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| A family standing in front of their collapsed home after Hurricane Matthew |
The beginning of December marked almost two months since Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti. Although Grand Goâve was not as badly damaged as other areas of the country, many of those living in our community are still experiencing the effects of the hurricane. Shortly after Hurricane Matthew, we discovered a group of homes that had collapsed, one of which belonging to this woman and her two small children.
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| Nathan and Ethan help with the home build! |
We are so grateful that, thanks to your donations and support, we were able to build this family a new house after theirs was destroyed. They had lost everything and now they have a safe place to call home. Nathan and Ethan even helped with construction!
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| The Holiday Sponsorship Team attends the home blessing for the new Hurricane Matthew house! |
The home was built this December, and our Holiday Sponsorship Team was able to attend the house blessing during their week in Haiti!
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| Wilberto is so happy to receive a birthday gift! |
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| Twins, Nathalie and Nathacha, blow out the candles! |
We had lots of birthdays at TOHH during the month of December!
Each sponsored child with a December birthday came to the TOHH Guesthouse to receive a present and cupcake for their birthday!
Each sponsored child with a December birthday came to the TOHH Guesthouse to receive a present and cupcake for their birthday!
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| Berlandie makes a wish! |
Thank you for helping us celebrate our sponsored children's birthdays, as this is something that they might never experience otherwise.
The TOHH Guesthouse was busy this December, not only with children receiving birthday gifts, but also with children receiving Christmas gifts!
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| Gaby opens a Christmas gift from his sponsor |
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| Gama stands with the holiday meals for the sponsored children |
Many of the sponsored children received a gift for themselves and their families during this holiday season!
These gifts included Christmas cards, personal gifts from sponsors, chickens, goats, and holiday meals. Holiday meals included rice, spaghetti, oil, garlic, magi, scallion, tomato paste, and butter.
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| Kathiana receives holiday meals for Christmas |
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| Ketlove receives chickens and holiday meals! |
These gifts included Christmas cards, personal gifts from sponsors, chickens, goats, and holiday meals. Holiday meals included rice, spaghetti, oil, garlic, magi, scallion, tomato paste, and butter.
Families of four received red bags, as well as one chicken to serve as meat for their meals. Families of eight received green bags and two chickens.
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| Linedialine and her mother receive chickens! |
New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are special holidays in Haiti. On New Year's Day, families celebrate by cooking a meal and preparing food they may not have at any other time of the year. The sponsored children were so grateful for the Christmas gifts and, this year, 32 families enjoyed a special meal with their families!
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| Dean Boudreau and his neighbor, Bob, pack the box truck |
Gifts from sponsors, cake mix, frosting, candles, and other supplies needed from the US are brought to Haiti in one of a few ways. One of these ways is by being sent in a vehicle! This December, we shipped a box truck filled with supplies to Haiti!
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| The TOHH box truck arrives in Florida |
Shipping this box truck was a team effort, and we are so grateful to those who volunteered their time to help out! A big thank you to Angela's dad, Dean Boudreau, and his neighbor, Bob, for working outside in freezing Massachusetts temperatures to pack this truck! Another big thank you to Robert Heald who drove the box truck to Florida where it will be shipped to Haiti!
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| Flantorge and Diamontina on their wedding day |
In the midst of the holidays, we had another occasion to celebrate! Congratulations to Gama's brother, Flantorge, on his marriage! Flantorge works for TOHH, and organizes the child sponsorship program Haiti-side. We are so grateful for all he does for TOHH and the children in our community every day! He and his bride, Diamontina, celebrated their wedding day on December 19, 2016. It was a beautiful day, and we pray for blessings upon the new couple!
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| The missionary children sing Christmas carols |
As part of the Christmas celebration in Haiti, the missionary children also put on a play! They acted out the story of Jesus' birth and sang Christmas carols!
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| Sponsored children attending the Christmas play |
And, we invited all of our sponsored children to attend! They had a great time, and loved watching the play!
