Farewell, Coach Toutou

Toutou was one of Project Living Hope's passionate coaches who volunteered his time on the property. If there was a soccer game or activity on the property he was there. Unfortunately, Toutou passed away too soon, only 44 years old. Over the last few years, Toutou struggled with his health, often spending a lot of time going to see different doctors hoping they could figure out what was going on with him. Haiti's medical infrastructure has been in disarray for many years and most clinics and hospitals have very little resources to truly evaluate and treat patients. The limited number of medical providers makes it hard as most clinics are often overrun with patients. The insecurity and instability have only added to this problem as the gangs make it hard for people to travel to the few hospitals in the country that have any resources and could have helped a patient like Toutou. Toutou left behind two young kids.

The PLH staff, players, and community honor Toutou for who he was and the lives he impacted.

We will miss you Toutou.  Rest in peace in the loving arms of the Father, knowing your suffering in this world is over. 

2024 Keizer Dinner

The PLH Unshakable Hope dinner in Keizer, Oregon took place on September 20th. While Haiti is facing an extremely difficult time, our hope for the country remains unshakable. We have a vision for the 600 youth that come to our campus each week. It is not a dream of a better future that we are clinging to, it is the result of real hope that we are seeing in Haiti every day! Thank you for partnering with us to empower Haitians to build a stronger Haiti. 

We are grateful for the generous support of our sponsors, volunteers, and attendees! Thank you to the Corban University Basketball team for serving dinner!

Christmas Bags

This past December, PLH ran a Fill-a-Bag campaign where donors filled 227 drawstring bags for participants in our soccer, basketball, English, and artisan craft programs. Each bag contained toiletries, crayons and a coloring book, a PLH water bottle, and items specific to the child’s sport or class. After getting stuck in Port-au-Prince for months, the bags were finally delivered to the PLH campus and distributed to youth in our programs. Thank you for blessing these children and teens! We look forward to running this campaign annually! If your church, business, or community is interested in participating, contact us!

Happy Haitian Flag Day

Haitian Flag Day is celebrated on the 18th of May each year. The Haitian flag was adopted in 1803 during the Haitian Revolution and has undergone many design changes over the years. The original flag was derived from the French flag with the white stripe removed to symbolize the end of white colonization. In good times, Haitian Flag Day is a big holiday, with parades and celebrations across the nation. This year, however, the crisis leaves people with little to celebrate. Join us in wishing our Haitian brothers and sisters happy Flag Day and reminding them that we are standing with them, working and praying for a stronger Haiti. 

Join us at the 2024 Portland Dinner and Auction

The Portland auction is one of our biggest fundraisers of the year. Come enjoy live music, premium auction items, a delicious dinner, and an update on PLH's work in Haiti. The proceeds from this event will support Project Living Hope and help further the mission of PLH to empower Haitians by providing education and encouragement to the community through youth sports programs, English classes, finance classes, employment opportunities, sustainability projects, and community events.

6:00-7:00 Doors Open and Silent Auction
7:00-8:00 Dinner and Live Auction
8:00-9:00 Presentation and Spin to Win
Tickets Required

Abernethy Center, Grand Ballroom · 606 15th St · Oregon City, Oregon

Buy your ticket today!
We look forward to having you join us!

Golfathon

Thanks to the work of 18 fundraisers and the generous support of donors like you, this year's Golfathon was a success!

Are you interested in being a fundraiser next year and joining us for the TopGolf celebration in Hillsboro, Oregon? We're hoping for a team of 30 participants to raise $50,000 in support of Project Living Hope. It's super fun and easier than you think. Contact us for more information!

Haiti Declares State of Emergency

By Laura Polynice

It’s difficult to write an update on Haiti. Whenever you think it can’t get any worse, it does. 

This past weekend, gangs seemingly joined forces and carried out coordinated attacks throughout Port-au-Prince and the country. 

This Weekend’s Events:

1. Gangs attacked the airport in Port-au-Prince on Thursday in an effort to prevent the acting Prime Minister from returning from Kenya. All flights through the airport have been canceled since the event. 

