Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Pestle Experiencing Serious Drought


 It is not uncommon for Haiti to experience an annual drought. Although complications this year are making life nearly intolerable. Locals are struggling to balance a sense of dignity without means to daily launder their clothes or properly bathe. The water sources have reduced themselves to shallow and stagnant puddles at the floor of broken cisterns that suffered from the horrific earthquake less than 1 year 9 months ago. Desperate, the people of Pestle are drinking from these water sources, in turn their skin has developed irritating rashes brought on by bacteria. They are pleading with their local government for help and relief but have not received any. Crops and livestock are now experiencing the ripple effect. Food sources are scarce and self-sustainability practices are severely cut off from the lack of water. In all our years of engaging with the needs of Pestle, Haiti these realities increase our concern today more than ever before, and we urge supporters to pray about their personal response.

Please read further about the current events of the drought here https://texasmetronews.com/51657/drought-in-haiti-province-destroying-crops-hurting-animals-and-residents/


Monday, March 13, 2023

Water shortage in Pestel


I just read through this article on the drought in Pestel.  I also see that Pestel has two desalinization units, which is truly wonderful news.  

Ben
--
Ben Fredrick, M.D.
Founder and Board Chair, Thriving Villages International

Check out updates about the work in Haiti:  https://thrivingvillages.blogspot.com/ 

Tuesday, March 7, 2023

Celebrating Thriving Villages International 10th Anniversary


 It is with full hearts that we highlight the 10th anniversary of Thriving Villages International. Our team is immensely blessed by the support you have shown the people tucked away in the very hard to reach area of Pestel, Haiti. Throughout these last 10 years, God has enabled Thriving Villages International to unlock access to clean water, educational opportunities, supporting means for healthcare, and resources for self sufficiency by supplying seeds and goats. Our work is far from done; actually we might be just getting started! Please feel welcome to join us in our vision "Deeply concerned about the lack of food, water, education and healthcare in rural Haiti, our vision is that Thriving Villages becomes a transforming presence of Christ by helping to provide a physical and spiritual environment in which the people of Pestel can thrive." THANK YOU for giving, THANK YOU for praying, THANK YOU for serving, THANK YOU for all the forms of support and encouragement these last 10 years. 

Connect with us on Social Media to follow our mission 

https://www.facebook.com/ThrivingVillages

https://www.instagram.com/tvihaiti/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/thriving-villages-international/

Thursday, February 23, 2023

 


Thriving Villages International (TVI) 

2022 Summary



In 2022 Thriving VIllages International (TVI) reached its 10th year anniversary!  TVI has been primarily engaged in a remote region of Haiti called Pestel, a region without electricity, running water, or basic health care access.  The average annual income in Pestel is around $700US.


Due to gang violence and global inflation, the cost of a gallon of fuel in Pestel was $40US.  As a result, the movement of goods, including fruits and vegetables, came to a halt.  Since Pestel relies heavily on the ability to send their small-scale farming goods (like peanuts, beans, mangos) to the city markets, many in Pestel suffered greatly. 


In 2022 Thriving Villages addressed basic needs by partnering with KPA (“Christians Progress Together”, a Haitian community group in Pestel):

  • Improved family economics:

    • 85 households received and planted crop seeds to produce harvests, such as peanuts and beans

    • 80 households received at least one goat as part of a long-standing goat-distribution project.  Since 2017 we have distributed over 400 goats.  Goats serve as an important source of revenue for families, and since they can be bred the offspring can also be given to neighbors to share the benefits.

  • Repaired cisterns

    • Almost all (or all) of the cisterns throughout Pestel cracked after the 2021 earthquake.  Cisterns are a primary means of getting water in Pestel.  25 cisterns were repaired in 2022, each of which serves hundreds of people.  

  • Provided employment

    • TVI supports five leaders of KPA through stipends

    • TVI also supports 6 elementary school teachers (full time) annually

  • Supported education

    • TVI provided full scholarships for 110 elementary students ($110 per student), and subsidized the public high school (300 students) and another elementary school (64 children) in the region.

    • TVI funded a school feeding program at the St. Rose School when teachers started noticing more children coming to school hungry.  The cost of the feeding program is $110 per student.  

    • St. Rose School expanded to include 5th grade in 2022, with support from TVI.  We are planning to build another classroom since the school is growing.

    • Two university students, Herlande and Jean-Gilles, are finishing up their final year in agricultural studies.  One student, Rosemithe (pictured on the right),  graduated from nursing school and is now serving in Pestel.  

