Peyi Lok
Last Friday, I got a voice message from our friend and partner in Haiti, Lenord Francois. Usually a very cheerful man, Lenord’s voice was tired as he told me about Peyi Lok – the Country Lockdown that has been happening for the past few weeks. Demonstrations have been “locking down” the country in protest to the economic and political situation that has allowed violence and kidnappings for more than 2 years that have resulted in massive inflation and extreme food shortages.
He also shared that Les Cayes and all of southern Haiti (where our staff member, Jeanne, lives and our partner communities are located) are currently without phone or internet services. He said that Haiti has “gwo, gwo pwoblem” (big, big problems) and asked us to pray.
We last spoke with Jeanne on September 12th. At that time the roads in Les Cayes had been blockaded for 2 weeks. She said that she and her household were still able to eat from their garden, but that people without gardens were running out of food and unable to get to the market. We haven’t been able to get through to her since then, due to the lack of cell service.
Demonstrations in Les Cayes, late August 2022
Jules, who is outside of Port-au-Prince, wrote that things are “getting harder everywhere” and that “Les Cayes is worse than everywhere.” He said that clean water and food were getting very scarce in the city. He thanked us for praying and said that “we definitely need many many prayers.”
Please join me in praying for our friends & partners – our brothers and sisters in Haiti. I pray with the Psalmist, asking the Lord to give strength to our friends in Haiti and to bless our brothers and sisters with peace (Psalm 29:11).
Pray for Jeanne, Jules and their families to remain safe during this time of increased violence and upheaval, and for communication to open up
Pray for our partner communities and the pastors who reside there, that their needs will be taken care of, and they would have strength to persevere in what they cannot control
Pray for the economy in Haiti, and for supplies like food, water, and gas to be accessible and affordable
Pray for God to raise up leaders in Haiti who would care for and progress the country for the betterment of all who live there
Pray for world leaders as they watch what is happening in Haiti, that their hearts would be turned to act in helpful ways
Praise God that Hurricane Fiona and Hurricane Ian did not hit Haiti. Pray that this island would continue to be spared from the added burden of brutal storms
Even in the midst of such dire circumstances, our staff and partners cling to hope that things will get better. They have been so faithful and continued working to help their communities, even with all the difficulties of this past year:
Pastor Pharyl assembled a building crew in Plain Matin and rebuilt the church and built 3 homes for families in need that lost theirs in last year’s earthquake, as well as continued to host mobile medical clinics every 3 months
Pastor Voltaire helped local workers build 3 homes in Meloniere and completed the school construction for the more than 200 students in and around their village
Pastor Celande has helped to host mobile clinics for their community and local workers continue to run the corn grinder and bread oven businesses, when the corn and flour are available
Local leaders and Pastor Prevener have helped to complete another home for a family in need in St. Martin and started construction on better bathrooms for the students at their school
One of the houses in Plain Matin
Our Haitian staff and partners are strong, courageous and resilient. I have learned so much from them about dealing with adversity. Haiti H2O will continue to work to connect and find ways to support local leaders as they help their community at this extremely dark and difficult time.
Thank you for joining us in the service of empowering Haitians to help Haitians.
Rhonda Smith
Executive Director
Haiti H2O: Hope to Opportunity
For more information on what it going on in Haiti, click here.
To read an Op-Ed about the situation from an American perspective, click here.