12 Feet of Trash

12 Feet of Trash... ...the perfect location for God's hope to be planted.

Trash.   We don't want to touch it, smell it, or see it.  We throw it in our big garbage bin as quickly as possible and never have to see it again.  Out of sight.  Out of the way. How would you feel if you had to live in the very waste you created?  The trash can was your front porch, and your yard was made up of years and years of compacted garbage. This is the reality for residents of Cite Soleil, Haiti.  Trash is everywhere, but hope and joy can be hard to find.  We want to change this.  After years of delivering water to this city on a daily basis, we know there is potential here.  There is endless potential because of the incredible people in Cite Soleil who are gifted, intelligent, faithful and determined--people we want to provide with the opportunity to gather and worship and grow.  Join with us as we build a church that can provide a haven where the community can bloom. We invite you invest in this critical area of our ministry.  To learn more about this initiative, visit our website by clicking here. Did you know you can schedule your Give to the Max donation?  Don't risk forgetting to donate, and schedule your gift NOW!  Click here to schedule your donation. Give to the Max Day is NEXT THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13th!!  Mark your calendars, and kindly consider supporting this specific initiative! Watch this video for a window into Cite Soleil and the people who God has called us to love!

Meet Morcine Scott-Warren, First Director of HR and Volunteer Development!

We are excited to announce that we have hired Morcine Scott-Warren as the Director of Human Resources and Volunteer Development.  As a member of the Organization's leadership team, Ms. Scott-Warren will be responsible for attracting, developing and retaining employees and volunteers. She begins her new position on October 27, 2014.

"We are pleased to welcome Morcine to the team", says "Cathy LeVahn, Board Member for Community Outreach, Sustainability, Human Resources and Sponsorship. "She brings a wealth of human resources and leadership experience in the private and non-profit sectors. We look forward to her guidance and leadership in this critical area as we continue to grow and evolve to fulfill our mission."

With more than 16 years of Human Resources experience, Ms. Scott-Warren was most recently a Human Capital Partner at UnitedHealthcare. Her professional experience also includes leadership roles at the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, Circuit City, INROADS, and GPU. Her expertise includes talent acquisition, talent management, total rewards, employee relations, and organizational development.

Morcine expressed her thoughts about joining Healing Haiti, "As a native of the Caribbean, I am thrilled, honored and humbled to join an organization dedicated to serving Haiti's disadvantaged citizens while simultaneously providing opportunities to open the eyes, hearts and minds of those who are able to a serve and make a difference."

Morcine is active within her church and volunteers with many Twin Cities organizations. She holds a Master of Arts in Organizational Development from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Human Development from Lehigh University.

We are so excited to have Morcine join our ministry and look forward to what God has planned!

To contact Morcine, email her at mscottwarren@healinghaiti.org.

Healing Haiti Staff Highlight: Patrick Toussaint

We are excited to take some time to highlight, appreciate, and get to know some of the Staff of Healing Haiti.  It's their continual time and effort that makes this place hum, and we are so thankful for each and every one of them!

The first Staff Member we want to highlight is Patrick Toussaint.  Read below to learn more about this awesome guy!

Role with Healing Haiti: Translator & Driver

Favorite Service Day at Healing Haiti: Translating

If I could add one more service day for HH, I would add: Special time for worship

Family: Just married Sept 25th of this year, wife is Kori from California

Interesting Fact: Orphaned at 11.  

What word would your friends use to describe you: Funny

Favorite Food: Lasagna

Favorite Sport: I love all sports

Passions in life: Playing Music

Favorite Place in Haiti: Club Indigo-a resort I was married at

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go: California

Favorite subject in school: Language

If you met a genie and he could grant you one wish only, what would it be: Go to Heaven

Stay tuned for more Staff updates in the future!!

Want to Really Make a Difference? Join Us as a Volunteer Intern (in Haiti!) or as a Volunteer Advocate!!

Healing Haiti continues to grow, and we couldn't be more excited about what God is doing through our ministry.  Along with this exciting expansion comes the need for additional committed volunteers.

We are specifically recruiting for volunteer advocates for various roles related to the Bakery & Job Creation Initiative, as well as three intern positions that would take place in Haiti!  See below for 

Discipleship and Education Advocate

The Job Creation and Community Oven Team is seeking an Advocate for Discipleship and Education who will partner with our team to create the faith foundation and discipleship curriculum for the Training Center. This position will develop and bring Jesus to the center of the following curriculum:  financial, discipleship, bread-making, and entrepreneurship as well as creation of a community kitchen bread oven certificate program.  