2. Gangs attacked the police academy in Port-au-Prince.

3. Gangs breached the country’s largest prison in Port-au-Prince, releasing thousands of prisoners. It’s reported that, of the nearly 4,000 prisoners, only 99 remain in the prison – those who chose to remain in their cells. A second prison was also attacked. 

4. Gangs attacked police stations in several places throughout the country, gaining control of the station in Cabaret. It’s reported that the gang now controls most of that town, moving their control further north up National Route 1 (the highway which leads to PLH’s community).

5. Gang leaders announced that several of the gangs have joined forces and will not stop their attacks until acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry is removed from power. 

6. After the weekend’s events, the country declared a state of emergency and instated a curfew Monday through Wednesday. 

7. The citizens of Port-au-Prince are trapped in the city as violence escalates and shooting increases throughout the city. All routes out of the city are controlled by gangs. Schools are closed and streets are empty as everyone hides in their homes. Leaving even to find water or food is a life-threatening mission.

8. Food insecurity continues. 1.4 million people face emergency levels of food insecurity with 4.35 million people suffering from acute hunger. 

9. All of this comes after January 2024 was labeled the “most violent month” in the past 2 years in Haiti with more than 1,100 people killed, injured, or kidnapped.

10. On Friday, Ariel Henry and the Kenyan President signed a deal to move forward with the proposal to send 1,000 Kenyan police to Haiti, a plan devised by the UN Security Council, paid for largely by the US, and initially halted by the Kenyan parliament. Other Caribbean nations also discussed an effort to organize a multinational force to send to Haiti. 

Video: Haiti declares state of emergency amid escalating violence and prison break (CBS) 

The Political Situation

After the assassination of President Jovenel Moise with no prime minister installed, several candidates stepped forward to run the country. Ariel Henry won the power grab and has been acting as Prime Minister since. Most of the population does not view him as a legitimate leader of the country as he was not elected. Henry signed an agreement that he would organize elections in 2023 and hand over power on Feb 7, 2024.

In November of 2023, Guy Phillipe, a revolutionary and accused drug smuggler who led the 2004 coup against President Aristide, returned to Haiti after serving several years in US prison. He began to call for protests throughout the country to start a “revolution”. With no elections in sight, protests broke out around the country in February to call for Ariel Henry to step down. Henry has since stated that he will organize elections in 2025 and hand over power in 2026.

Haiti is Hurting

Hopelessness is spreading throughout the country. Every month brings new levels of suffering. Gangs are armed with military grade weapons, drones, and vehicles. The police are overwhelmingly outnumbered and outgunned. The people have no way to defend themselves and are running out of places to hide. People fear that they will all die before help comes. 

PLH is Standing Steadfast

We share all of this to bring awareness to the suffering that our Haitian brothers and sisters are facing, to bring light to the injustices happening in this corner of the world that we serve. While things are dark and it is hard to say when and how Haiti will rise from this, we continue to hold on to hope for Haiti. PLH believes that God has a brighter future ahead for Haiti. We remain steadfast in our mission of empowering Haitians to build a stronger Haiti. The PLH programs continue to offer hope and purpose through athletic programs for youth, valuable training courses for adults, and a commitment to stand with those we serve and partner with them to bring about a stronger future for their community and nation. 

Christmas in Haiti

YOUTH CHRISTMAS PARTY

This GivingTuesday, PLH raised funds to make Christmas special for our youth and staff. On December 22nd, PLH held a Christmas party for the youth that participate in our soccer, basketball and artisan programs as well as their parents. Everyone enjoyed a special time with song and dance performances, speeches from the PLH staff and coaches speaking on the vision and values of PLH, and a meal of rice, beans and chicken. Our staff estimate that there were over 600 people in attendance. The coaches enjoyed being able to meet and speak with so many parents. Because of your support on GivingTuesday, all the families received a gift of basic food supplies to help feed their family during the holidays. 310 bags were distributed to the families, each including rice, beans, oil and spaghetti. Parents shared their appreciation for the program and how glad they are to have a safe place for their kids to play and grow.

Thank you for supporting PLH on GivingTuesday and making this event possible!

