Giving Hope to the Helpless in HAITI

Of all those who suffer in Haiti, women suffer the most. Women are often abused, abandoned, and left to provide for the children. They have fewer opportunities for education and job training, even if jobs were available. The expectations thrust upon them are more than most of us can imagine. They are helpless and without hope. After decades of bad government, corrupt politicians, and numerous natural disasters, the economic situation is a catastrophe. The most hopeless are the ones needing help the most. That’s what World Radio is doing in the regions of Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haitien, and Hinche. We are giving HOPE.

For over 35 years World Radio has been reaching out into the homes and into the hearts of the Haitian people. From the days of Joseph Albert (now deceased) to the present, five days every week World Radio speakers like Jeantyrard Elmera, Lucner Pierre, and Bellot Calice preach a message of hope in the midst of unbearable suffering to millions of Haitians. This is done in their own special language, Creole, a mixture of French and African tribal language. And it’s working. Today there exist in Haiti over 125 congregations with nearly 5,000 members. As Jeantyrard told me a few years ago… “These are your people; they are here because of World Radio.” We estimate that over the course of the next few years those numbers will multiply. Our reports from the field indicate that people are being baptized weekly, and with faithful men behind the microphone and in leadership, we expect those numbers to grow.

As poor as the Haitian people are, they somehow manage to purchase 9-volt transistor radios that receive clear FM signals from local stations. They have access to cell phones that let them make the calls to local churches and members who are anxious to teach. Every time a message is broadcast, listeners call in and plead for connections with our speakers. Bible studies are set up, correspondence courses are started, people are introduced to our churches, and baptisms result.

We need your help to keep these faithful men on the air in Haiti. This is their way of getting the message out into the slums, the hillsides, and the villages… and to give hope to the helpless in a land of chaos and endless suffering.   Ken