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| Mackenson at the hospital in Port-au-Prince |
This December, a Christmas miracle happened in Haiti. Over the past couple months, we began construction on the third floor of the TOHH Guesthouse. One of the workers, Mackenson, was on top of the third floor roof when he had a terrible accident. He was swinging a heavy mallet to remove 2x4s when he over exerted his swing and was pulled to the ground. Gama was in the TOHH office when he saw Mackenson falling to the ground. He ran to check on him and Mackenson had fallen on his head. His body was shaking in shock, and he was bleeding badly. Gama, having EMT training, instructed the other workers to relocate Mackenson into the vehicle, and rushed him to the hospital.
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| Mackenson at the hospital in Port-au-Prince |
The first hospital was able to clean Mackenson's wounds, assess his injuries, and give him some pain medication which would allow Gama to transport him to a hospital in Port-au-Prince, a one-to-two hour drive from Grand Goâve. In Haiti, a hospital will not admit a patient unless there is a doctor present who is willing to work on them and without the cost being paid upfront. After traveling to five different hospitals in Port-au-Prince, they finally found one that would admit Mackenson.
While Mackenson was falling from the third floor roof, he hit the retaining wall of the second floor roof, which had not been removed. This slowed some of his impact and turned him around. He fell face first, broke his jaw bone, and lost almost all his teeth. Since his jaw was broken, he was unable to eat or drink. So, after being admitted to the hospital in Port-au-Prince, Mackenson was given a Nasogastric (NG) feeding tube.
On December 22nd, Mackenson had a successful surgery to reconstruct his jaw. We are very thankful that there were no complications with his surgery. Before Christmas, Mackenson was released from the hospital and he was able to spend the holiday season with his family. His feeding tube was removed on Tuesday, December 27th. On that same day, he also had the screws from his jaw surgery removed. After this, he began a liquid diet with some soft foods. Now, he is recovering and doing well. He continues to tell us how grateful he is to be alive.
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| Mackenson and his two-year-old baby girl |
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| Mackenson with his Nasogastric (NG) feeding tube |
It truly is a miracle that Mackenson lived and has minimal injuries after this accident. We are so grateful to God for watching over Mackenson and keeping him safe.
The hospital that Mackenson was admitted to took very good care of him because we have been able to pay. After his reconstructive jaw surgery, TOHH fronted $5,000 for Mackenson's recovery. In Haiti, there is no health care insurance or workman's compensation. Mackenson's life is incredibly important to us; he is 23 years old and has a two-year-old baby girl at home. We will do all we can to help him recover.
Please share Mackenson's story and help us raise awareness and funds for his recovery. If you would like to contribute to Mackenson's medical expenses, please follow this donation link and write "Mackenson's recovery" in the memo: http://treeofhopehaiti.org/donations/. On behalf of TOHH, Mackenson, and his family, thank you!!
The hospital that Mackenson was admitted to took very good care of him because we have been able to pay. After his reconstructive jaw surgery, TOHH fronted $5,000 for Mackenson's recovery. In Haiti, there is no health care insurance or workman's compensation. Mackenson's life is incredibly important to us; he is 23 years old and has a two-year-old baby girl at home. We will do all we can to help him recover.
Please share Mackenson's story and help us raise awareness and funds for his recovery. If you would like to contribute to Mackenson's medical expenses, please follow this donation link and write "Mackenson's recovery" in the memo: http://treeofhopehaiti.org/donations/. On behalf of TOHH, Mackenson, and his family, thank you!!
December 2016 was packed with challenges and miracles, and we are so grateful for all the blessings we have had at TOHH in 2016! We look forward to keeping you updated about what's going on at TOHH - in Haiti and in America!
TOHH Website: www.treeofhopehaiti.org
Facebook: Tree of Hope Haiti
Twitter: @treeofhopehaiti
Instagram: @treeofhopehaiti
Donations: http://treeofhopehaiti.org/donations/ (to contribute to Mackenson's medical expenses, please specify Mackenson's Recovery in the memo)
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