STAFF CHRISTMAS PARTY

In addition to the player party, PLH hosted a Christmas party for our staff and their families. This has been an annual event since 2018. PLH values family and encourages our staff to put their families first, be present parents to their children, and lead their families in following Christ. These parties are a chance for PLH to show our appreciation to our staff and their families and encourage them. Like the players’ families, each family received a gift of food supplies.

U.N. Approves Sending International Force to Haiti

Monday October 3, 2023 the U.N. Security Council voted to approve sending a multinational force to Haiti. The goal of the mission is to combat the extreme gang violence and steadily worsening conditions. 

We pray for a successful mission, for peace for the country, and for an end to this suffering caused by gangs and corruption. We pray and we trust that change is coming, that Haiti will rise from this current tragedy and become a stronger nation. 

Thank you for standing strong with PLH and Haiti through these challenging times. 

Learn more about the U.N. approval:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/haiti-un-mission-international-force-kenya/
https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/10/1141802
https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/09/1141632

A Cement Emergency

By Laura Polynice

If you’ve ever been to Haiti or have been following work in Haiti for a while, you know getting anything accomplished takes a lot of effort. There are challenges and roadblocks at every turn. Now, with the political situation and the insecurity created by the gangs, it is even more difficult than usual to get anything done. Nonetheless, with the persistence of our staff, creativity in planning, and the collaboration of the community, things still get done. Let me give you one example from earlier this week. 

PLH has been working to build a bridge to replace some culverts in the PLH driveway. A heavy rain this spring washed out the culverts and the overflow of water became a threat to our basketball court. 

Heavy rains washed out a small retaining wall next to the basketball court. 

The project was moving along well and the bosses began to pour the final top slab of concrete for the bridge. As they were working, it became apparent that they did not have enough bags of cement. Remember, all concrete in Haiti is mixed on site either by hand or with a small, ½ yard concrete mixer like we have. We purchased the estimated amount of gravel, sand, and cement, but now the bridge was at risk of being compromised by running out of cement halfway through the pour.

Typically, we get our cement and other materials from a supplier and pay our bill at the end of the month. Due to the insecurity on the roads, however, this supplier did not have any cement in stock. So, our Haitian Operations Manager began the hunt. As he had just finished paying out the organization’s payroll for the month, he did not have the cash in hand to purchase more cement. He hurried to the bank to make a withdrawal; however, the bank had just closed. He was able to talk to the security and convince them to let him in to talk to the teller. Inside, the teller told him the bank did not have cash to give - dollars or gourdes. He left the bank, made some calls, and was able to write a check to someone who gave him the cash in return. Now, he was off to purchase the cement! But, it was nowhere to be found. 

Our manager scoured the city of Saint Marc as well as a couple neighboring towns. Everywhere he asked, they said, “Don’t ask me about cement! There is no cement!” 

He returned to Camp Marie empty handed and went to speak to someone in the community, asking if he had any cement. He did not, but he said another man had a project he was planning to do next week and he had some cement. Our manager went and talked to the community member who generously loaned PLH 65 bags of cement. The PLH staff loaded up the cement and delivered it to the project where it was mixed up and added to the pour. The bosses finished up the work after a 12 hour day, and our manager began to devise how he would find 65 bags of cement within the next week to replace what we had borrowed. 

Nothing is easy in Haiti right now. Everyone is suffering - even those who aren’t being run out of their home, watching family members be tortured, dying of starvation, or being kidnapped or killed. Resources are scarce. Money is tricky to acquire even if you have it in the bank. Traveling anywhere is a risk to your life. And yet, life must go on. Projects must continue. Progress must be made. We pray for peace for the country, for an end to this suffering caused by gangs and corruption. Beyond that, however, we pray for progress, that Haiti can come out of this current tragedy and become a stronger nation that functions well and provides opportunity to its people. PLH exists to empower Haitians to build a stronger Haiti. This mission is long and difficult, but we work with a long-term vision and hope for a brighter future. Thank you for being a part of it and for joining us in this mission. 

To watch a short Facebook video reel of the bridge being built click on the button below!