   

Sara, the kids, and I were very pleased with all the progress on the Dessieux guest house. When we arrived, two of the bosses were laying tile purchased in Haiti on the floor upstairs and the windows were being installed. My first week here, I spent time meeting with the PLH staff and going to Port-au-Prince to pick up the riding mower and purchase cabinets, a solar water heater, and more things for the guest house. The staff and I have also been working on the PLH property to address the fields and other areas of the property that were overgrown. Sara and I set up a Bible reading plan to do with the staff. We will read through the New Testament. I also plan to start the men's study, 33 The Series: Man and His Design. 

Last Friday I had the opportunity to attend a championship soccer tournament which was put on by the community not related to PLH and not on the PLH property. Let just say I was uncomfortably surprised and pretty disturbed by what I saw. First of all, I’d always heard about people using voodoo and other mystical practices against their opponents in soccer games but I’d never seen it done myself. While I was standing on the sideline, I saw the two teams come in. The coaches from one of the teams walked out to the center of the field and then into both soccer goals multiple times, apparently casting spells as they spilled some liquid onto the ground from a yellow bucket. I was surprised to see it being done so openly.  When the game started, I saw many people drinking alcohol, smoking, and behaving in godless fashion.  Well, the team that had been using magic, started to lose a game and a major fight broke out. At that point, our operational manager and I decided it was time to leave. 

I cannot begin to say how important it is to give youth a safe place to play where the teaching of the gospel is the primary focus. Sports provide us with the platform that we need to create disciples for Christ. Since its beginning, PLH has been using soccer to minister to youth. This year, we have developed a plan for a soccer academy which would allow for more discipleship, more focused attention and training, and hand-picked, contracted coaches. The academy will launch in November and will keep youth away from these unchristian practices and instead will provide them with positive Christian mentors. To change Haiti, we have to win hearts for Christ.  I ask you to consider supporting the PLH soccer academy.  We have soccer fields ready now and are eager to start that important ministry.

“Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.” Proverbs 22:6 (NLT) 

FIRST RELIEF VENTURE - WORKING AS A COMMUNITY

Athletics, job skills training, community development and disaster preparedness. These are the four areas of Project Living Hope’s work. This past fall, a disaster hit PLH's Haitian community for the first time since we began our work in Camp Marie. The political situation in the country created what Haitians refer to as “Peyi Lok” or “Locked Country.” During this time, individuals could not get to work, kids could not go to school, prices rose and resources became hard to find, much less buy. The time came for PLH to join with community leaders to devise a plan for relief. What followed was 6 weeks of collaboration and partnership between PLH leaders and Haitian staff, local leaders and pastors, and you, the PLH champions. Together, you raised over $17,000. Your generous giving financed the plans which were carried out through unified effort within the community of Camp Marie. We are proud of how our Haitian staff stepped up to manage this project and how the pastors, farmers and working individuals came together to accomplish something that benefited all. It is never our goal to bring attention to PLH and what we may accomplish. It is our goal to support and empower local leaders and the greater community to accomplish great things for their community. We appreciate all of you who stepped up to support and pray for this project. We appreciate the nine churches who carried out the purchase and distribution of food and facilitated the agreement with the farmers. We loved seeing God bring together the community of Camp Marie and the community of PLH champions to accomplish all of this.

ATHLETIC CAMPS FOR KIDS

Kids were happy to participate in six weeks of organized soccer and basketball training where they were able to play a game they love, practice new things, develop their skills, and learn from trained coaches. We hired three local soccer coaches and three young men who participated in our basketball coach training to organize these camps for the kids.

I want to say thank you Project Living Hope. Right now, I teach sports and Bible to children in my community. I work  very hard to change my community because sport has the power to change Haiti. I am a Life Coach. I work for God. May God continue to protect you and give you strength.

Coach Robenson Beauger

ENGLISH CAMP FOR KIDS

With school being canceled for several months, we saw a need to provide kids in the community with an opportunity to learn and participate in consistent activities. We hired three students from our English class to lead English kids camp for six weeks. Angelot, Rival, and Snyson did a great job providing the kids with a fun, positive learning environment. Together, the children learned about the alphabet, numbers, family, the calendar, and more.

All the kids in Camp Marie are very clever, even if they are also talkative. They are very funny.

Rival Asseil

EMPLOYMENT

Through this effort, 120 individuals from the community were able to earn a much needed day's wage by working on the PLH land. This pay helped them purchase food and other essentials for their families during this difficult time. Each work day, individuals came together in unity, worked hard to accomplish a task, and walked away with the means to provide for others and the knowledge that they had done honest work.

This is the first job I’ve had like this. They pay you well.  They give you food. It’s a good job.

Fritz Jean Louis

FOOD RELIEF

The nine churches of Camp Marie and 45 local farmers came together with PLH in a unified effort to help alleviate some of the food needs within the community. Your generous giving allowed for the churches to provide 1,100 families with food packages. The 45 farmers have planted beans, tomatoes, potatoes, okra, and other vegetables and will be giving 50% of the harvest back to the community through the oversight of the local churches.

