to be educated.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” 

― Nelson Mandela

i heard a little story today about a boy that is 14 & is not in school. it made my heart sad. 

do you know how much it is for him to go to school for a complete year?

$100

tears.

what does it mean to be educated?

to be educated means so much & so many things to me. 

i can go to school & get an education.

i can spend time with my mom & learn to bake & be educated. 

i can spend hours reading haitian kreyol & be educated. 

i can watch youtube videos on 13,000 things & get an education.

there are some places in the world where education does not come easy. 

it cost something. & not just time. it cost money which is hard to come with an economy that is hardly existing. when you don't even know if you will have a meal, education is only a dream. 

• 50 percent of children do not attend school. (World Bank 2013)
• Approximately 30% of children attending primary school will not make it to third grade; 60% will abandon school before sixth grade. (UNICEF 2008)
• Only 29 percent of Haitians 25 and above attended secondary school. (USAID 2015)

did you know that the average person in haiti lives on less that $2 a day. 

59 children out of 1000 will NOT live to see their first birthday. 

almost half of the population in haiti are children.

i don't want people to read this blog & say "aw poor haiti" please do not. 

i was talking with a friend that does amazing things in haiti & we were talking about the difference in sympathy & empathy when it comes to how we look at haiti.

empathy: the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

sympathy: 

feelings of pity and sorrow for someone else's misfortune

what can i do to stop the cycle.  i can do a lot. i can def. forfeit coffee for a while to provide a child with an education for a complete year. 

$100. for an entire year of education. 

a lot of people  ask me what i do in haiti & why i go. 

why: it started with a stirring in my spirit. i wanted my life to count for something. i wanted to bring change. i wanted to find my purpose. bc i fell completely in love. honestly. with the people. the food. the culture. with the kids. so so so many kids. i see haiti in a different light than a lot of people. i literally could sell everything i own & move there tomorrow without one care in the world. i could sit in the dirt with kids all day long & never be tired of it. people go there & i hear. its so hot. gosh this is awful. this is so sad. i go to haiti & i feel hope. i see these resilient people  who fight so hard every day & i am encouraged. i see kids who love me with no boundaries & i am strengthened. i see an orphanage that has no material possessions but 55 kids who have the strongest hearts & so much potential. i look at those kids & i think THESE kids are the ones. they are the ones that will bring true change. they give me so much & want nothing. they make me better. they are my passion, my purpose. when you truly walk onto that path i am telling you, your life will NEVER be the same. i am sure people get annoyed with me talking about haiti & cad all the time but i will never apologize. i will never say sorry for what the lord has called me to do. 

my heart is for these kids. teaching them skills so they can make a wage. teaching them respect. teaching them responsibility. teaching them to take care of what has been given. teaching them to let go of hurt & forgive. teaching them that even though they do not have parents that they do have an amazing heavenly father that is better than anything or anyone else. showing them love. hugging them. wiping tears. giving hugs. 

there are also the kids in villages that have parents. some get to go to school & some don't. so what are we doing for the parents that can't afford to send their kids to school? 

what skills do they have?

is there education for them?

what are the needs according to the community?

what is important to them?

what is their vision for their community?

within these communities, within these orphanages there are people that are future teachers. future preachers. future chefs. future bakers. future clothing makers. future mothers. future fathers. future doctors. future lawyers. each one of their dreams are important. 

so when i go i want to build relationships with families. with children. i want to show them how much the father loves them through my life lived. i want to help build schools so teachers can teach. i want to build farms so farmers can farm. i want to build hospitals so doctors can practice medicine. i want to build churches so preachers can preach. i want to build restaurants so chefs can cook & bakers can bake. 