     


We are honored to partner with KPA, our main in-country Haitian partnering organization.  We receive updates from KPA.  We want to share part of their 4th quarter report with you since it provides a helpful snapshot into KPA’s activities and some of their challenges.  This was sent by our Haitian colleagues in English, which is an achievement because in 2016 we paid for the leadership of KPA to take English classes so that we could better communicate with one another, and that investment has paid off!  Here is the KPA report as they describe the work:


For the fourth quarter, we did some work despite the trouble in the country. 15 families received goats, 20 families received seed and 16 elderly people had monthly money . We finished the repair of 2 cisterns, the 3 others will be finished shortly because it has just rained. The work was stopped because of the drought.


The [St. Rose elementary] school was doing with a little quantity during the month of November and December. The children will attend class totally in January.  After the crop, some people gave us peanut for St Rose school children. They told the crop was good, they have enough for  selling, they let a part for replanting and the other part for St Rose Children.


Miss Rosemite [a nurse that TVI provided funding to train and who is now living and serving in Pestel] is helping some elderly people and children. She explained that  the people are very poor, they are facing hunger because they can not work now . This is why we include in the budget $3000 Dollars for emergency food  for 70 people with extreme needs.  Gerald [a KPA leader] wrote about  a latrine project in [the village of] Luciere. This is a good project because the people face Cholera in the country. Thanks for all the things you are doing for the people in Pestel and for KPA.  


—4th Quarter Report, Submitted by KPA Leadership


TVI donations are sent to Haiti via KPA, which manages the funds and uses them to purchase and distribute items and pay teachers. TVI board members cover the overhead expenses.  The TVI Board is very glad that we have the opportunity to directly benefit some of the poorest people in our Hemisphere through our giving.  Through our relationship with KPA, we meet real-world needs that include food, water, education, and employment. 

If you would be interested in supporting the work of TVI in Pestel, please consider giving, either online at https://thrivingvillages.com/ or by sending a check to  

Thriving Villages International

1201 S. 20th Street, Harrisburg, PA 17104


Saturday, January 14, 2023

Cistern Repairs

After the earthquake 2021 most if not all of the cisterns throughout Pestel cracked, making them ineffective at collecting water.  Under the management of KPA, we assisted with rebuilding and/or repairing 25 cisterns.  The photos below show Before/After.  

Pestel is a severely water deprived area.  Under normal circumstances people in Pestel will walk > 30 minutes one-way to obtain water.   After the 2021 earthquake water scarcity dramatically worsened.  We anticipate building and repairing more cisterns in 2023.  

A broken cistern from 2021 earthquake that no longer held water. 


Working to rebuild a cistern


Madam Montante, 42 years old and mother of 6 children with a Before/After of her cistern:











Christmas Video 2022

 It has been years since I posted here, but I decided to revisit the blog because I find it to be a great place to post updates as they come in, and to keep a record so I can look back over it.  So onward!


On Christmas Day I received this lovely video from Nelson in Pestel.  This was one of the best Christmas presents I experienced because throughout 2022 I heard so often about the struggles with starvation throughout the region.  With global inflation and gang violence, costs in Pestel skyrocketed.  A gallon of fuel cost about $40USD, for example.  TVI sent additional funding to support work that Nelson wanted to do for the people around his village, and this video shows us a group of children receiving a Christmas meal.  Notice the tarps--these were sent out to Pestel soon after the terrible earthquake of 2021.  

The male voice you hear is Nelson!




Saturday, April 22, 2017

Haiti updates

Hi all,



Haiti Trip
Please be in prayer for four board members of our Thriving Villages International organization as they prepare to travel to Haiti next Sunday.  The four are:  Jen Fredrick, Jim Bishop, Doug Stauffer, and Evens Lanot.  They will be meeting in Port-au-Prince for several days with the leaders of a development group from Pestel, KPA (Christians Progress Together).  KPA is a Haitian organization that was founded over a decade ago by Sister Fidelis (she is also now a TVI Board member!).  The purpose of the meeting will be to get to know one another and discern how the two organizations (KPA & TVI) might work together best.  


Thanks to Middle School Students!!!
A BIG thanks to the LMS Hershey Middle School students and their principal, Mr. Eri Lee, on their very successful fund-raiser today!  They raised over $2000 for Pestel through a 3-on-3 basketball event (See photos).  The students did a LOT of work to organize and promote this.  It was also great for us (as parents) to see our kids taking on leadership roles in the planning.  We were quite humbled when we learned that the Middle School had designated TVI to receive the funds, which will be used to purchase seeds for replanting crops since the devastation of Hurricane Matthew late last year.   











--
Ben Fredrick, M.D.
President, Thriving Villages International

Thriving Villages website:  www.thrivingvillages.org
Thriving Villages blog:  http://thrivingvillages.blogspot.com/

"Pay special attention to these issues:
   love for one another;
   absence of desire to be thought of as someone special;
   and the impeccable performance of mundane tasks."  Teresa of Avila