We are happy for the great work you are doing in the community. We in the church are delighted to say thank you to everyone who is involved in this great project and for this beautiful help you gave us. We were very happy when we received this help, because the economic situation in the country is very difficult at this time. We did everything we needed to do, and each person was happy when they received the provisions. We ask that God bless you for the good work this project is doing in our area. 

Pastor Jean Ernest Gracia

DISCIPLESHIP

Discipleship is a key focus of Project Living Hope. We train, equip and empower our staff and coaches to grow in their faith so they can share their faith with the people we serve. We choose strong Christian leaders to serve in our ministry who are excited about their faith and want to use their gifts to bring others to Christ.

THANK YOU! Crisis Relief Effort Update

We want to say a huge THANK YOU to all those who have given to the PLH Haiti crisis relief effort. We are so excited to announce that we reached our unpublished goal of $10,000! This money is directly impacting the community of Camp Marie in a variety of ways.

Emergency Food Relief:
Funds will be sent to the churches this week for the purchasing and distributing of food to families in need within the community.

Youth Programs:
Individuals from our English classes and soccer and basketball coaches clinics have been selected to run the youth programs which are beginning this week!

English Teachers from left to right: Angelot, Snyson, Rival

Employment:
The first team of locals completed the first work day on the PLH land! More teams will be hired for work days in the coming weeks.

Planting for Tomorrow:
Farmers and PLH leaders will meet to arrange the planting of fast turn around crops which will help to provide food to the community in the coming months.

Please continue to keep Haiti and these projects in your prayers over the coming weeks. We will be sending you another update in the coming weeks so you can see what is happening and how your gifts and prayers are impacting the community of Camp Marie.

It's not too late to join this campaign with your gift.

If you missed the initial email, click here to read the full story.

“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40
 

Pretend Play

By Guesly Dessieux

For past week, we have unfortunately been unable to hold soccer games or practices on the Project Living Hope fields due to two nights of heavy rain that left the fields partially flooded. As the fields began to dry out we waited to play because we did not want the smooth surfaces to be damaged.

About ten of us men have been working endlessly this week to dig ditches and place sand bags around the tops of the fields to divert future rainfall and prevent flooding. Yesterday we reopened the fields for practices and we hope we will be able to have games this coming Saturday.  

Around noon today, as several of us were digging ditches, I looked over to see three boys around 15 years old walking on one of the soccer fields. They were all nicely dressed in their school uniforms with backpacks on their backs. I wondered why they would make the one mile walk just to come to the field. Kenson, one of our newest Project Living Hope employees, and I stopped working to see what the boys were up to. What I saw was interesting. The boys put down their backpacks and began pretending they were playing soccer. One of them got into the goal and the other two pretended to shoot on him.  The one playing goalie would dive and the other two would cheer and run in circles like he had scored. It brought smiles to both of our faces, knowing the fields had been closed and the boys had made the walk up the hill just to see if we had reopened them.  I called to them and said, Would you like to use a real ball?” Their eyes lit up and with big smiles all three said, “Really?!”. We kicked a ball to them and they continued playing, this time actually shooting goals.  We continued to watch and smile. Kenson told me how this place already means a lot to the town of Camp Marie and I told him it was wonderful to see that we are creating a place where youth feel comfortable, cared about, and safe. 

After they were done, one of the boys brought back the soccer ball and said thank you. He commented that the field had been closed for a couple of days and they had missed being here. They just wanted to check it out prior to having practice tonight. It is amazing to me the hope we can already sense in the youth that are involved in our soccer leagues. To have a place to play along with all the equipment they need is uncommon in Haiti. I am grateful for all our donors and volunteers who have helped us come this far. Project Living Hope is not currently at a place financially where we can install artificial turf on our fields, but it will indeed be amazing when we are able to replace the dirt fields with turf ones. Until then, I look forward to more pretend soccer games as we continue to trust God with every step. 

If you would like to support PLH, you can do so by following this link. 

Construction: Mass Grading

In the fall of 2017, Project Living Hope purchased 19.5 acres of property for the construction of the King Center. Located just 900 yards from the center of Camp Marie, the King Center will be an extension of the community.

With the road to our property completed, we moved to the next stage in construction - mass grading of the property. Operators and project managers in Oregon came together and created a 7-week plan based on the civil engineer’s grading map. Four of these men traveled to Haiti in February to carry out the project with the assistance of Haitian drivers and laborers. On February 2, 2019 PLH broke ground on the King Center campus! It was a huge milestone but only just the beginning. We are so thankful for all of your prayers and support that made this day possible.

“Immediately it felt like we were working as a team. We all started from a deep faith in God, and a sense that what we were doing was important. I think that foundation made it easy to respect each other and to truly enjoy the gifts that each person brought to the trip. ”

— Jay Lyman

After overcoming challenges with the equipment breaking down and diesel being in short supply, they had a very productive first week. Unfortunately, due to continued national fuel shortages and widespread protests, the work had to be halted.

