Guest Blog: Hope Amidst Corruption

 Dusty Cooper is the director of IsleGo Missions, along with his wife, Corrine.  The mission of IsleGo is to connect the church across all borders.  Our church has partnered with IsleGo for many years now in Jamaica, Cuba, Brazil, and Haiti, among others.  He introduced us to the ministry of Fenel and Mimi Bruna at the House of Abraham in Jacmel, Haiti. 

 

 JANUARY 12, 2010      

On this date, Haiti, a country already devastated by poverty, violence, crime, and corruption on every level, was further decimated by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, one of the worst in history. By even the most conservative calculations over a quarter million people died in just over 30 seconds. Millions of dollars in foreign aid poured into this island nation in just a matter of days as mass graves began to fill with the dead.

Today, over 2 years later, Haiti looks pretty much the same as it did before the quake. All the food, clothing, construction materials, and supplies have not visibly changed the nation or the hopelessness of its people. While some of the rubble from the quake has been removed, no great strides forward have been made in spite of all the good intentions. 

We began to ask ourselves in late 2010 what was lacking? If millions, maybe billions, of dollars couldn’t seem to set Haiti on an even keel, what would? When asking these questions to Haitian leaders in religion, business, and education, the same answer was repeated over and over again: Haiti needs leadership that has at its very core integrity, character, and compassion. It seems that most of the aid went into the pockets of corrupt government officials, criminals, and greedy business leaders. It became clear to all of us that this was the same problem that has kept Haiti poor for most of its history.

From those conversations came others with Fenel Bruna, awesome friend and brother in Christ in Jacmel, Haiti. God had already birthed in his heart a way to make a difference for the future of Haiti in this regard. From the heart of God to the heart of Fenel rose the beginning of the House of Abraham, a group home for children that would be brought up in the nurture and admonition of Jehovah God to become those needed leaders with integrity, character, and compassion. 

In early 2011 the first House of Abraham was opened in Jacmel, Haiti, in a rented house that had ample room for the children and staff as well as classroom space and security. The staff was assembled, themselves amazing people of God with a heart for God and their nation. The first children were identified and interviewed, some of them orphans and some from single parent homes. The funds were raised to make sure everything needed was there for the staff to achieve the desired results. Materials for education in the principles of the Bible and godly living were purchased. Regular schools were contacted to find the right match for the basic education of the children. House of Abraham opened with a bang and today has 14 children that are being molded into leaders who give glory to God in both what they say and how they live. 

In the summer of 2011, we purchased 6 acres of land just outside Jacmel  and began working there to relocate by mid-November of 2012, the end of our lease on the house where we started. We need at least $35,000 to make this first house a reality and be able to move by the end or our lease. While millions of dollars seemed to have gone for naught, $35,000 will make a huge difference in the lives of the children at the House of Abraham and very well could be the beginning of a new Haiti. 

All of us can do something to get this house built in the next 3 months…what is your part? Pray for the House of Abraham, Fenel & Mimi Bruna, and the kids (Widly, Clyphode, Luciana, Roberson, Erlande, Richardson, David, Lucien, Anadine, Tchikovsky, Christella, Saintamene, and Vitama). It’s all about HIM!