Community Ovens Purchasing and Resale Advocate

Grace Bakery project needs you as an Advocate!  The Community Ovens Purchasing and Resale Advocate will partner with our team to: develop and manage both mobile and brick/mortar wholesale business; inventory, equipment and delivery fleet management; pricing, money handling procedures and security; delivery driver hiring and management.

Finance and Savings Advocate

Join the Grace Bakery project as a Finance and Savings Advocate!  This Advocate is needed to partner with our team by providing accounting functions for the commercial bakery, identifying profit and expense strategies; handling accounting and management of the employee savings account program; and assisting in developing the finance curriculum.  Use your gifts for God’s work!

Community Oven Construction Advocate

Community Oven Construction to develop the prototype commercial bread oven, and identify, develop and train Haitians to construct these ovens.

Come and partner with our team of Advocates in establishing our roadmap for the Community Kitchen and Training Center!  If you or anyone you know feels God’s nudge to consider an Advocate role, please contact Mike McCain at mccainm74@comcast.net.

Healing Haiti also have several life-changing opportunities for people who are interested in volunteering for a 3-month internship position in Haiti!  The following internships are available:

Elderly Intern

You will care for 28 elderly in our ElderCare program and oversee the ElderCare Artisian Program.  You will help evaluate and prepare new elders, as well as work with our Haiti ElderCare employees to ensure excellent care for all elders in our program.

Guest House Intern

The Guest House Intern is responsible for working alongside Healing Haiti’s Guest House employees, supporting and guiding short-term missionaries and overseeing the Guest House operations.    

Grace Village Program Coordinator Intern

The Program Coordinator will work alongside the Grace Village Staff and Long-Term Missionaries to support the operations of Grace Village and to develop programs and activities for our children, adolescents and elderly.  You will help coordinate all programs at Grace Village including children's activities, setting up a small market, organizing donations, working with mission Team Leaders and more.

Full position descriptions are available.  Please reach out to Cathy LeVahn at cathylevahn@healinghaiti.org.

Grace Village Update: Young Adult Transition Program Underway

Healing Haiti’s Transition Program was developed to prepare the young men (pictured right) and women served by the organization for independent adult life. A few months ago, Healing Haiti secured a traditional Haitian family home located within the village of Titanyen to be used as a transition home for males who are approaching adulthood. On December 21, 2013, Grace Village’s eight oldest boys moved into the home to begin the next phase of their life: the journey towards independence.

While living in the transition home, the participants receive training and support from the Transition Program’s coordinator, Kekete. Kekete (pictured below) is a mother of 11 and provides invaluable expertise in working with and supporting the young adults we serve to better prepare them for the demands of independent adult life. She works alongside the young men to teach them skills such as cooking, cleaning, budgeting, time management, work ethic, job seeking skills and much more.

The Transition Program continues to expand. Recently, Healing Haiti began planning for a female transition home by securing another small house in Titanyen. Soon, we will be welcoming a wonderful group of young women into the program when the oldest girls at Grace Village enter into the next phase of their lives and learn the skills necessary to live an independent life.

Once the participants master the program’s independence objectives, they will be supported in seeking gainful employment and securing housing and will then graduate from the Transition Program. We are so proud of how far our young men and women have come in such a short time and look forward to watching them continue to grow and mature through this program.

If you would like to have a personal involvement with one of these young adults and support them in this transition to adult life, please CLICK HERE to learn more about Child Sponsorship.

10.11.2014: International Day of the Girl

On Saturday, October 11th, the world celebrated International Day of the Girl.  This day is a "response to the urgent problem facing our world today: the neglect and devaluation of girls around the world.  Every year, dynamic groups across the world (led by girls, of course) acting to highlight, discuss, celebrate and ultimately advance girls' lives and opportunities across the globe. (cited from Day of the Girl's website)" 

Healing Haiti celebrated by bringing 15 of our girls to Baptist Mission in Fermenth. It's a beautiful green area that one of the first missionaries to Haiti established.

Long-term Missionary Elisa recounted the following: "We had a great day. We toured Baptist Mission's history of Haiti museum. Enjoyed hot dogs, chicken nuggets, fries and ice cream at their mountain view restaurant, picked out a few gifts for their parents and then played on their playground. After arriving in Port-au-Prince we stopped at the guesthouse for some tacos and decided to write "thank-yous" to our parents. What a fun day celebrating these beautiful women in our lives."

View their website by clicking here to learn more about their organization and ways you can get involved next year!