so many businesses were destroyed in the earthquake. you help families start a business & they can make money which can provide for their families & they can keep their children out of orphanages, they can put meals on the table. they can make a life for themselves. they can have self-respect. self-esteem. hope. joy. when they look in the mirror they can say wow, if i can do this what else can i do. then that family can help other families & pretty soon its not people coming & giving hand outs all the time which can create a dependancy, but instead we are helping start businesses, we are hiring haitians to build these businesses, we are singing together in church's that we built together, we are putting money into their economy, we are loving on children, we are helping orphanages be self-sustaining. we are giving families that are in need a more permanent way out of their circumstance by pulling their dreams & giftings out. 

so when you think of haiti please pray. 

pray for their futures leaders, bakers, chefs, doctors, nurses, engineers, pastors, teachers, farmers, mothers, fathers. 

education will bring so much change that is so needed. 

in 8 days i will be back in haiti doing what i love so much. i am so passionate about what i do. if you want to partner with me email me. lets grab a coffee & talk. 

i will literally talk about haiti all day long. so if you have the time so do i. 

iif you would like to contribute to a project on this trip you can do HERE

--E

some thoughts & some photos.

its march. whoa whoa. 2 weeks until i am on a plane to haiti again. WHAT! so exciting. 

*my family in haiti this past trip*

we still have some money to raise  but it always comes in at the last moment. some exciting things happening in my life right now & i cannot wait to share more about them. i want to have everything together & organized before i start talking about it. i have prayed & prayed & feel peace about this direction in my life. i feel like all these little steps i have been taking has led me to this place.  the feeling i had in my post about calling & passion  still rings true. so keep up with my blog so you can read first hand some exciting news. 

jennifer- you are such a joy. i pray for you every single day. i am so happy you were able to go back to be with your mom. 

Nerlande- you have such a sweet spirit. you are always smiling or laughing. always helping with the younger kids. you are such a joy.  i am so thankful for your willingness to always help. 

robenson- i am just amazed at your sweet heart. soon you will be baptized & i am just so happy for you. i can't wait to see you & i can't wait for our farm class. the lord has such a plan for you.

these kids you guys. you should come with me sometime & meet them. get to know them. ask them questions. let them ask you questions. on my first 2 trips to haiti i was real reserved i guess you could say. i was around all these children that had no one & they didn't speak any english & all i could do was just play with them. on my 3rd trip to haiti everything was different. i take time to get to know these kids. i started q&a with them. i gave them a chance to ask us questions. whatever they wanted to know. i remember one little girl asked me why i loved children so much. it almost made me cry but it also made me happy that she felt & saw how much i loved them. the same little girl was really concerned when i told her i wanted 6 kids- she was worried how i would feed them only have two boobs. hahahahahahah. i was like um. whoa. i don't want them all at the same time hahaha. 

kids. gotta love them. 

this next trip in march we have some devotions set up with the kids. 3 groups. we will talk about dreams. purpose. vision. desires. personal relationship with the lord. self worth. 

so many topics. so needed. 

can you imagine? you get sent to a place where you eat rice almost every day. you get water every once and a while. you share clothes with everyone. you have no one to love on you. no one to tell you to dream. to tell you that the lord has such an amazing plan for your life. no one to comfort you when you are sad. sometimes their stories are a lot darker. my sweet boy wilderson is from city solei. it is one of the worst cities in haiti. his parents died when he was young & he was raised by his bother. some things started going missing from the house & his brother would blame him & then beat him. he was also made to work on some machines that left little scars on his arms. eventually wilderson ran away from his house & ended up at CAD july of 2013. my first trip was december 2013. he was the first child i bonded with in haiti & he is my sweet sweet son. today i got a voice text from him & he was talking & couldn't stop laughing. he does this when he is nervous. which is exactly why i make him lead prayer. lead songs & put him on the spot as much as possible. 

these kids are future leaders & they will bring TRUE change to haiti. they will always know the LORD is their provider. they are overcomers. they are resilient, bright, loving, funny, talented, amazing kids. so if you get tired of hearing me talk about them or seeing my go fund me pages (soon i won't need these) or seeing me post about how much  i miss haiti & them -- just unfollow me. i will always fight for these kids. i won't apologize for  it either. 

see you soon. 

- ee