Three and a half weeks later though we were able to send a team to resume the digging.  The mass grading project spanned five weeks during the months of February and March. Fifteen American and ten Haitian team members worked on the project and an estimated 80,000 yards of dirt was moved by eight machines and seven dump trucks.

“The people of Haiti are just oppressed by where they live, they have plenty of talent, operating equipment, constructing, negotiating, and the individual Haitian’s are smart. I didn’t run into anyone in Haiti who wouldn’t be as successful as myself, given the same opportunities that I have had.”

— Jim Swenson

The building pads for the King Center facilities, three soccer fields and the pond and ditch were completed. The board approved $150,000 for this phase of construction.  Because of delays, it looks like we will end up being a little over budget. We are so grateful for all of our excavation volunteers and for how much was accomplished.

We are excited for the next phase of construction! Two shipping containers have been donated and are being delivered to Haiti. They will be used to form the sides of the shop and we plan to start construction of that as soon as they are delivered. We are thankful for the support, the momentum, and the progress. We need your support financially to move to the next phase of construction. Would you like to partner with us on this project?  If so, please donate here.

Our excavation teams worked hard to get the three soccer fields completed because this month we will be starting our youth soccer league! Follow us on Facebook or Instagram to receive frequent updates.  The kids and coaches are excited!  We wish all the men who worked hard to prepare the land could see the fruit of their labor firsthand.

PLH National Christian Soccer League Season Comes to a Close

By Thonny Fabien

PLH Haiti Operations Manager

As planned, The Project Living Hope National Christian Soccer League has come to the end of its first season. One final championship match will take place in December. We thank God for providing the opportunity and seeing it through to completion. We want to thank also PLH for their belief and trust they have put on me to do the work of God. Sports are an effective way to make disciples who, in turn, make disciples for Christ. Sports can be used to transform lives of the athletes; change the mindset of people; help children learn fast; and help people turn their back on alcohol, drugs, smoking, violence, etc. The PLH National Christian Soccer League seeks to draw people to Christ and bring peace to the communities. The league is structured to create opportunities for the athletes and facilitate long-term development in the country.

“I coach soccer because I never want children to participate in bad things. Like Thonny says, Coach De Vie “Coach of Life”. When I first heard that term, I felt good because when you are a coach of life you always talk to someone to help them make good decisions for their life. I’m not an expert in playing soccer, but I was a player and I love soccer. I am not an expert player, but in talking to them, I am an expert. I’m the moral coach.”

— Coach Benedic

As a leader, I always take note of the fans reaction; players, coaches, and referees actions; and the team organization. What critical and positive things do they do? How are they responding or reacting to each other? And what do I need to change or teach in the future? I see that the winning team is always celebrating, enjoying the game, and happy; but the losing team leaves the field sad, unhappy, and tired, and they complain that referees contribute to their failure. During a loss, the fans sometimes support their teams but sometimes they are mad and ready to fight. That’s the struggle with sports. We can’t have an environment like that!

What can be done differently? And how we can use sports not to follow culture but to create our own culture?  We need passion for community development. We need to be courageous leaders who step up. We need to see how the community does things and we need listen to them as well. We need to continue to train coaches and referees training to be servant leaders. If we make a positive influence on the coaches, the coaches will influence players and the players will soon influence their families and community. The whole community can change step by step. We need a movement where we share one vision and step up to difficulties and bring results.

“I was born to play soccer. I’ve always loved to play. My dream was to become a big soccer player. But there was no opportunity for that. Then I wanted to be a big coach. Even though I never had training to be a coach, when there was a team in this area, I always went to practice with them like a coach. I always had in mind to be a great coach, but I didn’t have the opportunity. But thanks to God, PLH came, and now I will try to be like I imagined before.”

— Coach Guy

Therefore, through sports we will create our culture by investing our time into the life of the people. Our goal is to see a nation transformed through sports. Here are some positive steps we have made through the work Project Living Hope is doing so far:

1. For the first time, we have a national Christian league in Haiti.

2. Players and fans watch the games and hear the gospel.

3. We prohibit use of alcohol at our soccer games.

4. We create opportunity for the players to perform and live strong values, such as: serving one another, working as a team, protecting the environment, and living a life of integrity.

5. We create opportunity for the players and coaches to maximize their talent.

6. We equip leaders to do their work and we engage them into the work of God.

7. We create opportunity for players to visit other parts of Haiti.

8. We have created a leadership team with servant leadership training and high expectations.

9. We create an opportunity for vendors to come and sell food and drinks at the games.

10. We create a movement of sports where disciples can be made through sports and play.

Our goal is to extend the league to every area of Haiti. We want to see the whole country using sports as a tool to transform lives through Christ. We want to see our Christian athletes be a model for their teammates, proclaim the gospel, and make disciples for Christ. We want to create a movement of Christ-like servant leaders throughout Haiti.